Urban regeneration in the post industrial town

The publication is organized in two different parts: the first one collects some essays from the professors as a reflection on the themes of the contemporary town and the architectural project, while the second one collects the five projects designed during the XIV International Design Seminar “Urban Culture and Landscape Renewal”, together with a general essay of comparison between the projects. Łódź hosted the XIV edition of the International Design Seminar “Urban Culture and Landscape Renewal”, between 2008 August, 22nd and September 8th. The theme of this international workshop have been the regeneration of urban post industrial sites, as a new challenge for renewed landscapes. The history and the contemporary condition of Łódź witness the importance of focusing such an issue, taking into consideration the development of our territories and of our towns, the social and economical changes, the needs for health and quality of life. The project’s area is close to the city centre of Łódź, but partially dismissed and under developed: the project represents the first step for the revitalization of that important part of the city, as key example for a strategy to apply in other urban blocks. Five groups developed five different project on the same site: a collective effort made by around forty students coordinated by experienced tutors, with the important contribution of professors from six different universities and visiting professors who held lectures and public revision of the projects. Designing in Łódź represent the opportunity for a general focus on the town during the post industrial age, as most of the same problems are shared with many other towns and territories. Global themes are mixed with local features and specific solutions. Sharing different cultures and different architectural approaches was the way of improving knowledge: the five projects reveal an original strategy to deal with the contemporary post industrial settlements. The cooperation between the University of Pavia, the Politecnika Łódźka, the Tongji University of Shanghai and the other important partners takes great effort from this initiative, as starting point for always stronger relationships