Adaptive Reuse at it’s Very Finest

https://youtu.be/rYaLx6zsneY

Check out B1M’s Essay to see how Architects are reinventing older disused structures.

In an effort to retain heritage, reduce waste and overcome the challenge of finding sites in urban areas, architects, engineers and developers are breathing new life into existing structures and the communities around them.

From historic grain silos that are now museums to congested elevated roadways that have evolved into calming green parks, these are some of the greatest examples of reinvented structures.

THE FRØSILO – DENMARK
The ongoing revival of Copenhagen’s industrial waterfront has seen a number of existing structures re-purposed to serve the city’s growing demand for apartment living.


Above: The former industrial silos on Copenhagen’s waterfront have become apartments

The most impressive of these is undoubtedly Frøsilo, the adaptation of two silos formerly used by a soybean processing plant into a single unified structure that features 84 apartments.

Balancing their desire for waterfront views with the need to minimise penetrations in the silo and preserve the integrity of its superstructure, architects and engineers hung apartments from the exterior of the silo structures.

This approach enabled the silo interiors to be remodelled as full height lobbies, creating open and naturally lit atria for residents.

SEOULLO 7017 – SOUTH KOREA
Following in the footsteps of Paris’ Promenade Plantée and New York City’s High Line, Seoullo 7017 – widely known as the Seoul Sky Garden – adapts disused transport infrastructure to deliver much needed green space within densely a developed urban area.


Above: Once highway off-ramps, Seoullo now provides the residents of Seoul with much needed green space.

With a number of elevated highways being decommissioned, city planners elected to repurpose some overpasses for pedestrian use, improving connections while providing much-needed green space.

Opening in 2017, the Sky Garden runs adjacent to Seoul Station and now consists of more than 24,000 individual trees, plants and shrubs along its kilometre route through the city.

Standing 17 metres above its surroundings, a number of bridges and staircases have been installed to link the structure with surrounding shops, hotels and neighbourhoods.

ZEITZ MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART AFRICA – SOUTH AFRICA
First constructed in 1921, the grain silo on Cape Town’s waterfront stood as the tallest building in sub-Saharan Africa for over half a century.


Above: The cathedral-like interior of the former Cape Town silo

Now, the structure’s interior has been impressively carved open, to create one of the continent’s leading contemporary art museums.

While the building’s exterior remained largely unchanged, internally some 73% of the concrete silos within the structure’s storage annexe were demolished, while much of the 58-metre elevator tower’s interior was removed.
These adaptations created space for numerous gallery spaces along with a luxury hotel, restaurant and rooftop sculpture garden.

At the museum’s core, a number of the remaining silos have been retained but carved away to create a breath-taking cathedral-like atrium, that stretches up 27 metres through the building.

Nodding to the structure’s heritage, the ovoid form of this space mirrors that of a grain of corn, that was digitally scanned at the design stage to inform the plans.

OPTIMO HEADQUARTERS – UNITED STATES
Outgrowing their original premises, bespoke hat-maker Optimo converted the City of Chicago’s historic Firehouse in 2018, consolidating all aspects of their design and production operations into a single building.


Above: This century-old firehouse in Chicago is now the factory and headquarters for a hat maker

Shunning the idea of a new build industrial facility and instead, making use of the century-old building, Optimo selected the site for its location, reaffirming their commitment to the local community.

The ground level now serves as a factory, while the first floor has been refurbished to house offices and design studios.

Despite these adaptations, many of the building’s original features have been retained. Openings in the floor where fire poles once stood are now portholes offering views into the factory, while marble from the original firehouse has been repurposed in the kitchens.

LIBRARY, MUSEUM AND COMMUNITY CENTRE – NETHERLANDS
Built inside a historic church dating back to 1884, this library, museum and community centre has become a vibrant part of the city of Vught in the Netherlands.


Above and Below: The exterior and interior transformation of a historic church in the Netherlands

Opened in mid-2018, the conversion has already garnered significant acclaim for its impressive, multifunctional use of the internal space, that remains respectful to the structure’s original design and purpose.

While much of the church itself has been preserved in its original form, modern additions, both internally and externally have added new layers to the building.

External pavilions provide new space for shops and restaurants while a new internal mezzanine floor creates unique spaces within the church for studying and community use.

Many of the library’s bookcases are fitted on tracks, allowing them to be moved aside to create an open multi-use space in the heart of the church.

FONDAZIONE PRADA – ITALY
Completed in 2015, the conversion of this disused gin distillery in Milan created an exhibition, gallery and event space for the Fondazione Prada; an institution dedicated to contemporary art and culture.


Above: The distinctive gold-leaf tower at the Fondazione Prada in Milan

Consisting of several existing buildings and three new structures, the converted distillery now provides more than 19,000 square metres of space around a central courtyard.

While appearing relatively modest from the exterior, the facility is easily identifiable by its striking four-storey tower clad in 24-carat gold leaf.

Discover how New York’s iconic Woolworth Building was reinvented in B1M Documentary

Credit: The B1M, Photos belong to originators

High-Tech Homes Go Off-Grid With Solar and Hydrogen Power

One of the buildings in the Phi Suea House complex in Chiang Mai, Thailand, which is powered by solar panels and a hydrogen fuel cell system. All images provided by Phi Suea House.

All-day energy from the sun may sound like a green fantasy, but a team of builders and engineers in Thailand believe they may have built a home energy system that does just that. The Phi Suea House, the brainchild of CNX Construction, led by telecommunications entrepreneur Sebastian-Justus Schmidt, wants to showcase a new power system, and prove that hydrogen and solar technology is feasible for residential construction projects. The housing project seeks to be a proving ground for a new off-grid power system that utilizes solar panels and hydrogen power.

Located in Chiang Mai, Thailand, the Phi Suea House project consists of four solar-powered residences, as well as a series of support buildings set on a 28,000 square meter (301,390 square foot) site. The main home and guest homes, topped with solar panels and green roofs for cooling and additional energy savings, generate power during the day, while also powering a hydrogen electrolyzer in a separate energy building on site, which splits hydrogen from water and stores the gas in a fuel cell. During the evening, or periods when the solar panels aren’t generating electricity, the fuel cell then powers the compound. According to Jan-Justus Schmidt, an engineer working on the project, the electrolyzer achieves 80 percent efficiency, and oxygen and water are the only byproducts.

Jan-Justus Schmidt on the roof of one of the buildings.

While hydrogen power has plenty of skeptics due to cost, efficiency and safety issues, Schmidt says that the fuel cell system CNX has built is safe, and actually runs more efficiently than a similar setup utilizing only batteries. The concept was inspired by remote sites used in the communications industry that utilized a similar power system. The CNX team felt this system could be adapted to the residential context, and become a model, especially for homes located in remote areas.

Schmidt says that others have built homes with similar systems, but the Phi Suea home is using a system that’s more affordable and efficient.

“All the technologies used here are existing technologies,” says Schmidt. “There’s a 15-year return on these technologies, but the savings aren’t the point. We’re trying to show that these technologies, which exist right now, work.”

The electrolyzer and hydrogen fuel cell system of the Phi Suea House.

While the buildings were completed last year, the grand opening for the site, scheduled for January 29, will be the official beginning of the testing period for the new energy system. Over the next few months, sensors installed by researchers at Nanyang Technical University in Singapore will record data on energy performance, to verify if the Phi Suea Homes are living up to their promise.

A video that explains the energy storage system of Phi Suea House.

Credit: Patrick Sisson , Curbed.com

California Proposes Mandatory Solar Panels on New Homes

Fortunately, that’s not the only change in their building regulations.

The California Energy Commission has just changed the building standards to require solar photovoltaic systems on all houses built after January 1, 2020. Here I would cue up my usual response and say “reducing demand is more important than increasing supply” but they do that too; Insulation in walls and attics is increased, window performance is improved, LED lighting is mandated and ventilation is improved. Commissioner Andrew McAllister says:

The buildings that Californians buy and live in will operate very efficiently while generating their own clean energy. They will cost less to operate, have healthy indoor air and provide a platform for ‘smart’ technologies that will propel the state even further down the road to a low emissions future.

There are the usual objections that it will increase the cost of housing (estimated to be $9,500 per house) but California houses go up by that much every month due to land prices, President Trump’s tariff on Canadian lumber caused a 7 percent increase, and you probably heard the same thing when indoor plumbing became mandatory. At least energy savings from building efficiency and solar panels pay for themselves eventually. In the FAQ they write: “Based on a 30-year mortgage, the Energy Commission estimates that the standards will add about $40 per month for the average home, but save consumers $80 per month on heating, cooling and lighting bills.

Lloyd Alter, Treehugger.com