Fusion of New and Old

Demolition of existing industrial buildings can be controversial, whereas retention of the existing building fabric is an environmentally responsible act, a kind of recycling of the building itself. A scheme of 45 residential units on 3 floors over the existing building will retain the current building envelope.

The structure of the new addition was based on the rhythm of the existing column bays.  New columns and footings were placed at the same locations as the current columns so that the existing roof members can remain unaltered. The existing concrete walls were extended upwards while the new bay windows protrude downwards to form an interlocking of new and old forms.  Passive features included sunshades, thermal windows, a green roof, passive ventilation, photovoltaic panels, and vertical axis wind turbines.