SikkensFoundation
Sikkens Prize
1999 IBA EMSCHER PARK — For the way in which this event accompanied the transiti- on from a former industrial area to a new type of cultural landscape on the basis of many different sorts of pro- jects. — The Internationale Bauaustellung Emscher Park, herein- after referred to as IBA Emscher Park, was a future- oriented programme of the German federated state, North Rhine-Westphalia which started in 1989. The aim of this programme was to tidy up a large part of the Ruhr area with ecological innovation and urban planning. This area had fallen into decay over the years after a period of industrial growth during the first half of the twentieth cen- tury. The IBA Emscher Park was a cooperative venture of urban and regional governments in the form of a cultural event. This event was not an exhibition in the traditional sense of the word, but involved projects in the context of a new sort of “tourism”. These projects were aimed at the economic, social, cultural, and above all, ecological res- tructuring of the Emscher zone. Many architects and vi- sual artists were involved and a great deal of attention was devoted to color. As a cultural event, IBA Emscher Park lasted ten years and during that period 110 projects were set up. Back to index
By awarding the Sikkens Prize to IBA Emscher Park, the Sikkens Foundation was responding to current move- ments. Since the 1980s, rapidly changing technologies in the field of production, transport and communication, as well as the mobility of the flow of money related to this, have led to far-reaching shifts in the existing industrial landscapes, both in Europe and in the United States. Large complexes where coal, steel, ships and cars were produced and transported in the past have been left de- solate and apparently useless since the production sys- tem came to a stop or was transferred to a cheaper loca- tion. The cities and regions which played a central role in the transition to a post-industrial society responded in di- verse ways to the possibilities offered by these former in- dustrial sites, factories and industrial estates in recent years, in a functional, tourist and recreational sense. In addition to IBA Emscher Park, other examples of this in- clude the timber port in Barcelona, the FIAT Car factories in Turin, and in our own country, the Kop van Zuid in Rot- terdam. According to the jury’s report, the Sikkens Foundation wished to express its respect for: “The wealth of ideas on which the IBA Emscher Park is based, but also for the way in which this has led to a new type of cultural lands- cape as a result of the careful strategy of form and color, where nature and art have entered into a completely new relationship with industry”. The strategy used in the IBA Emscher Park was based on the notion of “thoughtful planning” and not simply on growth and planning, as is the trend in the current care of listed buildings and the protection of nature and landscapes. This form of moder- nity, in which the industrial culture of the past is seen as a sign of progress, led to the sculptures, spatial construc- tions and light installations interpreting the landscape and contributing to the culture, rather than merely being installed with the landscape as a background. In addition to the fact that color was returned to the Ruhr area after years of smog, soot and grime, the Sikkens Foundation wished to focus attention by awarding this prize, on the new considered way in which this project dealt with histo- ry, landscape and identity. Download text as pdf
