Application of the Principles and Considerations of Urban Brownfields Redevelopment: An Abandoned Industrial Zone in Hakimiyeh Neighborhood of Tehran

A B S T R A C T
The proximity of brownfields to the city’s urban fabric, predominantly residential areas, due to urban development, is a severe threat and, at the same time, a vital opportunity to reduce or improve living qualities, such as environmental vitality, dynamism, and security. Despite recent efforts concerning the brownfields’ revitalization, the principles and considerations in their redevelopment process have been neglected. Therefore, the present study seeks to apply the principles and considerations in the redevelopment framework of urban brownfields. The research approach is qualitative, and the method adopted at the theoretical level is meta-synthesis. Accordingly, the principles and considerations were first extracted and compiled from the literature, then scrutinized and applied at the empirical level through the case study method. The principles of “understanding the importance and narrative of the place,” “determining the causes of site obsolescence,” “cleaning up or controlling pollution,” “adapting the secondary use to the site conditions and surrounding context,” “flexibility of the reuse,” “preservation, display and use of identified and valuable elements”, and “preservation and improvement of landscape” with their specific considerations have been applied in the abandoned industrial zone belonging to the Naab Vegetable Oil Factory, located in the Hakimieh neighborhood of Tehran. Fulfilling and implementing these seven principles under the particular conditions of each site is an important step and a fundamental approach in responding to the challenge of the redevelopment of urban brownfields and, subsequently, their planning and design phases
Extended Abstract
Introduction
During the last few decades, several industrial sites have been idled or abandoned through the economy’s restructuring. These sites, which are so-called brownfields or industrial heritage because of having technical and architectural features and containing tangible or intangible values, need to be transformed from industrial centers into cultural ones to provide new functions. The proximity of brownfields to the city’s urban fabric, predominantly residential areas, due to urban development, is a severe threat and, at the same time, a vital opportunity to reduce or improve living qualities, such as environmental vitality, dynamism, and security. Despite recent efforts concerning the brownfields’ revitalization, the principles and considerations in their redevelopment process have been neglected. Therefore, the present study seeks to apply the principles and considerations in the redevelopment framework of urban brownfields.
 
Methodology
The research approach is qualitative, and the method adopted at the theoretical level is meta-synthesis. Accordingly, the principles and considerations were first extracted and compiled from the literature, then scrutinized and applied at the empirical level through the case study method, including tools such as field surveys and observations, review of the available documents, and obtaining the opinions of the residents and the former factory officials as the sources of data collection. The case study focuses on the abandoned industrial zone belonging to the Naab Vegetable Oil Factory, located in the Hakimieh neighborhood of Tehran. Its activities, with a history of more than 50 years, have been stopped since 2012 because of the residents’ dissatisfaction due to the unpleasant smell, as well as numerous warnings from the organizations, including the Municipality and the Department of Environment. After the closure, the factory’s space has been rented to more than 70 small-scale industrial workshops since 2016. So, the site has been abandoned for nearly a decade and became a space for establishing small-scale industrial workshops, which are incompatible with the residential context and have led to a decline in the quality of life in the neighborhood, a decrease in its vitality, visual disturbances and other problems such as insecurity.
 
Results and discussion
The principles of “understanding the importance and narrative of the place,” “determining the causes of site obsolescence,” “cleaning up or controlling pollution,” “adapting the secondary use to the site conditions and surrounding context,” “flexibility of the reuse,” “preservation, display and use of identified and valuable elements”, and “preservation and improvement of landscape” with their specific considerations have been applied in the Naab Vegetable Oil Factory. The cause of deterioration of the site is environmental, and due to the mentioned unprincipled interventions, it is identified physically and visually. However, because the factory has specialized purification systems, its land is not subject to pollution and possible effects. The socio-cultural, functional, and physical analyses by exploring the neighborhood’s historical core, the past and current areas and land-uses, and the typology of the designed buildings with identity and value of industrial architecture have also been addressed. Determining the secondary use based on the needs assessment of the residents within the framework of the zoning proposed in the development documents, as well as recognizing and using the physical patterns of the buildings, are other significant considerations regarding the redevelopment of the site. Besides, identifying the qualities of the landscape, the skyline, and the redesigned facades of the factory, as a symbol of industrial architecture in the neighborhood, as well as its view to the surrounding areas, including the Alborz Mountains, old trees and gardens as natural elements, and Eshraq Cultural Center, are among other important considerations.
 
Conclusion
Following the research’s purpose and its approach, by reviewing the theoretical foundations and subsequently exploring the facts in practice, the seven principles of “understanding the importance and narrative of the place,” “determining the causes of site obsolescence,” “cleaning up or controlling pollution,” “adapting the secondary use to the site conditions and surrounding context,” “flexibility of the reuse,” “preservation, display and use of identified and valuable elements”, and “preservation and improvement of landscape” with their specific considerations were explained and applied regarding the redevelopment of urban brownfields and especially the abandoned industrial zone of the Naab Vegetable Oil Factory. Fulfilling and implementing these seven principles under the particular conditions of each site is an important step and a fundamental approach in responding to the challenge of the redevelopment of urban brownfields and, subsequently, their planning and design phases.