Post-Industrial Site-museum Design: A Discourse Between Industry and the Environment

Document Type : Original Research Paper

Authors

1 Graduate Faculty of Environment, University of Tehran, P.O.Box 14155-6135, Tehran, Iran

2 Faculty of Art and Architecture, Islamic Azad University, P.O.Box 15847-43311, Tehran, Iran

10.22059/poll.2026.411605.3303

Abstract

Post-industrial landscape is a valuable repository of past industrial ideas and activities of human societies. As cities have expanded spatially, these brownfields have become part of the ecosystemic structure of urban landscapes, appearing as silent, abandoned wounds. Based on modern approaches derived from international conventions, redevelopment of post-industrial landscapes is highly effective in ecosystemic sustainability of urban landscapes and planning for comprehensive urban conservation. Bani Hashem wood factory (abandoned since 1976) is located within a dilapidated urban fabric amidst vast gardens in Tehran District 4. Its spatial structure comprises workshop units, warehouses, residential fabric, and old gardens. Several sections of the factory contain diverse pollutants including chlorinated phenols, dibenzofurans, dioxins, furans, petroleum hydrocarbons and organic materials from fuel tank leakage and construction debris. Tangible and intangible heritage values and ecological structure of the vast grounds in the factory, highlight the necessity for comprehensive conservation and environmental remediation followed in the present study. The objectives of this study were: 1) transforming the site’s historical and natural values, damaged by contaminants, into environmental assets, 2) integrating the site with the urban landscape through the recovery of abandoned spaces, and 3) perpetuating the past industrial identity through industrial heritage preservation, environmental remediation, and conservation-oriented development in the form of a post-industrial site museum design. The innovation of this study lies in elucidating a methodology, presenting a conceptual model for analyzing post-industrial landscape layers, and formulating strategies for the site's environmental restoration in the form of a conservation plan for post-industrial site museum.

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