The adaptive reuse of more and more exquisite post industrial leftovers seems to be slowly catching on outside of Europe. There now seems to be a demand not only for repurposing already built form, but landscapes as well, as exemplified by this hotel we saw on the the Toronto Standard about a month ago.
A five-star hotel in China by Atkins.
It’s too bad that the program isn’t inclusive, we all love to explore post-industrial relics, but we’re delighted to finally see a project that actually capitalizes on our man made geologies rather than restoring to antiquated reclamation practice. Sites like the one seen here are abundant across the globe and it’s easy to imagine them becoming architecture projects (see our previous Adirondack Holes series). Peabody Energy, Barrick Gold, BHP-Billiton, De Beers, Freeport-McMoRan, XStrata Plc, Codelco, Anglogold Ashanti, Rio Tinto, HudBay Minerals, are just a few of the major mining companies with future mine sites in dire need of serious repurposing projects.
Repurposing built form also seems to be on the rise, as architecture sites like Archdaily seem to feature a new gem almost daily. The two re-purposed factories we’re showing below are European prescedents, but it takes no imagination to see similar projects happening in cities across the US; Detroit and Pittsburgh immediately come to mind.
Ricardo Bofill’s head office and house in a former Cement factory.
The Steam Blower House, by Heinrich Böll BDA DWB. Photographs by Thomas Mayer.
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