Adaptive Reuse: The Latest Architecture and News

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As the city continues to evolve and transform, dead edges in the cityscape begin to emerge, subsequently reducing the level of activity in our built environment. These 'dead edges' refer to the areas that lack active engagement, they remain empty and deprived of people, since they no longer present themselves as useful or appealing. As the Covid-19 pandemic draws to an ultimate close, the first issue we may face post-pandemic is to revive our urban environment. A kiss of life into a tired and outdated cityscape...

The focal element in creating an active and healthy urban environment is by increasing vitality through placemaking. Creating diverse and interesting places to reside, thrive, and work. Here are five regenerative strategies that animate the cityscape and ultimately produce resilient, attractive, and flexible environments.

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In a new exhibition at AEDES Architecture Forum in Berlin, Norwegian architecture firm Mad arkitekter showcases four examples of sustainable architecture, stressing the importance of collaboration and cross-disciplinary for achieving climate goals. On view through until March 10, Mad About Dugnad – Work Together, Build Better echoes the Norwegian tradition of "dugnad", which refers to community solidarity towards achieving a common goal, a key concept in creating solutions for a sustainable future.

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This article was originally published on Common Edge.

California, as with most American states, has a housing crisis. Unlike the rest of the country, it is actually working to ameliorate the situation, with private and public initiatives that critics can’t help but label inadequate. The Bay Area made accessory dwelling units legal by changing zoning laws, but that has hardly made a dent. Some cities are now pushing for additional upzoning to give developers more room to bring new buildings to market at lower rents. There are all sorts of studies, university sponsored or underwritten by the industry, that recommend more-or-less radical fixes for a seemingly unfixable problem. Environmentalists are naturally cast as villains because they don’t condone greenfield developments. And Californians are tough on their elected officials, as the current governor learned last year. 

Over the past year, established practices have continued to champion the transformation of existing structures, with adaptive reuse and renovations increasingly becoming a defining aspect of contemporary architecture  From the renovation of landmark structures to the adaptive reuse of obsolete facilities, the idea of giving new life to existing buildings has been embraced as the premise for a more sustainable practice, but also as a means of reinforcing the urban and cultural identity of cities. Discover 8 designs and recently completed projects that showcase a new common practice of reusing existing building stock.

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It's not uncommon to see housing complexes integrate commercial spaces at the ground level, but the challenge of mediating between the private and public realm on a smaller scale, especially with the rise of the home office, has forced architects to explore all aspects of the structure, from the topography it sits on, to the direction of light and wind, to the design and organization the domestic space. This interior focus explores different design solutions that show how architects and interior designers transformed their projects from a living space into a mixed-use typology, taking into account privacy, flexibility, functionality, and predefined spatial requirements.

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Videos

Adaptive Reuse is an important aspect of managing a sustainable existence. Buildings contain massive amounts of embodied energy and the more we can adapt and repurpose them, the better. Buildings are also repositories of collective memories and histories. As we modify them, these layer in new and interesting ways. This video explores the topic through the case study of ‘The Plant,’ a food incubator in Chicago housed within a former pork processing facility. The building’s location and existing infrastructure made it a perfect candidate for its new purpose. John Edel, the founder of the Plant, has also made every effort to showcase the building’s history and to honor its heritage throughout the process of adaptation.

MVRDV has recently completed the Idea Factory, transforming a disused factory into a creative hub with an important community-oriented focus. Located in Shenzhen's urban village of Nantou, the adaptive reuse project refurbishes the existing structure to accommodate offices while adding a new layer of public space. The latter takes the form of a rooftop bamboo landscape packed with activities and amenities that provides a new leisure space for the historically disadvantaged neighbourhood.

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The first phase of the POST Houston redevelopment project is nearing completion, and the finished areas are now open to the public. Through adaptive reuse and precise interventions, Jason Long and OMA New York have transformed the historic Post Office mail sorting warehouse into a new public destination and cultural venue for Houston, featuring a diverse collection of programs meant to evolve and adapt to the needs of the city.

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Responsible use and consumption of natural resources and the impacts of the building industry have been ongoing concerns in the field of architecture and urban planning. In the past, concepts such as clean slates, mass demolitions, and building brand new structures were widely accepted and encouraged. Nowadays, a transformation seems to be taking place, calling for new approaches such as recycling, adaptive reuse, and renovations, taking advantage of what is already there. This article explores a selection of projects and provides a glimpse into interventions by renowned architects in pre-existing buildings.

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MVRDV revealed plans for adaptive reuse of Berliner Union Film Ateliers (BUFA), receiving planning approval to redevelop the first two buildings. The project expands the scope of the site to address a broader user base, including all kinds of creative industries, as well as organisations and individuals involved in activism and social justice. Building on the site's heritage and spatial diversity, MVRDV proposes a series of sustainable transformations of the existing structures, reaffirming the adaptive reuse ethos.

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Studio Gang has revealed 63rd House, its design for Blue Tin Production's new manufacturing studio in the heart of Chicago’s southwest side. The new headquarters, which is an adaptive reuse project of Chicago's two-story brick post office that was built in 1920, will feature a mix of meeting and artist spaces around a central community room, "centralizing workers’ well-being, deepening connections with neighborhood residents and partners, and building long-term economic mobility and racial equity across the city".

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SHoP Architects and JDS Development Group's The Brooklyn Tower at 9 DeKalb Avenue has reached its final height. The monumental tower stands at 1,066 ft. formed by interlocking hexagons that create a dramatic facade of reflective bronze and black panels, providing residents with panoramic views of the city, river, and harbor. The tower is expected to launch residence sales in early 2022, and open for occupancy late 2022.

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