Isle of Nante: urban redevelopment based on industrial heritage reuse

Abstract

This article stems from a master’s research project on the same subject, using the island of Nantes as the main case study. The following text presents this project and its strategies for resignifying a space which, when the industrial activities that took place there came to an end, seemed doomed. The project echoes other major public initiatives that, in association with the real estate market, that use former port areas to expand the urban fabric, e.g., the Porto Antico in Genoa, the Operación Puerto Madero in Buenos Aires and the Moll de la Fusta in Barcelona. However, those responsible for the French island project understood that it was essential to occupy the territory gradually, revising the project periodically to meet the new needs of the settling population.