Preserving history for not being lost in time

This story will be in English, because the original source is also in English.

There's a guy Kim Kafka Jensen from Danmark, and I'm subscribed to his photo albums. Recently he published photos of some kind of an enormously expensive appartments in Copenhagen build in a former factory facilities. And there a discussion started about preserving cultural heritage, about the problem of conversion of industrial building into living apartment. I republish it here, as is.

Me:
- I hope nothing bad happened to this building despite the rocket hit the roof? )))

KKJ:
- No, it is real solid shit! Old tough bunker-concrete ;-)

Me:
- And what are these buildings, really? Ordinary house?

KKJ:
- Both the houses on this pic contains very expensive owned apartments. NOT ordinary at all!

And both buildings are built over old industrial buildings/structures. The rounded UFO-like building in the background was two old silos. The apartments are placed outside the silos, giving room for two giant hallways, nicely lighted by the opaque roof.
:-)

Me:
-It's interesting to get into the basement with the Geiger )))

I don't really understand how it's possible to build living apartments, e.g., on a former cemetery, donno. I've got an example. There is a chirch nearby. And there had been a cemetery. When the construction of new block of apartments began in 1988, they cut off a part of the hill where the cemetery was located and built a house. I used to come across people's bones even.. The old one, but hey. It's not a good idea to live in that house I guess.

KKJ:
- I think there has been some translation confusion (as so often here).

I have not mentioned any cementaries or basement..
History: The round silos used to belong to a factory (Sojakagefabrikken), producing, among other things, chlor. A part of the factory exploded, maybe 20 years ago or more, breaking windowglass in a radius of 3-4 kilometres, as i remember.
People had protested about the dangerous factory for a long time, but only after the eplosion the factory was closed or moved outside the citycentre.

I did a little research. In fact both structures used to be silos belonging to 'Sojakagen' (a seed factory) http://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemini_Residence (about the two round seedsilos) and
http://www.jjw.dk/graphics/JJW_DATA/05_01_artikler/Boliger%20i%20Fr%F8esilo.pdf (drawings and photos from inside)

The square silo is now called Wennbergsiloen: http://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wennbergsiloen and photos here:
http://www.byens-netvaerk.dk/archive/Arrangementer/Wennbergsiloen%202004.pdf
 
Me:
- I  know you have not mentioned cemetery or basement, that is me who was talking about that. I mean that generally speaking it's not good to make living apartments in the place where some kind of factory was (especially when you said it exploded) - not a good energetic field to live in.
 
KKJ:
- OK, fair enough Constantin :-)

I have been living the best years of my life in old industrial buildings and factories. And i have been working, videofilming, performing, dancing, partying and much more in buildings like that. Back in the 80'es and 90'es.
In doing this, the underground artgroups i belonged to pointed to the great qualities and posssibilities in the old structures, thus making them attractive for others.

In the years that followed many towns (communes) refurbished old factories to make community-houses and such. Later speculants and contractors took over and made corporate offices and expensive flats, like the ones you see on the photo, out of them. They call it 'development' ;-)

I find the square building to be rather ghastly (but probably great from the inside), But the UFO-building to be rather great. I like the references to the old industrial harbour, the history.
 
If they hadn't done that, the harbourfront would now have been all new blocks with no spirit at all. I like 'reuse/recycling' in general; i like that a place acknowledges (it's) history. Tens of thousands of copenhageners would have worked on this factory and the big shipyard nearby; a lot of life, a lot of memories and cultural capital.

Thanks for commenting and for the 'Poltergeist'-like story . (Poltergeist, horrormovie 1982, implying similar ideas about bad energies).
:-))

Me:
- Very interesting thoughts, thanx for that bit of history. I understand what you mean. My father lived in a small village. When he entered to university, he moved to a large city. His sister moved to a larger village, and only parents stayed in that house where all children had been born. Time passed, my grandfather died, and my aunt took my grandmother (her mother) to the place where they lived, and the house in that small village where all the family was born became abandoned.

By that time all people who lived in that small village moved out, and the village literally vanished, died. Only houses stayed. Even I'd say constructions, all that remain is not suitable for living right now. And that house where they all were born was "disassembled" by some kind of "hunters for bricks" - someone needed building material, and it was a good idea for him to "reuse" brick from that house. So there's no any house at that place any more. And my father who spent his childhood over there he doesn't dare go to that village any more. He never came there after the house had been ruined... He's just afraid of seeing that mess at the place that looks completely different in his memories. He's got another home, in other place, but the house where he was born is some kind of sacred place. And there's nothing over there. And it's sad. But nothing to do. This is life. And it goes on anyway.

Photos (C) Kim Kafka Jensen