Rules or non rules: innovative design guidelines for urban open space

The changing role of urban culture and heritage is crucial component for the re-use of abandoned land, brownfields site, left over space. Particularly for the realization of the open space network using these contemporary city residues. Architects and urban designers, involved in the land reclamation process, examine critically the site. In the process they provoke a contrast between historical uses (industrial culture and society, rigid factory discipline, self-contained industrial villages, worker’s housing, industrial manufacts) and contemporary uses (culture and society demand, flexibility in use of the space and in time’s use, new imaginary for “a site to forget”, private investment pressure for residential use). Several new typologies of uses are invented combining past and contemporary culture and heritage. These examples are selected on the capacity to contribute to the realization of the open space network at metropolitan and local level using innovative open space typologies that set against historical uses with contemporary uses. This provocative approach has produced innovative urban design guidelines. The paper would like to give to a group of best practice in innovative design guidelines (functional mix, technological solutions, qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods, management for land reclamation,…) to demonstrate the usefulness of guidelines intended as not abstract categories (quantitative standard, environmental indicator,…) but as part of the design project to consider and arrange spatial aspects. The new answer of urban design could be in the search and in the practice of a method articulated in the contents, shared, clearly communicated.