Designing for the Anthropocene: The Duisburg Rhine Park

Abstract

How can we construct a socially and ecologically sound world which we are increasingly responsible for shaping ourselves? How can the profession of landscape architecture help to mediate the process of modernization and urbanization? This chapter elaborates on a proposal for the adaptive reuse of a brownfield site. The strategy discussed here suggests a holistic design approach to deal with contaminated post-industrial sites in a productive and pragmatic way. Instead of neglecting and covering the industrial remains, the management of the industrial heritage and contaminated ground is understood as a challenging design opportunity. The clean-up and redesign of the site is discussed in the context of a critical revision of the meaning and identity, both past and present, of post-industrial landscapes.