People

Former industrial sites are clearly present in today’s architectural culture; well-located factories offer inspiring scenery for urban revitalization. Still, industrial relics form a fragile kind of heritage. Many industries have settled in locations which fall outside of the scope of contemporary redevelopment schemes. Buildings were designed for temporary use. Environmental and economic stakes dictate priorities other than conservation. As a visiting fellow at MACCH in the period 15 February - 31 July, 2016, Marijn van de Weijer explored these issues in the former Dutch mining region:
The former Eastern Mining Region is a case where diverse stakes have overarched the interest in industrial heritage conservation, from the closing of the mines in 1967 and onward. Working with Professor Ernst Homburg, I was able to trace through the archives, the impressive planning machinery implemented to transform the former ‘black’ mining region to ‘green Park City’. What struck me (especially because I work in Belgium, where this is only more recently becoming an issue), was the predominant preoccupation with the negative effects of suburbanization, which would have to be prevented. The former mining were seen to provide opportunities to create green, urban environments, preventing mechanisms of sprawl in the idyllic landscape.

I chose to focus on two former mines, where industrial buildings were kept for an extended time (most mining sites were demolished entirely and immediately), and where the potential of partial conservation repeatedly occurs in the planning discourse. While in Maastricht, I could trace important actors in the historic planning process, which I have invited for interviews. Currently, I am preparing and analyzing my material for publication.

Besides this research, I contributed to two project proposals in which the Universities of Hasselt and Maastricht – with some luck – will continue to cooperate. One of these is a European H2020 project on cultural institutions in (former) mining regions. This project would allow us to jointly build further on the knowledge I gathered during this short fellowship. I am very thankful to Maastricht University, to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, to MACCH, and to all the people who have advised me or were willing to discuss my research topics with me. I enjoyed my time in Maastricht, and I hope that the established connections between our faculties will be developed further.

Paul P. Stewens is a guest researcher at the Faculty of Law's Department of Criminal Law and Criminology (until 4th of July 2022) , working with MACCH affiliated researcher Donna Yates among others. His work focuses on the illicit trade in fossils and its regulation under public international law to counteract harmful extractive practices in palaeontology (such as parachute science) and to address the widespread phenomenon of colonial fossil looting. He is an undergraduate student of international relations at Technische Universität Dresden and an incoming student of International Law at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. If you are interested in his research or would like to collaborate with Paul, please reach out to paul.stewens[at]maastrichtuniversity[dot]nl.

From 2018, FASoS hosted Anna Camacho, research master student from the University of Nijmegen as research intern.