The museum method of reusing Shanghai waterfront industrial heritage: continuation and reconstruction of urban memory

Abstract In the context of transforming traditional labour-intensive industries into the service economy in China, the reuse of industrial heritage as museums has become a trend, for example, along Shanghai waterfronts, gradually fuelling the continuation of urban memory, reshaping urban cultural identity and promoting the development of the waterfront economy. Additionally, the connotation of a museum is continually being expanded from an institution to a method, and the major function is gradually shifting from collection to display. Previous studies on Shanghai waterfront industrial heritage have mostly referred to cultural factors, but these factors are still mainly included in macroscale large waterfront projects or microscale single practical project analyses. Mesoscale typology discussions between the two are rare. Therefore, this paper examines eleven industrial heritage sites that have been repurposed as museums along Shanghai waterfronts to analyse the urban memory elements of industrial heritage and summarise three classes of memory interpretation strategies: translating memory information, renovating memory carriers, and relating memory clues. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of the study cases are discussed separately, and the following corresponding recommendations are made: 1) further enrich and balance memory interpretation strategies; 2) enhance the rationality, service, and tolerance of the “exhibition + ” mode; and 3) improve local laws and regulations related to the protection and utilisation of industrial heritage to provide references for similar reuse designs.