Westergasfabriek

Abstract

Adaptive reuse can be defined in a multitude of ways, but in this case it refers to the renovation and revitalisation of a building or site into a new purpose brought forth by societal and urban needs. This concerns many different projects, yet this paper aims to explore the nature of post-industrial designs and how they may be developed into something new. A rather broad concept narrowed down through the use of previously established research and a focus on a specific case study; The Westergas factory in Amsterdam.
Being the first large-scale municipal-owned gas factory in the Netherlands, it bears a heavy identity among the rest of the city. It also happens to be a prime example of effective post-industrial redevelopment in a way this thesis aims to explore. Thus, the primary question proposed is as follows:

“How does the adaptive reuse of the post-industrial redevelopment project ‘Westergasfabriek’ in Amsterdam realise the preservation of industrial heritage while meeting contemporary urban needs?”

A brief theoretical study was performed to establish a framework to answer such a question. This delves into previously researched adaptive reuse, defining optimal renovation requirements for heritage and multiple case-study in papers to narrow down the scope of this thesis. Secondly, the main case study is explored while using this framework, going through the development of the chosen project and identifying key aspects of its success into its revitalization. This is done using primary sources in the form of archival research and municipal documents, aided by secondary sources such as papers, books, photographs and official websites.