Sensory experience in architectural memory: transformation of industrial buildings

By focusing on the connection between memory and sensory experience within the themes of conservation, regeneration and innovation this paper addresses the transformation of industrial buildings for future development.How can the tangible and intangible cultural heritage be articulated and contribute in this transformation?The current cultural centre Nordkraft - a former power plant and an icon of the industry in the northern part of Denmark - is utilised to investigate the role of heritage in architectural regeneration with focus on authenticity and local identity.Memory is described by Marcel Proust in his novel In search of Lost Time: Here the phenomenon of involuntary memory is described as the essence of the past, which cannot be contained in the conscious recall of memories. Proust enhances that the mental images of the involuntary memory are brought out by gestures of the physical realm - sensory experiences.Sensory awareness resonates within a phenomenological tradition in areas of architectural theory: The Scandinavian theoretician Juhani Pallasmaa draws on the philosophy of the bodily by Maurice Merleau-Ponty as he inscribes memory in the experience of architecture. Pallasmaa connects memory to imagination and perception which he argues play significant roles in the way a place is experienced. With this kept in mind: How can historical memory and characteristics of identity contribute in a contemporary activation of the potential of unique buildings of the past?