"Animals" : la trasformazione degli spazi industriali = “Animals” : the transformation of post-industrial spaces

The aim of the study is to understand how new urban processes can transform an
abandoned area of the city into an active and dynamic centre, maintaining its industrial
character and becoming an interesting example of urban regeneration.
Through a comparison of the Battersea Power station conversion project in London and
the Castelfield industrial neighbourhood in Manchester, we analyze the tools and results of
differing planning operations. These are two "image " projects of the contemporary city,
containing very different meanings and intentions. The first case (Battersea power station)
concerns a real monument, a building that has taken on and continues to take on iconic
meanings; In the second case, of Castelfield, the monument is represented by the entire
neighbourhood, a part of the town that is converted without disruption of the site’s urban
structure. In the 1980s, the Castelfield site was recognized as the first Urban Heritage
Park in England, with the aim of preserving the industrial character of the area, through
both restoration works and new operations responding to the district’s contemporary
needs.