When a building is enabled to meet new conditions, this is known as adaptive use. This process aims to reap benefits the benefit of the exemplified energy and worth of original structure in a sustainable manner (Bullen & Love, 2011). Occurrences, where the construction or building carries a tradition encumbrance, an understanding of the level of implication, is essential preceding to any physical impact begins. Adaptive use plays a vital role in making attractive urban surroundings with the renewal of natural, built fabric, and less energy is used up during construction than that of a new building (ODASA, 2014). The most successful made tradition adaptive use projects are those that respect and preserve the heritage of a building significance and add a modern-day layer that provides value for the future. Many of the buildings built up today will be in existence for one hundred years, or more thus there is a need to develop strategies that encourage the adaptive use of buildings and continuing sustainability of the buildings. The paper explores different structures that have been put into adaptive reuse.
1. Discuss why MOMA-PS1 is an example of adaptive use. Do you think because of the attachment people feel for the school is the reason why the building was saved? Could there be any other reasons, if so, what?
MoMA-PS1 is an example of adaptive use as it was established in 1971 by Heiss, an organization that had a mission of turning old and underutilized buildings in New York into spaces where exhibitions could take place and studios for artists. It is both a geographic and esthetical departure. It is housed in a castle-like brick Resurgence and recovery structure dating back to 1893 (New York Magazine, 2011). In the beginning, the art center was a school called the First Ward School, and it had thirty rooms and an attendance of about one thousand students. The surrounding neighborhood then changed and became more affiliated with production and then the school's name was changed to PS1. Later the school started registering low attendance, and it was closed and turned into a warehouse. In 1971 the facilities of the building were then increased to include an extensive outdoor gallery an entryway and a project space (New York Magazine, 2011).
There was no attachment to the school by the people in the surrounding attributed to the low attendance of students. The building was saved because Heiss realized that New York was attracting contemporary artists and the traditional museums did not offer adequate exhibition for that kind of art. She, therefore, decided to form alternative organizations for art (Wong, 2016). MoMA-PS1 has a distinctive approach to art as it has a unique approach to exhibitions and also it has a direct envelopment with artists with an academic background. The broiler room houses abstract pieces and an old broiler. MoMA PS1 was then affiliated with Museum of Modern Art in 2000, and this was aimed at promoting enjoyment, study, gratitude, and insight of contemporary art to an audience that keeps growing each day. MoMA now stages collaborative exhibitions and also hosts Warm Up which is a widely held summer's Saturday-afternoon party. The center also hosts a Young Architects Program which is a contest held annually that sees the winning entry changed from idea to construction. MoMA PS1's summer Warm Up music series then uses the development as one of its architectural settings.
2. Do you have an example of adaptive reuse in your neighborhood? If so, what was the building used for before? What is it now?
In my hometown, Brooklyn, the adaptive reuse of houses has been embraced. One of such buildings is the Brooklyn Army Terminal designed by Cass Gilbert one of the best architects in the US. The building was built by the federal government as a base to avail supplies to the military during the Second World War. It served as the headquarters and control center for millions of troops. The building is enormous and is made of steel-reinforced concrete walls with no girders (Brooklyn Army Terminal, 2018). It also has an elevator with ninety-six push buttons and bridges on the third floor that link the two main building a large building and a small building. The terminal was closed in 1964 and been was acquired by the New York City for reuse to be used as a center for manufacturing and also an industrial park. The building still has a lot of unused space and tenants are selected on the number of the jobs they provide and how well paying the jobs are.
Conclusion
In conclusion, adaptively using a building is one of the most sustainable investments a country can engage in as this has several cultural and economic advantages to a nation. Adaptive reuse gives a new life to a site and explores the options that lie between demolishing the building or turning it into a museum. The many inheritance places will remain to subsidize to the charisma and liveliness of our metropolises and towns by being well used, preserved and supplemented by modern-day architecture that will form the legacy for the future (ODASA, 2014). Adaptive reuse meaningfully reduces whole life costs of buildings, depletion and lead to the better-quality building functionality.
References
Brooklyn Army Terminal. (2018). History. Retrieved from https://www.bklynarmyterminal.com/building-information/history/
Bullen, P., & Love, P (2011). Factors influencing the adaptive re-use of buildings. Journal of Engineering, Design, and Technology, 9(1), 32-46.
New York Magazine. (2011). MoMA PS1. Retrieved from http://nymag.com/listings/attraction/ps-1-contemporary-art-center/
ODASA (2014). Adaptive re-use. Design guidance note. Adelaide, SA: ODASA.
Wong, L, (2016). Adaptive reuse: Extending the lives of buildings. Basel: Birkhäuser.
