Cultural
Inujima Art Project
Project Name:
Inujima Art ProjectLocation:
Inujima Island, JapanCompletion Date:
2008Original Use(s):
copper refineryNew Use(s):
art museumProject Description:
History
Opened in 1909 using local funding, the copper refinery was one of many that were built on islands in the Seto Island Sea. The island locations were chosen both for their resources as well as a way to minimize pollution and provide convenient transport of the raw materials. Due to a massive plunge in the value of copper, the refinery shut down after only 10 years of operation. Because of its groundbreaking role in Japan’s industrial development, the Inujima refinery site was designated in 2007 as “Story 30″ in the “33 Heritage Constellations of Industrial Modernization” by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.[1]
(Re)Developer
Soichiro Fukutake, primary project benefactor, is President of Benesse Corporation. Ranked among the top ten richest people in Japan, Fukutake took over the company his father founded which focuses on distance learning and test preparation for schools and universities. He has transformed Naoshima into an art mecca and serves as director of the Chichu Art Museum.[2]
Hiroshi Sambuichi founded Sambuichi Architects in Hiroshima. Sambuichi is well known and recognized for his sustainable designs and focus.[3]
Outcome
The Inujima Art Project was undertaken as a way to revitalize the area while at the same time raise awareness about the issues surrounding industrialization. The site was slated for use as a medical waste dump, but thanks to Fukutake’s efforts was saved. While much of the actual gallery space is new construction, it was been made using recycled elements from the site. Much of the old refinery, smokestacks, and grounds have been preserved as historic ruins to encapsulate the gallery.
The museum was designed to use solar, geothermal, and other natural energies as a way to minimize its burden on the environment. Sambuichi designed the gallery to use the natural cooling effects of the earth for the buried portion of the building and the existing smokestacks to pull fresh air in from the bottom and release old air out through the top.[4]
Electricity is only necessary to power emergency lighting; all other lighting, heating, and cooling needs are met through passive measures.[5] Lighting for the Earth Gallery (steel-encased corridor embedded in the ground) is provided by a single skylight that is extended by nine mirrors strategically located throughout. The sun-lit Chimney Hall at the base of the smokestack filters light into the vaulted Energy Hall.[6] Waste water at the gallery is filtered on site with a plant-based water purifying system and then used to irrigate orange and olive trees.[7]
Designed to harmonize with the earth’s natural cycles, Seirensho is just the beginning of what Fukutake has in store for Inujima; among other things, plans are afoot to restore and transform several of the island’s old houses into art installations in collaboration with architect Kazuyo Sejima. But even as the scope of Fukutake’s interventions expands, the visionary art patron remains true to his basic mantra: “utilize existing elements and create elements that do not exist.”[8]
Due to the island’s size (.21 square miles) and the desire to preserve the site, only 50 visitors are allowed a day.[9]
[1]Benesse Art Site Naoshima
[2]Wallpaper* Magazine
[3]Benesse Art Site Naoshima
[4]Wallpaper* Magazine
[5]Inhabitat
[6]Wallpaper* Magazine
[7]Inhabitat
[8]Wallpaper* Magazine
[9]Inhabitat
Images courtesy of Inhabitat.
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Arts Center
Project Name:
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Arts CenterLocation:
Governors Island, New York City, New York, USACompletion Date:
2010Original Use(s):
munition storage; military officesNew Use(s):
art studioProject Description:
History
The U.S. Army originally constructed Building 110 on Governors Island in 1870 to hold munitions at this strategic location off the southern end of Manhattan Island. During it’s time as an Army facility, Building 110 was eventually converted to house Army offices. The consolidation of the U.S. Military in 1966 saw the transfer of the base and Building 110 to the U.S. Coast Guard, who continued to use the building for office space. The base was shut down in 1995 and with it Building 110 was vacated.[1]
(Re)Developer
The Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC) was created in 2003 when the United States sold Governors Island and its structures to the people of New York.[2] GIPEC is responsible for the planning, redevelopment, and operations of Governors Island which includes establishing the island as a location with great public open space, educational opportunities, and not-for-profit and commercial facilities.[3]
Founded in 1973, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) is the nonprofit dedicated to presenting, advocating, and providing for artists and the arts throughout Manhattan.[4]
Outcome
As part of its mission to open Governors Island to the public, GIPEC has partnered LMCC to convert Building 110 into an arts center. Opened in March 2010, 14,000 square feet of the building has been repurposed into large, divided studio spaces. LMCC manages the arts program which provides four-month residencies in the space. Artists take the morning ferry from Manhattan to Governors Island and take the last ferry (5pm) back home to the city. Building 110 is situated at the docks making it easily accessible to the artists as well as the visiting general public.
The arts center provides space to artists who have struggled to find adequate and cheap locations. The artists find Building 110 and its location perfect as they are able to get away from the busy city to concentrate on their work. The general public can observe their artwork as well as view them as they work during three weekends over the course of the summer. The adaptation of the building has also fostered a community for the artists who work the same “shifts” and share the large but partitioned space.[5] The building will continue to evolve as new groups of artists cycle through with changing residencies, adding a new outlook and sense of opportunity to Building 110.
[1]Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation
[2]Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation
[3]Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation
[4]Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC)
[5]The New York Times
Images courtesy of Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.
Children’s Museum of Phoenix
Project Name:
Children’s Museum of PhoenixLocation:
Phoenix, Arizona, USACompletion Date:
June 2008Original Use(s):
elementary schoolNew Use(s):
museumProject Description:
History
Designed by Los Angeles architect Norman Marsh, the Monroe School opened to elementary grade students in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1913. Due to Phoenix’s urban sprawl, the population in downtown decreased significantly as residents moved further and further away from the center. With a shrinking downtown resident base to serve, the School District closed the building in 1972. It was later remodeled by the Department of Defense and used as a recruiting center.[1]
(Re)Developer
The Children’s Museum of Phoenix, originally founded in 1998 as the Phoenix Family Museum, is dedicated to the concept that learning is a joy. With a mission to engage the minds, muscles and imaginations of children and the grown-ups who care about them, the group provided a traveling exhibit program (Museum Without Walls) for its first ten years while they created a permanent home at the Monroe School.[2]
Outcome
In support of the museum’s intentions and role within the community, Phoenix residents approved $10.5 million in bond funds in 2001 to purchase and renovate the Monroe School into the new Children’s Museum of Phoenix. In addition to the bond funds, the Museum also launched the Childhood Dreams Built By You capital campaign to raise an additional $12.3 million in funding. The adaptive reuse project started in 2006 and was completed with doors opening in June 2008.[3]
The Monroe School is now alive and active with children once again. Once a venue for structured learning, the Children’s Museum of Phoenix provides a more free-form and interactive method for kids and their parents to learn and play. While the original school may have closed due to a shrinking downtown population, the Museum has been successful in drawing in people from all over the Phoenix area as well as the new residential base that has resurfaced in downtown.
[1]Children’s Museum of Phoenix
[2]Children’s Museum of Phoenix
[3]Children’s Museum of Phoenix
Images courtesy of Children’s Museum of Phoenix.
Baptist Temple
Project Name:
Baptist TempleLocation:
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USACompletion Date:
March 2010Original Use(s):
Baptist churchNew Use(s):
performance and event spaceProject Description:
History
Built in 1891, this Victorian Romanesque-revival church in Philadelphia was the home of Grace Baptist Church. The church was founded along with Temple University a few years earlier by Massachusetts preacher Russell H. Conwell. It remained as a church until the mid-1970s when the congregation moved out to a larger building.[1] It was purchased by Temple University in 1974. The building was later certified by the Philadelphia Historical Commission in 1984, which was then followed by the American Institute of Architects designating it as a Landmark Building in 2003.[2]
(Re)Developer
Founded in 1884 as Temple College, Temple University has eight campuses which include locations in Rome and Tokyo. “Temple University is a national center of excellence in teaching and research with an international presence.”
RMJM is an international architectural firm that specializes in architecture, sustainable design, urbanism, masterplanning, interior design and research and development. The firm is committed to the care and improvement of the environment and the communities in which it operates and has taken a leading role in promoting environmental best practice and the move towards sustainability. This commitment is followed through by the delivery of low energy buildings and an in-house research and development group RED (RMJM Environmental Design). This multidisciplinary team spearheads energy efficiency and a sustainable approach in the earliest stages of projects. RED operates globally and works with all of the firm’s project teams, auditing the implementation of environmental design strategies on projects at each major design stage.
Outcome
After sitting vacant for 30 years, Temple University undertook a $30 million renovation and restructuring of the old church. It is now a state-of-the-art performance center that still retains its original character. Initially the school considered tearing down the church due to its deteriorated state, but those plans were altered after the Historical Commission certified the building. After being known as a “dead space” in North Philadelphia, it is now ready to be the school’s new gateway.[3]
Lew Klein Hall, a 1,200-seat theater and the primary performance space, features a large, protruding stage, superior acoustics, vaulted ceilings and much of the building’s restored original features. The historic Chapel of the Four Chaplains is a now an event space that can hold up to 130 seats. Being located along North Broad Street, the new use for the building fits well within the school’s master plan to orient the growing campus along this corridor.[4]
[1]Philadelphia Inquirer
[2]The Baptist Temple
[3]Philadelphia Inquirer
[4]Temple University
Images courtesy of Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Temple University.
Arsenal de Metz
Project Name:
Arsenal de MetzLocation:
Metz, Lorraine, France, EUCompletion Date:
February 1989Original Use(s):
arsenalNew Use(s):
concert hall and exhibition galleryProject Description:
History
Built in 1863 during the reign of Napoleon III, this building served as a military arsenal for over a century.[1]
(Re)Developer
Ricardo Bofill, the renowned Catalan architect, was born in 1939 in Barcelona. In 1963, shortly after graduating from the Barcelona University of Arqitectura and Scholl of Geneva, Bofill formed an international team of architects, engineers, sociologists, writers, movie makers and philosophers and thus founded Taller de Arqitectura. Over the past 40 years, the studio has gathered valuable experience in the fields of urban planning, architecture, landscaping, interior, furniture and product design. Among prestigious projects undertaken by Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arqitectura are the Christian Dior headquarters in Paris, the headquarters developed for Cartier, Decaux, Axa, the Shiseido company headquarters in Tokyo, Donnelley skyscraper in Chicago, and the international airport in Barcelona, and many other.
Outcome
The restoration of the building, with its nearly 11,961 sq. yards of built surface, was directed at accommodating a rehearsal hall, a concert hall for chamber music, a restaurant, exhibition gallery, offices for administration, management and centre services and a 1,500-seat auditorium. One wing of the building, originally square with a 100′ x 166’ interior courtyard, has been sacrificed in order to open up the central courtyard to the city, forming a public square and giving a better view of the Templars chapel, which dates from the 12th century. The façade has been slightly modified by means of cladding with slabs of natural stone with metal joints which underline the rhythm of the arches. The introduction of big new windows has lightened the heavy, opaque solidity of the old military building. The main auditorium is underground, situated beneath the central square. The roof, with its wooden structure covered with anodized steel, is flat, the problems of reverberation were resolved by means of a design based on detailed studies of acoustic performance. The hall has two ramped seating areas; the smaller, with a pronounced incline, can be used to accommodate the choir when necessary. The orchestra pit is located between these two seating areas, on the lowest level of the auditorium.[2] With its completed conversion, the building is now home to Symphony Orchestra of Lorraine. This project has helped to open up the space to the public, provide a new cultural venue, and build upon its storied past.
[1]Virtual Tourist
[2]Ricardo Bofill
Images courtesy of Ricardo Bofill.
Ford Point
Project Name:
Ford PointLocation:
Richmond, California, USACompletion Date:
August 2009Original Use(s):
factoryNew Use(s):
office, performance spaceProject Description:
History
As the largest assembly plant on the West Coast, the Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant in Richmond, California, was a major stimulant to the local and region economy. Built in 1930 and designed by Albert Kahn, Ford became the city’s third largest employer. The plant was converted for wartime production in World War II. After the war, Ford restart automobile assembly, however, that ended in February 1953. The factory was closed down in 1956 due to its inability to meet increased production demands.[1]
(Re)Developer
Orton Development (ODI) specializes in rehabilitation and redevelopment of existing sites. The firm, established in 1984, has worked on numerous mixed-use projects including properties from: General Motors Corp., US Steel Realty, Lockheed Martin, Simmons Company, British Oxygen Corp., Dillard’s Retail Corp., Del Monte, Hunt-Wesson, and American Standard.
Located in Berkeley, California, Marcy Wong Donn Logan Architects has completed numerous projects throughout California.
Outcome
ODI purchased the site from the City of Richmond in 2004 for $5.4 million, who then hired Marcy Wong Donn Logan Architects to undertake the new program design. The vacant building had been placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988, but then sustained significant damage during the Loma Prieta earthquake one year later. The City of Richmond invested $20 million over 15 years after the quake and prior to the sale to ODI.[2]
Stretching a quarter-mile long and including more than 500,000 square feet of space, the adapted Ford Point (as it is now called) is a model of sustainable design. “In an exemplary preservation turn-around, the building that once manufactured exhaust-spewing internal-combustion engines now houses ‘green’ businesses and a popular entertainment venue, all of which are revitalizing the local economy.” It is home to the Crane Pavilion (40,000 sf), a public entertainment venue and the future home of the National Park Service’s Rosie the Riveter Visitor Center. The building’s largest tenant, SunPower Corporation, has installed a state of the art solar voltaic system atop the sawtooth structure of the historic facility.
“The rebirth of the Ford Assembly Building serves as an extraordinary example of how historic preservation can be a catalyst for community revitalization, economic development and sustainability,” says Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “This is a building that California can be proud of—and that architects, developers, politicians and business owners across the country should study as a model of innovative, environmentally responsible reuse.”[3]
[1]National Parks Service
[2]Architectural Record
[3]National Trust for Historic Preservation
Images courtesy of Architectural Record.
Punta della Dogana Contemporary Art Centre
Project Name:
Punta della Dogana Contemporary Art CentreLocation:
Venice, Italy, EUCompletion Date:
May 2009Original Use(s):
custom houseNew Use(s):
museumProject Description:
History
For centuries this rusticated-stone and plaster-on-brick building served as the customs house in Venice, Italy. The 17th-century building, located at the eastern tip of Dorsoduro Island and next to Longhena’s domed basilica of Santa Maria della Salute, was shut down and left vacant in the 1970s.[1]
(Re)Developer
French billionaire and art collector François Pinault won the bid to convert the building into a contemporary art museum. Pinault runs the retail company PPR and holding company Artemis S.A. Both companies own or have owned Gucci, Converse shoes, Samsonite luggage, Vail Ski Resort, and Christie’s auction house.[2] He also owns (through his foundation) Palazzo Grassi in Venice, and has one of the world’s largest collections of contemporary art (nearly 2,500 pieces).[3]
Japanese architect Tadao Ando was selected by Pinault to bring the conversion to life. Known for his creative use of natural light and for architecture that follows the natural forms of the landscape, Ando’s approach to architecture was once categorized as critical regionalism. He has focused his work in Japan, but has a number of projects in Europe as well as the United States.[4] He previously worked with Pinault to revamp Palazzo Grassi.[5]
Outcome
The adaptive reuse project took 14 months to complete and has created a lasting impression on this significant site in Venice. While the building itself is triangular and matching the shape of the island, the interior has been divided up into long rectangles for a number of different galleries. The facade was completely restored and all openings were replaced. A protective shell at the building’s base was installed to secure it against high water up to nearly 7 feet, and the brick foundation was restored/replaced. Skylights were installed while the wooden roof trusses were recovered and the roof itself fully restored. The $28 million project was opened on June 6, 2009.[6]
[1]Architectural Record
[2]Wikipedia
[3]designboom
[4]Wikipedia
[5]Architectural Record
[6]designboom
Images courtesy of Architectural Record
Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center
Project Name:
Langston Hughes Performing Arts CenterLocation:
Seattle, Washington, USACompletion Date:
1969Original Use(s):
synagogueNew Use(s):
performing arts centerProject Description:
History
Designed by B. Marcus Priteca and built in 1915, the synagogue served the Orthodox Jewish congregation Chevra Bikur Cholim.[1]
(Re)Developer
The building was originally adapted as part of the Model Cities Program which was a part of President Johnson’s Great Society and War on Poverty initiatives. Running from 1966 to 1974, the program focused on improving the coordination of existing urban programs and providing additional funds for local plans. The program’s initial goals emphasized comprehensive planning, involving not just rebuilding but also rehabilitation, social service delivery, and citizen participation.[2]
Outcome
The City of Seattle purchased the center in 1971 and since then has continued the mission of the Center while updating and renovating the building (1971, 1991, 2003, 2009).[3] The Center is dedicated to celebrating, nurturing, presenting and preserving African American performing arts and cultural legacies. “Created to provide a cultural institution in Seattle’s Central Area, LHPAC has been at the core of experimental, cutting edge, traditional, and emerging art forms for more than 30 years. It has been an essential gathering place for an African American canon of work in a neighborhood that has seen numerous demographic changes over the past three decades. The Center is committed to championing a cultural and artistic voice while building powerful connections with the diverse cultures in the community. This is accomplished through the creation of dynamic performing arts experiences for all.”[4]
[1]Wikipedia
[2]Wikipedia
[3]Wikipedia
[4]Langston Hughes African American Film Festival
Images courtesy of Joe Mabel.
The Marine Mammal Center
Project Name:
The Marine Mammal CenterLocation:
Sausalito, California, USACompletion Date:
2009Original Use(s):
anti-aircraft missile launch siteNew Use(s):
nonprofit marine mammal rescue centerProject Description:
History
This site in Sausalito, California, originally served as a Nike anti-aircraft missile launch facility. Fort Cronkhite was decommissioned in the early 1970s.[1]
(Re)Developer
The Marine Mammal Center is a nonprofit focused on the interdependence between humans and marine mammals. Established in 1975, the center rescues and humanely treats ill, injured, or orphaned marine mammals, to return healthy animals to the wild. Their scientific research helps to increase knowledge of marine mammals, their health and their environment and assure their long-term survival. The center also provides education and communication to increase appreciation of marine mammals, foster informed decision-making affecting them, and inspire action to protect the marine environment.[2]
Outcome
The original conversion of the facility occurred soon after the site was decommissioned. When the center first opened in 1975, it was using modified freight containers and small outbuildings. Thirty years later, the center had outgrown its current facilities and needed a major upgrade.
It was decided to continue utilizing the site but to follow through with a complete overhaul to solidify the center’s presence. One of the two 3,000-square-foot underground missile silos has now been converted into a research library that holds frozen organic specimens and is located underneath the research lab. The other silo is now home to state-of-the-art equipment that cleans and reuses up to 200,000 gallons of fresh and salt water at a time. That’s nearly four times what the center previously was able to handle. This is very important for the center’s dense mammal population which needs clean water. The new pens for the animals are shaded by 7,000 square feet of photovoltaic panels which also act as shade elements. These panels provide 18% of the center’s energy needs.[3]
What once was the site of military “defense” is now a modern home to protect and aid the marine mammal population.
[1]National Park Service
[2]The Marine Mammal Center
[3]eco-structure
Images courtesy of The Marine Mammal Center.
Bryant Arts Center
Project Name:
Bryant Arts CenterLocation:
Granville, Ohio, USACompletion Date:
August 2009Original Use(s):
men's gymnasiumNew Use(s):
arts centerProject Description:
History
This 1904 Neoclassical building originally served as Cleveland Hall, the men’s gymnasium, at Denison University. In 1950, a new men’s gymnasium was built at the university. Cleveland Hall then became the women’s gymnasium. The studio art department later took over the building in 1970 when the men’s and women’s athletics were joined in the Physical Education Center. During this time period, the school also used the building for a student union, with dining facilities, a social hall, and meeting rooms.[1]
(Re)Developer
Founded as one of the earliest colleges in “Northwest Territory,” Denison University was originally called Granville Literary and Theological Institution and then Granville College. Landscape architectural firm Frederick Law Olmsted Sons created the “Olmsted Plan” for the campus in 1916 which the school continues to follow.[2]
The New York City architectural firm of Beyer Blinder Belle was brought on to see the newest conversion through. The firm is known for its involvement with many other historical building adaptive reuses. It was founded with “a different approach to the design of the built environment which focuse(s) on the social integrity of communities and institutions empowering the daily lives of people; their interaction with each other on streets and in neighborhoods; their potential to take pleasure in moving through the city; and their memories and associations with the physical fabric around them.”[3]
Outcome
The Bryant Arts Center is now 45,000 square feet after an intensive adaptive reuse of the original building and additions to the north and east wings. The Center now serves as home to the studio art and art history programs within the Department of Art. The renovation has provided space for studios for ceramics, painting, printmaking, sculpture, photography and digital media, as well as fully electronic classrooms, open gallery spaces, an art history resource room, outdoor performance spaces, a common area for studio art seniors, and independent studios for faculty.[4]
The facade was retained but the original timber-frame interior has been replaced with a modern steel structure. This provided the school to have the lighting, circulation, and ventilation upgraded. A central four-story atrium was created to connect the floors and provide light through all the levels. Green construction was used on the project and it has been submitted for LEED Silver certification.[5]
[1]Denison University
[2]Denison University
[3]Beyer Blinder Belle
[4]Denison University
[5]Architectural Record
Images courtesy of Brad Feinknopf.