A Conceptual Approach to Abandoned Industrial Sites within the Scope of Brownfield in the Context of Regenerative Design

Abstract

Built environments and technologies produced to provide for people's requirements can also create environmental problems. The approaches used in the management of these problems are generally technology-based, focusing on reducing the damage to the environment, considering human beings independent from nature. As a critical view of these approaches, regenerative design has been placed in the literature. In contrast to environmental approaches that focus on the problem in design, regenerative design focuses on turning the problem into potential. In this article, abandoned industrial areas (AIA) within the brownfield (BF) context of the degraded environment are discussed as one of the examples of the concept of turning the problem into potential in the built environment. These areas are problematic with intertwined ecological, sociological, economic, etc. degraded environments at different scales. However, they are built environments that can produce ecological, cultural heritage, social, etc. values as a result of their regeneration within the framework of their potentials.In this article, although not defined in the context of regenerative design and renewal, the projects implemented on AIA within the scope of BF, which can be evaluated in the context of transforming the problem into potential, are selected and analyzed. These projects are cases that have been successfully managed in the design, implementation and life processes, where the community and professionals have participated in a coordinated partnership, have been recognized globally with national and international awards. The lack of a systematic approach based on the different site-specific degradations in the BF in the regeneration of the analyzed projects has been seen as a gap in the literature. The aim of the article is to present an approach that can integrate different disciplines in a joint cross-section with a holistic approach to the area and to address the issue within the scope of the regenerative design process.