In Esch-sur-Alzette in the south of Luxembourg, a university and research campus have been built around the former steel production site with its blast furnaces. Among the modern buildings of the University, the rusty and weather-beaten blast pipes and brick workshops, which have been lovingly preserved and now create a special atmosphere.
The sight of this mix of styles and times made a huge impression on me. The old and the new connect and merge incredibly, living in the same space and complementing each other.
The key elements here are the long basins that surround the dilapidated brick buildings and close off access to them, allowing the decaying structures to reflect and creating depth to the whole space. Yellow irises Iris pseudacorus, lake reed Schenoplectus lacustris, rough horsetail Equisetum hyemale, delicate Nymphaea lilies adorn the immovable mirror-like water surface and stand out imposingly with their delicate greenery against the rough structures.
This complex of new public spaces and old industrial buildings, created with a talented Design team lead by Michel Desvigne (Paris), demonstrates how the ruined can be made new and exciting, and how the past is connected to the future.
Esch-sur-Alzette was once the heart of Luxembourg’s thriving steel industry. Now the pipes of the blast furnaces serve as a reminder of what the region was built on. It was a prosperous centre of industry in the heart of Europe, exporting its products all over the world. By the 1970s, however, the industry had fallen into irreversible decline. With the closure of the last blast furnace in 1997, the former steel production site became a wasteland. But not for long, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg soon built its first university campus on the remains of this old factory, giving new life and purpose to this abandoned space.
Among the old metal structures, the university buildings, the Rockhal concert hall, regularly changing exhibitions and various cultural events are nestled comfortably. On the foundations of Luxembourg’s industrial heritage, a city of science, progress, art and culture is growing.
I think about how many abandoned factories and plants and ruined old buildings there are in my country, which with their sad appearance remind of the country’s past and are waiting for their architects to give them a chance to be part of the future.
Photos taken by Tatyana Belkina, June 2024