The material presented in this website was collected as part of the PhD research of Dora Chatzi Rodopoulou, titled:

“Control Shift. European Industrial heritage Reuse in Review”

The research is conducted in the Heritage & Architecture group, AE+T, TUDelft in collaboration with the Urban Environment Laboratory, School of Architecture of the National Technical University of Athens under the supervision of Professor Marieke Kuipers, Associate Professor Hielkje Zijlstra (TUDelft) and Associate Professor Nikos Belavilas (NTUA).


Aim of the research

This PhD research is focusing on the European Industrial Heritage reuse. The aim of the research is fourfold.

  • First, provide a broad and transnational picture of the development and the current state of industrial heritage safeguarding through “adaptive” reuse, that will allow experience drawn from one country to inform future approaches on safeguarding via reuse on other countries.
  • Second, highlight the shifts that have been occurring into safeguarding industrial heritage through “adaptive” reuse during the last 40 years and explore possible patterns in Europe and their reasoning.
  • Third, describe the evolving role of the stakeholders involved with industrial heritage “adaptive” reuse, their achievements, shortcomings and the impact their power balance has on the safeguarding of industrial heritage.
  • Fourth, create awareness about the achievements that have been accomplished via industrial heritage “adaptive” reuse and the challenges that both derelict and reused industrial sites are facing.
    The research focuses mainly on case studies of 19th century reused industrial production sites in Britain, the Netherlands, Greece and Spain.

The researcher

Dora Chatzi Rodopoulou is an architect and a PhD researcher in the Heritage & Architecture Section of the faculty of Architecture in TUDelft and in the School of Architecture of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA).
She holds an MSc in Architectural engineering from NTUA and an MSc Hons in Preservation, Conservation and Reuse of Buildings from TUDelft. She has worked as an architect in several firms in the Netherlands and Greece. She has also worked as a researcher in the Laboratory of Urban Environment in the Faculty of Architecture NTUA, where she was involved with projects related with the recording, preservation and reuse of Greek historic industrial sites as well as with projects related with urban planning and development. She has been a fellow of the Bodosakis Foundation, the British School in Athens, the Catharine van Tussenbroek foundation as well as the Onassis foundation. Her research interests lie on reuse practices of historic buildings and especially of the European industrial heritage and the role of the stakeholders involved with such practice. Her work has been published in English, Greek, Spanish and Dutch.

Selected Publications

• Chatzi Rodopoulou, T., 2019. “The opportunities of Crisis. Bottom-up initiatives for the reuse of Industrial Heritage: The example of the Tabacalera in Madrid.” in Proceedings of the International Conference on Changing Cities IV: Spatial, Design, Landscape & Socio-economic Dimensions, Chania, Crete, Greece, June 24-29, 2019, pp. 486-497.
• Chatzi Rodopoulou, T., Floros, X., 2018. “ReIH: An online knowledge Platform for Industrial Heritage Reuse.” in Rettig, J. M. (ed) Proceedings of the XVII TICCIH Congress: Patrimonio Industrial. Entendiendo el pasado, hacienda el futuro sostenible. Santiago, Chile, September 13-14, pp. 363-366.
• Chatzi Rodopoulou, T., 2018. “Hergebruik van industrieel erfgoed in Nederland: een terugblik (van 1970 tot in de Jaren 2010)” [Industrial Heritage Reuse in review. (1970s-2010s) The case of the Netherlands] in Roetman, R. (ed) Erfgoed van Industrie en Techniek, 28, No.1 Themanummer Herbestemming Industrieel Erfgoed, p. 9-18.
• Chatzi Rodopoulou, T. 2018, “Parque tecnológico y cultural de Lavrion. La transformación de un gigante.” in Areces, M. A.(ed) Los ojos de la memoria, No 20, pp. 69-76.
• Chatzi Rodopoulou, T., Hunt, J., 2017. “Urban regeneration of former industrial cities. A cure or a curse? The case of Ancoats Conservation Area in Manchester, England”. in Couceiro da Costa et al. (eds) Architectural research addressing societal challenges, Taylor & Francis Group, pp. 11-17.
• Chatzi Rodopoulou, T., 2017. “Reloading 21st century cities with cultural energy. The transformation of gas factories into cultural hotspots in Amsterdam and Athens” in Proceedings of the International Conference on Changing Cities III: Spatial, Design, Landscape & Socio-economic Dimensions, Syros, Delos, Mykonos Islands, Greece, June 26-30, 2017, pp. 1786-1796.
• Chatzi Rodopoulou, T., 2016. “Heritage-led regeneration in the UK — Preserving historic values or masking commodification? A reflection on the case of King’s Cross, London”. in Carola Hein (ed.) International Planning History Society Proceedings, 17th IPHS Conference, History-Urbanism- Resilience, TU Delft 17-21 July 2016, V.04 pp. 75-87, TU Delft Open.
• Chatzi Rodopoulou, T., (in press) “ Shifts in the role of stakeholders in Industrial Heritage Reuse. The case of Britain.” in The 3rd International Congress on Industrial Heritage proceedings, Reuse of industrial sites: a challenge for heritage conservation, Universidade Lusíada de Lisboa: June 2016.
• Chatzi Rodopoulou, T., 2016. “Industrial Museums at Risk”. TICCIH Bulletin, 71, 1st quarter 2016, pp. 15-16.
• Dermatis, G., Belavilas, N., Chatzi Rodopoulou, T. et.al., 2010. “A twenty year Debt in History: Mining and metallurgy museum of Lavrion”, in The Greek TICCIH bulletin, period C.1, pp.106-109.
• Belavilas, N., Chatzi Rodopoulou, T. et.al., Mine & Metallurgy museum of Laureum - Technical and academic Archive centre. Architectural & museological design, 2010, www.arch.ntua.gr/envlab [accessed 3/2013]