Industrial heritage: a driver of the socioecological transition

The social-ecological transition and the climate crisis are compelling us to rethink our manufacturing methods. The Climate Pact and the recent climate change agreements signed by countries worldwide at COP27 underscore the fact that we must transform our manufacturing processes for a circular, sustainable, just and non-extractive economy. Such is also the case in Switzerland, where we must reckon with our cities’ industrial pasts and reimagine the ways in which our large manufacturing sites have been designed and operated.

The French-speaking part of Switzerland has a long tradition of land exploitation and technical innovation, and a strong architectural and cultural identity tied to industrial buildings.We can see this in the former iron oxide mines in the Jura, cement mines in Neuchâtel, and gravel and salt mines in the Valais. The same is true in the country’s food, chemical and pharmaceutical industries, which are global leaders and account for more than 26% of Swiss exports (OEC, 2020). In 2009, UNESCO named the towns of Le Locle and La Chaux-de-Fonds – Switzerland’s most remarkable industrial legacy – World Heritage Sites for their unique urban planning around the watch industry. This recognition is a testament to the importance of our industrial past and the quality associated with “made in Switzerland.”

Municipal and cantonal governments should come on board to help promote plans for rehabilitating and converting abandoned industrial sites.

Valuing our land

By viewing our industrial heritage as inextricable from our regional legacy, we are valuing the communities that work around these zones, which today are so often marked by deindustrialization, urban shrinkage, economic decline, and a need for social and urban regeneration. Municipal and cantonal governments should therefore come on board to help promote plans for rehabilitating and converting abandoned industrial sites by encouraging local policymakers to consider the economic and socio-ecological potential of these sites.

We can think of these territories as a laboratory for testing different approaches and bringing the social-ecological transition to fruition. Reusing decommissioned industrial buildings also provides an alternative to the resource waste associated with new construction and soil consumption.

Leading the transition

The bluefactory complex in Fribourg is a representative example of the reuse of brownfield sites. It consists of a former industrial site that’s now dedicated to mixed-use activities, including the Smart Living Lab – home to EPFL research labs, restaurants and startups. Bluefactory fosters a true community atmosphere and breathes new life into the city, all while preserving its industrial heritage. As a result, the paths forward, by looking at the historical potential of these territories, will emerge as pioneers and drivers of the socio-ecological transition in Europe.

EPFL will be hosting a seminar to explore these issues further with national and international experts. The event, open to the public, will be held in La Chaux-de-Fonds on 23–24 February 2023.

Anna Karla De Almeida Santos, architect and urban planner, industrial heritage specialist, PhD candidate, Laboratory of Urbanism (Lab-U), EPFL, MSCA EPFLinnovators fellow

• This article was published late December 2022 in three local dailies – La Côte (Vaud Canton), Le Nouvelliste (Valais Canton) and Arcinfo (Neuchâtel Canton) – under a joint initiative between EPFL and ESH Médias to showcase the R&D being carried out at EPFL on advanced construction techniques.