The suikerunie factory towards a creative future

The shift in society from industrial towards a society where innovation, knowledge and creativity are the pillars of the economy has among others led to abandoned industrial sites. Government organisations are searching for ways to attract creative workers to their area. In the mean time conventional financial fundings of big redevelopments are no longer realistic, because of the building crisis. This thesis is aiming to develop a strategy for former industrial areas to redevelop, with the help of local (creative) entrepreneurs with limited big investments. We apply this strategy with a design on a former sugar factory in the city of Groningen. This former sugar factory is a 125-hectare big site, with a hardened factory site and meadows in the periphery of the city. The municipality bought the area in 2010 and is now wondering what to do with this plot of opportunities within their borders. The council itself has no direct building need, or the resources to invest largely in the area; on the other hand it is aiming to become a ‘city of talent’. The research question is: How to create a spatial strategy for a creative-based urban development, with limited financial resources on a former industrial site, in the case of the sugar factory in the city of Groningen?