CENTRINNO:
Industrial Heritage as an Engine for Innovation and Urban Transformation

This project works in pilots covering cultural realities across nine European cities with the Copenhagen pilot being centered in the Northwest industrial area. CENTRINNO aims at developing strategies and methodologies for regenerating historical sites and boosting an innovative urban economy.

The Challenge: Decay of industrial heritage in European cities

Globalization and increased urbanization has had a major impact on European cities’ former industrial areas. The neighbourhoods are being gentrified an standardardised in ways that overlook the value of social diversity and creative urban environments, leading many sites to fall into decay. 

The Copenhagen pilot is focused on the Northwest area, a former industrial area that has long been known as a diverse, working class neighbourhood. However, rising prices and the deterioration of the industrial heritage has resulted in the disappearance of many low-income groups and smaller craft- and production-based businesses, with subsequent decrease in manufacturing jobs and public life.

CENTRINNO aims to tackle these challenges by looking at how cultural and industrial heritage can transform these sites in order to showcase their potential as cultural landscapes that fosters socio-economic and sustainable identities.

The Approach: Using design methods as a catalyst for urban change

In collaboration with 26 consortium partners, the DDC contributes to the CENTRINNO mission by rethinking the future development of industrial areas. We develop design-driven approaches, strategies, business models and tools that enable clear ways to use industrial heritage as an engine for generating value on a local level.

Furthermore, DDC facilitates co-creation workshops that test tools for exploring the importance of heritage and disseminates the knowledge outcomes from the processes, making them readily available for future city development projects.

In close cooperation with the Copenhagen Municipality, DDC contributes to the pilot in Northwest through initiatives that engage a broad range of stakeholders and the local community. Together, we explore how we through citizen and actor involvement can support and strengthen the area’s creative entrepreneurship, small artisan production, and cultural identity.