The Silo of Rebirth
Many historical buildings that are listed as heritage buildings did not get effective renovation so they are still vacant or underutilized. As the city developed and more people moved in, the shortage of housing and supporting facilities like public space are becoming problems. So it is important to reactive the underutilized heritage building to decrease the stress of the development, create a sense of community, and prove that the historic building can be used efficiently and can be balanced between the memories and the modernization so more old buildings can be protected.
Adaptive reuse is a better solution to reactivate the old architecture and its surroundings compared to demolishing the old building completely and rebuilding a new one because it can maximally keep the original historical culture and memory of the site and pass it to the next generation with a direct sensory experience. The site I choose are abandoned silos on the waterfront, I am planning to redesign it to become an art and maker center that support recreational culture production and provide the chance for local artist to tell and express the local story. It will also become a key part of the waterfront master plan that links the parks and enrich the cultural industry to forge a more complete waterfront living experience. I am wishing to find a creative way to activate the heritage building, that might be able to provide a new solution for adaptive use.
Site Location
The Canada Malting factory at 5 Eireann Quay (formerly 5 Bathurst Street) was designed by the engineer and architect John Sanborn Metcalf in 1928. The client was Canada Malting Co. Limited, a brewing and malting company with roots in Kingston, Ontario, stretching back to 1832.
These silos has been abandoned since the 1980s. Since the subject of an extensive proposal for adaptive reuse as a music museum by Metronome Canada that ultimately failed in 2004, the future of the Canada Malting silos has long been uncertain.
When starting the design, I considered that the space and structure between the two silos were quite messy and difficult to utilize, so I demolished this part and replaced it with a new structure, creating a lobby and circulation space connecting the two silos. When dealing with the silos, I hoped that the new design could preserve the original special structure of the silos to some extent, but add more modern elements to make the entire building more vibrant and suitable for their new functions. Starting with the division of floors, I opened windows on the silos in a certain pattern, while gradually removing parts of the top of the south silo, presenting a stepped facade that leads to the adjacent horizontal plane, making the building and the surrounding environment more harmonious.
