NODH
Duisburg-Nord - Blast Furnace Park
Partial project Blast Furnace Park
The Piazza Metallica is the symbol of this park, a metamorphosis of the existing hard and rugged industrial structure into a public park. Iron plates that were once used to cover casting moulds in the pig-iron casting works, form today the heart of the park. From the first moments of their existence, these cast iron plates have been eroded by natural physical processes. In this new place, they will continue to rust and erode.
It was a controversy to create places and public spaces inmidst of a blast furnace plant. Today, the fear of pollution and contamination has given way to a calm acknowledgement of the old structures. During festivities up to 50.000 people gather in these places where the trees in blossoms interweave with the bizarre framework of the blast furnaces and the windheaters to a fantastic image. So, by degrees, a fresh history and a fresh understanding of the contaminated site and of the landscape art have been developing…
