ISEA - Zollverein Essen

So I arrived at ISEA this weekend. The first location is Essen. Essen is one of those many cities in the Ruhr Area that I have passed by many times on the highway, but where I have never stopped to see the town. This is the first time that I am not just passing by, but that I will actually be seeing something of the town.

Well, seeing something of the town is not exactly the right way to put it. ISEA takes place at the Zollverein, which is located in the north-east of Essen, close to Gelsenkirchen. The Zollverein is where I will spend all my time in Essen.

The Zollverein is a small city in itself. It is a former industrial coal mining complex. Since about ten years the site is officially recognized as industrial heritage. It is on the UNESCO list of world heritage sites. And it surely deserves that, the spot is truely amazing.

The whole construction of the industrial complex is still there. Long railroad tracks on the ground and long steal bridges up in the air are both connecting different buildings of the complex. Next to the walking paths are huge steal cables, which were once used to transport things.

These days the place is like an urban jungle, made out of steal, rusty after all those years, where you can go for a walk on a sunday afternoon. It also seems the perfect location to have an international symposium about electronic arts.