The Promise of Inhospitable Lands

The ‘’Stara Cinkarna’’ (Old Zinc Smelting Plant) site in Celje is marked by a history of industrial production that has influenced the economic, cultural, natural and health conditions of the city and its surroundings. The metallurgical and chemical industry activities that took place on the site for 120 years still have a major impact on the condition and use of the area today, as the soil is heavily contaminated with heavy metals and, in places, mineral oils. Over the last thirty years, the city has been trying to find a solution to prevent the spread of pollution, to reduce its extent or impact, and to manage the pollution. The pollution, the past activities and the associated negative impacts have excluded the site from the mental and actual space of the city, even though it is located in the very centre with excellent connections to the transport network. The site is a place of collective memory and a monument to the development of the city, but the burden of pollution has turned it into an alienated and undesirable place.

Celje wants to reverse the fortunes of a city with some of the worst air quality in the country and a city that is losing citizens to relocation, so targeted development of strategic locations is key. One of these is the ‘’Stara Cinkarna’’ site, which on the surface has exceptional advantages: proximity to the city centre, multi-modal connectivity, regional accessibility, good insolation, large surface area. The challenge of developing the site lies not only in the figurative sense of approaching the burden of history, but also in the literal sense of allowing development on contaminated land that only conditionally can be encroached upon or removed. The challenge is to encourage sustainable development of the site that will at the same time prevent further negative impacts of contamination on the immediate and wider surroundings, and to design development that sees the openness and connectedness of the site, rooted in its history, as an essential asset. The burden of space must therefore become its strength.