What do you do when an old building in a dense urban area finds itself ready for new tenants? Especially when that building is now surrounded by much taller and larger buildings, and there is a premium on developing new space? As much as I love adaptive reuse, sometimes the pressure to densify argues to do something more. An “easy” solution is to incorporate the existing building – or at least the existing façade – into the new one, often as a base for a new high-rise.
And then there’s the opportunity to do something much more radical.
The above project is, alas, only a concept piece and the land owners aren’t gong forward with it… but what a concept! Beyond just making more commercial space, this idea was to take the over-a-century-old building and turn it into a cultural and art facility, doubling its floor area by literally mirroring it. The result would have been this double-take inducing, water-like, reflection of the building hovering over the existing one.
What a mind trip!
Though, not a complete mind trip, as there would have been an additional new element added to the rear to house further facilities and, nicely, another stage facing an adjacent park. So from certain angles that would have ‘broken’ the illusion. But who cares, from so many other angles, even if you caught a glimpse of the rooftop canopy shell the illusion of the inverted building would’ve remained strong and kept all its ‘woah’ factor.
Again, alas, not to be, but one damn cool idea.
Lynx Thoughts 