Repurpose to Renaissance

  

            In the modern design world, where more of the environment is becoming built, the reuse of materials and resources becomes increasingly relevant as resources become scarce. While methods of recycling and repurposing of materials to create new spaces are beneficial in saving energy expenditure, there is another strategy that proves to be most effective for efficient reuse.

              Using pre-existing building structures is one of the lowest expenditures of energy to create a space. Using no time and energy to demolish, move, exchange, and repurpose materials, this method of design preserves the essence of what extracted resources have already become. As I explore this lens of design, I am reminded of a place that is especially inspiring and useful as an example of historical reuse. This place is my own school.

              Renaissance Hall in downtown Fargo, North Dakota, was constructed in the early 1900s as a storage facility for the railroad line that is directly adjacent. Because of this, the design of the building is entirely open in plan and could be used for many purposes. When the facility was abandoned in later decades, it sat for quite some time. The future of this unnamed brick block was uncertain, with talk of the place being demolished. It wasn’t until a man named Doug Burgum bought the building from the city of Fargo for the low price of one dollar that the building was to see a new possibility.

              Doug bought the building with an intention. His plan was to gift the property to the school of North Dakota State University so that the college would have a place to house the growing architecture department; that is exactly what happened. This interesting proposal for repurposing the old storage facility into a school began a revitalization for the dying district of downtown living in Fargo. Opening a school downtown, away from the main campus of NDSU, which is located north, brought a new group of people to the downtown scene: students. Such a young group of people in the place boosted local businesses and developments in downtown. The economy of downtown Fargo saw improvements and sparked the Renaissance of downtown living, making it attractive again. This gives the name of the architecture building for NDSU: Renaissance Hall.

              Such a story can inspire thoughts for change in a community by means of the historical reuse of a building. With this story in mind, I aim to explore this phenomenon in design not only to reduce the footprints of new buildings, but also to draw energy into a community.

              Presently, the most common types of unused spaces in our current state of America lie in empty warehouse boxes, abandoned strip malls, and deserted lots trapped by roads and interstates. These places can present unique opportunities for improvement and repurposing for a community.

              Beginning with a completed proposal, the Denver Project (a 2025 Buildner competition) explores possibilities with low-income housing in the city of Denver. The design of the project implements affordable housing with amenities for the residents and the greater community. This proposal stems from an idea of binding the Denver community. It begins with the analysis of American roadways and the issue of interstates separating neighborhoods. The Denver Project focuses on the intersection of two interstates in Denver, creating a clover leaf intersection. This connection of roadways is actually what separates smaller communities in the area. What has become a symbol of separation in modern America is redefined in the Denver Project to become a symbol of connection.

The interstates exist under a new proposal for a community complex. Above the interstates, pedestrian pathways connect the four sectors that join at the intersection. In the center, a community hub of amenities, including a public grocery store, wellness clinic, daycare, playground, restaurant, and other vendors, and a stage area, attracts many groups of people. The residential units exist around this central public hub. From here, the residents can enjoy their own private outdoor courtyards while also indulging in the public amenities. The green space that lies above the existing roadways does not interfere with any means of car traffic. The noise of the interstates is kept below the proposed plan of living units. This master plan is working to restitch the network of the Denver population.

Developing a project with an intention for the reuse of a space exercises the design process and asks the designer what a space can become with the constraints given in the current state of the space. The state of the neighborhoods in the scope of the clover leaf called for added amenities in walkable proximity as well as quality outdoor space. This, along with the design intent for affordable housing, directed "The Stitch Community” to develop as it did. "The Stitch Community” is submitted to the 2025 Buildner competition.

As I question other examples of reuse, common spaces that can be replicated to be repurposed could be especially efficient, especially in attempts at creating affordable housing. Strip malls are becoming common places of abandonment, and also shells of opportunity for this scenario. The future of my design proposals can explore this theory for revitalizing places. What has currently become an eyesore in everyday living, the forgotten malls provide open, modular spaces to be rethought.