Adaptive reuse: Additions Design Balaces sensitivity to history with boldness Modern reuse, the levels of intervention.

Keun young, Park ARCH 648 Building Preservation Technology

Fall 2010Instructor: Bob Warden

Contents

1. Introduction Preservation, Restoration, Rehabiilitation, Reconstuction

2. Adaptive Reuse 3. The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and Addition.

4. Case studies 1. Octagon building on Roosevelt Island 2. Rooftop addition Falkestrasse, Vienna, Australia 3. Louvre Pyramid, Paris, France

5. Work cited

Secretary of the Interior’s standards for the treatment of historic properties

Four treatement standards:

Preservation the process of applying measures to sustain the existing form, integrity, and materials of an historic property.

Restoration: return to its original the process of accurately depicting the form, features and character of a property as it appeared at a particular period of time. To stay true to an era, features added during other periods in the structure’s history must be removed and missing features from the restoration period are reconstructed using all available evidence.

Rehabilitation: makes possible a modern use through repair, alterations or additions. the process of making possible a compatible use for a property through repair, alterations or additions to a historic structure while preserving those portions or features which convey its hostorical, cultural, or architectural valuses. This approach is generally preferred by preservationists because it preserves historic fabric from the course of the building’s history and it allows for adaptive use.

Reconstruction: when totally demolished. the process of depicting , by means of new construction, the form, features, and detailing of a non-sur viving site, landscape, building, sturucture, or object for the purpose of replicating its appearance at a specificperiodoftimeandinitshostoriclocation.

What is considered to be a historic building?

In order to qualify for designation, a building or other property must be at least 50 years old, must retain a high degreeofintegrity,andmusthavesomelevelofhistoricsignificance. For example, the building could have played an important role in local, state, or national history, or it could be an excellent example of an architectural style.

THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES AND THE SECRETARY OF INTERIOR’S STANDARDSThe National Register acknowledges their importance only in terms of their historicsignificance, which is determined by one or more of four evaluation criteria: “association with events, activities, or patterns in history, association with an important person in history, distinctive design, and potential to yield important information in either prehistory or history” (Shrimpton, 1990).

To make optimal use of an existing property, the methods are characterized in terms of the levels of intervention. ; maintenance >consolidation > stabilization > reconstruction are hierarchically applied to properties in terms of the degrees of their obsolescence.

Consequently, the adapted property is intended to obtain characteristics such as “convertibility, dismantlability, expandability,andflexibility”

For long-term use, adaptable buildings should be easily changed and reused not only as a whole but also as pieces of materials. This concept introduces environmental concerns to adaptive reuse projects.

(Adaptive) reuse

Adaptive reuse is the process of adapting old structures for purposes other than those initially intended.

Ideally, such conversions retain the architectural integrity of the building’s exterior while making compatible adaptations to the interior which accommodate the needs of the building’s adaptive use.

The charm of Adaptive reuse

Old buildings often outlive their original purposes. It might have been demolished but through reuse, it has got a new life.

The reuse of old building is green, and often financially astute.

Design for Reuse

1. Find a building to reuse. Adaptive reuse can occur at many scales from individual buildings to “Main Streets” to entire districts—all of which are examples of ecological succession with respect to whole buildings.

2. Address these issues. Contextual relationships, architectural compatibility, internal function and organization, choice of new materials and preservation of old materials, historic integrity, and compliance with the Secretary of the Interior’s guide lines if applicable. Based on interviews with architects, builders, and owners, develop your vocabulary associated with adaptive reuse, and gain insight beyond that which can be empirically derived. This may include the state of decay, any special reconstruction, problems (and solutions) encountered during the planning or construction stages, unique artifacts uncovered during dismantling, or the “human story” associated with the building’s past.

3. Carefully document the building or district using photographs and sketches.4. Execution of design developmpent.

Challenge for Reuse

A bit of old world charm is worth the price. “It costs more in terms of design and sometimes with construction totransformanexistingstructure,soitisn’taseasyasitfirstsounds,”saysMaqamiofadaptivereuse.“Butyoucan’t tear down a building and put a one-story Home Depot in Manhattan. You have to plug into the urban fabric.”

Hidden suprises.

Find documents are not easy and it sometimes lie.

The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation

The Standards for Rehabilitation provides guidelines for rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of historic properties.TheStandardsaretobeappliedtospecificrehabilitationprojectsinareasonablemanner,takingintoconsiderationeconomic and technical feasibility.

A property shall be used for its historic purpose or be placed in a new use that requires minimal change to the definingcharacteristicsofthebuildinganditssiteandenvironment.

Each property shall be recognized as a physical record of its time, place, and use. Changes that create a false sense of historical development, such as adding conjectural features or architectural elements from other buildings, shall not be undertaken.

Deteriorated historic features shall be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity of deterioration requires replacement of a distinctive feature, the new feature shall match the old in design, color, texture, and other visual qualities and, where possible, materials.

New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction shall not destroy historic materials that characterize the property. The new work shall be differentiated from the old and shall be compatible with the massing, size, scale, and architectural features to protect the historic integrity of the property and its environment.

New additions and adjacent or related new construction shall be undertaken in such a manner that if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired.

The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Addition

Becauseanewexterioradditiontoahistoricbuildingcandamageordestroysignificantmaterialsandcanchangethe building’s character, an addition should be considered only after it has been determined that the new use cannot bemetbyalteringnonsignificant,orsecondary,interiorspaces.Ifthenewusecannotbemetinthisway,thenanattached addition may be an acceptable alternative if carefully planned.

A new addition should be constructed in a manner that preserves significant materials and features and preserves the historic character.

Finally, an addition should be differentiated from the historic building so that the new work is not confused with what is genuinely part of the past.

US Department of the Interior: the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians, territorial affairs, and to insular areas of the United States.

National Park Service: the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations. The Department is administered by the United States Secretary of the Interior.

Building Additions Design Guideline

Factors affecting feasibility functional, economic, emotional, legal, aesthetic, and engineering aspects.

Types of additions - Horizontal additions. - Linked additions: Another type of horizontal addition. Tied to the existing building by means of narrower connection or link.

- Modular expansion: The use of repeatable, self-contained modules. A need for further expansion arises.

- Vertical additions -Internalexpansion:Forexample,additionsofamezzaninefloor. - Addition as enclosure: entirely enclose the existing building, so that the identity of the original building is lost within the new construction.

Building Additions Design Guideline - Site considerations

- Site size - Location: a major effect on the economics of what and how much will be built. - Orientation - Topography:Allsitesarenotflatandmaytakealotofreshapinginordertofittheaddition. - Building codes and zoning laws: for the allowable use, height, setbacks, density of development - Site utilities: electricity, gas, water, storm and sanitary sewer systems all must be examined. - Historic building sites: the historic nature and its relationship to the site must be preserved.

Building Additions Design Guideline - Aesthetic aspectsThe union must function properly and also be pleasing to the senses.

Aesthetic aspects to consider are: environment, scale, contrast, form, rhythm, addition as backdrop, recall, materials, and connections.

To make basic decisions about the aesthetic integration of the new construction with existing building: -Isitdesirableforthenewadditiontobeareproductionoftheoriginalbuildingsothatthefinalprojectappearstobesuch an integral whole that an outsider will not be able to tell where the old leaves off and the new begins? Successful reproduction relies on a thorough understanding of historical motifs and stylistic language.

-Original materials and craftsmanship are often very expensive or impossible to obtain today.

-Should the new construction complement the existing building, repeating features in an abstracted fashion?Successful abstraction resulting in a harmonious project involves creating the essence of the original building. This is often accomplished by keeping the massing of the addition similar to what already exists and using contemporary detailing that complements the visual effect of the original details.

-Should the addition become a simple background against which the original building viewed?

-Should the addition be a sympathetic contrast with the original structure so that each becomes a separate but har-monious entity?

Great sensitivity on the part of the designer is required to create an addition that complements the original and does not clash with it.

Case study 1. The Octagon on Roosevelt Island

Roosevelt Island, NY

Original Building: Architect: Alexander Jackson Davis Completion: 1841

•ListedintheNationalRegisterofHistoricPlaces•DesignedastheNewYorkCityAsylumfortheInsane•ThebuildinglaterservedformostofitshistoryastheMetropolitanHospital,housing1,400patients,butafterbe ing vacated and then sufferingtwofiresinthe1990’s,onlythe8wallsoftheOctagontowerremained.

New Addtion: Housing Architect: Bruce Becker (Becker + Becker Associates) Completed: 2006

•Restoringastructureandadding a 500-unit luxury housing; but it is also low scale and does not override the neighborhood with its presence.•Designconcept:Enlistedthebuildingtrades,historicpreservationistsandenvironmentaliststodevelopawater front apartment community that helps bring to fruition Philip Johnson’s utopian master plan for Roosevelt Island.•Theexistingstructureisbeingfullyrehabilitatedwithitsearliergrandcupolatomirrorhowitappearedintheearly 1900’s.•Eco-friendly‘greenbuilding’ Used locally produced materials to minimize energy expended in transport, and then recycled most of the construction waste. The building is free of materials containing formaldehyde and other volatile organic com pounds. And its indoor air will be tested regularly to ensure strict quality standards. •ThelargestarrayofsolarpanelsinManhattanwillhelptomakethebuilding35%moreenergyefficientthanother new buildings.

Provocation

A dramatic change

Rebuild from scratch, since only the Octagon of Ruins of the Octagon Asylum could be salvaged. RECYCLE, REHABILITATION, RESTORE & RECONSTRUCTION.

By replicating the older structure many architects feared the end result would be a lifeless copy.arguesthatthesignificanceoftheoriginalarchitectureforthecityis“linkedwithastyle...Thissortofrestorationand addition is not just a reconstruction of an old artifact, but “a way of staying with the life of a building, which can change over with years.”

The physical historic character still can readable by its shape and building materials: Recall : a design approach which attempts to remid the observer of the salient characteristics of the original building. Recall spans a range from recreating the essence of an original building to an exact dupllication of it. A designer may make the aesthetic decesion to copy either selected features or the eintirety of an existing building.

Case study 2. Rooftop Addition Falkestrasse FalkestrasseWien, 1010 Austria

Original building: Site type: urban

The original architecture is typical Viennese styling with a structure predominately of masonry bearing wall construction with what is most likely terra cotta ornament on the exterior.

New Addtion: Architect: Coop Himmelb(l)au Completed: 1988 Type: Office Client: Law firm Schuppich, Sporn, Winischhofer Building area: 400 m2

•concept:from an intuitive sketch to a descending cloud•Number of stories addition: 2

The law firm wished to extend their office upwards. Theofficeissituatedonthefirstandsecondfloorofthebuilding on the corner of Falkestrasse.

The main focus of the addition was a large open space, which would be used for meetings.Secondaryofficeswouldadjointhemainspace.The architects describe the design of the addition as a visual line of energy that cuts the roof diagonally, a reverse lightning bolt with an arc, stemming from the street intersection below. In contrast to the existing building, the addition uses steel framing, including pre-stressed members, along with reinforced concrete for structural purposes. The exterior aesthetics are similar concerning material choice, metal, and glass. Interiorfinishescontinuewiththecrispmaterials,usingfinishedconcreteastheflooringmaterialandexposing the steel skeleton that encloses the spaces.

Provocation

Extremely contrasting material to the original, yet the design derives from the city and building context.

The light weight look from the glass reduces the controversy.

The glass induces the view from the surrounding areas.

This building mentions building evolves through times.

Since the purpose ofthenewadditionisoffice,itdoesnothavetoexactlycopythepast.

Structural considerations: Vertical additions. Usually adding two stories on a rooftop is structurally not allowable. Materials choice will be limited by that; lighter framing, longer spans. It should be very careful in analyzing the entire sturcutre, both old and new.

Case study 3. Louvre PyramidParis, France

Original building: From the Louvre Palace (12th C) tothe Louvre Museum (18th C)

The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace.

During the French Revolution, the palace converted to a museum.

The museum opened on August 1793.

New Addtion: Architect: I.M.Pei Completed: 1989

•Use:services,office•functionsasthemuseum’smainentrance: Symbolizes the connection between new and old.•bringdaylightintoanundergroundlobby•Height:79ft•270,000sqft•603diamond-shapedand70triangularpanesof21millimetrethickglass•Thewateraroundtheglasspyramidsignifiesthebalanceofyinandyang(inchinease).

Part of the expansion of the Louvre museum, which made the museum the largest in the world.The pyramid forms the top of a 2-level complex of shops, reception area end exhibition space.

Why glass pyramid? I.M.Pei intended to use light weight and transparent structure of the new addition which do not damage the original majestic mood of the palace.

“Thebiggestchallengewasexecutingtheworkinanareathatwasclassifiedasahistoricsite.Technicallyitwasverydifficult,”

Provocation

Many people felt that the futuristic edificelookedquiteout of place in front of the Louvre Museum with its classicalarchitecture.

Others lauded the juxtaposition of contrasting architectural styles as a successful merger of the old and the new, the classical and the ultra-modern.

There are lots of Museum in this world, but there are no Museum that breath with each era like the Louvre Mu-seum.

Contrast: A designer can sometimes highlight an original buidling by choosing not to copy motifs but to tastefully contrast them. Contrasting exterior materials used for the new addition, complement the existing historical style of the original buildings by not competeing with it.

Preserving the past, Modernizing a building

Thoughts

A lot of architects back off from the preservation movement’s three r’s — Restoration, Renovation, and Reuse.Particularly restoration. They look on it as too much of a craft, without enough creative design input. They fear becoming typecast as mere technicians conserving past artworks, instead of artists building on tradition.

You are not really just restoring. You are putting it back so that the restored building will say something the original doesn’t say. After all, you are restoring in a different time and in a different way that addresses different conditions. (Byard,2005) Adaptive reuse, demand architectural creativity in shifting between the past and present.The mixture of Past, Present, Future.

The issue: New design intervention is necessary for adaptive reuse. A question: How much design intervention is too much? A provocation: Are we too timid to accept innovative intervention? (Adaptive reuse-a provocative proposition - HKU Architectural Conservation Programme)

By adhering sensitively to the proportion and scale of the existing building, it bolster the continuity between it and their new interventions. The dialectic of Modern and Classical vocabularies doesn’t devolve into discordance. Instead, the juxtaposition highlights the drama of both.

Preservation is important not only to remind us of our past, but to communicate what our past means to us today. The past cannot be trapped in a false amber of pastness. It must be part of the complex palimpsest of modern life. (Stern,2005)

The cultural value of architecture can be accounted for by various scholarly worksinfieldssuchascognitivescience, behavioral science, environmental psychology, aesthetics, architectural theory, and architectural history.

Studying the interpretation of the cultural value of architecture reveals that it can be summarized into two general trends:

1. Some architectural theoreticians and historians assert that architecture should be the reflection of the zeitgeist (time spirit) of a society. It is suggested that architecture should express “the Lebensgefühl (attitude to life) of an epoch” : Ethics

2. Buildings are the outcome of practical needs, geographical conditions, and long cultural tradition and beliefs rooted in a society. The buildings survive through an evolution of their forms that accommodates the changing needs of thepublic,whichisreflectedinsocietyandculture.: Public perception

Thesignificanceofthepublicperceptioninadaptivereuse. This perspective is supported by cognitive science studies, which demonstrate the significance of public perception as a foundational source that coins the cultural and aesthetic values of architecture.

The Interior’s standards are for the preserving building identity rather than guildline for evolution of the building of practical needs.

Work Cited

Dibner, 1985, Building Additions Design

Stephens, Suzanne, Presenting the Past, Architectural Record; Mar2005, Vol. 193 Issue 3, p119-121, 3p

YOU KYONG AHN, Building type and public perception, 2007

Harden, 2004, Harden, Raised plane_ An Urban Rooftop Village

Dorris, 1992, Past, ENR magazine, Present, future mix during final work at treasured Louvre

Rochette, 1994, Revitalizing the Louvre

The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards: http://architecture.about.com/od/preservation/a/historicrestore.htm

Architectural reusehttp://www.umich.edu/~nppcpub/resources/compendia/ARCHpdfs/ARCHr&rC.pdf

Adaptive reuse case studieshttp://adaptivereuse.info/

The Octagon Apartmenthttp://www.octagonnyc.com/http://www.dexigner.com/news/7744http://www.undercity.org/photos/Octagon/index.htm