Instead of demolishing buildings that have lost their function over time or protecting them with a passive understanding without gaining a new function, the interventions made in order to adapt them to current requirements are defined as “adaptive reuse”. The reuse of these buildings, which in a sense reveal their identity by bearing traces of the times they were built, plays an important role in both protecting environmental resources and transferring cultural heritage to future generations. Natural stone, on the other hand, is frequently encountered in reuse projects. While revealing the structural identity on the one hand, it also hosts different material combinations in the transformation between functions. In our Showcase pages, we brought together the adaptive reuse projects that effectively use natural stone from Turkey and the world.
Chievo House
Design: Studio Wok
Completion Date: 2018
Project Location: Verona, Italy
Photo: Simone Bossi
Natural Stone: Local natural stone
Completed by Milan-based Studio Wok, the project encompasses a detached life transformation of an idle stone barn on the outskirts of Verona. Starting after the design, first of all, establishing a spatial and material dialogue between the past and the present has revealed the stone walls by peeling off the existing plaster. While space was gained thanks to the mezzanines in the structure that creates the perception of two masses of interior, wood was preferred as the material defining the core core. Studio Wok states that he wants to establish a relationship between the old and the new with the perception of interiority created from the arched entrance of the existing structure. The ground floor of the building is planned as a common living area in the form of a living room, kitchen and dining area. In the project where the boundaries between indoor and outdoor spaces are eliminated thanks to the wide openings; The front garden defines an open space with a magnolia tree available upon employer request.
Boğaziçi University Gözlükule Excavation Research Center
Design: Saadet Sayın
Completion Date: 2017
Project Location: Tarsus, Mersin
Photo: Yerçekim Architectural Photos
Natural Stone: Local natural stone
Located in Mersin Tarsus, the Tarsus Gin Factory is one of the first industrial buildings established in the Çukurova Region in 1865 with the initiative of the Europeans in the region. It maintained its function until the 1980s, then lost its original function and was used as a warehouse for a while and then abandoned. In 2000, the Ministry of Culture expropriated the building group and registered it as an industrial heritage, and restoration projects started to be prepared with the function of Tarsus City Research Center. While the project works continue in line with the first function determined, the five hangars of approximately 1000 square meters of the building group with an area of 2500 square meters have been allocated to Boğaziçi University by the Ministry of Culture. The design concept has been constructed within the frame of the spatial potential of the building, preserving the original plan scheme and the original qualities of the architectural elements. In project scope there are work office, exhibition hall, conference hall, laboratory, library, cafeteria, excavation house, work depots, water tank, security areas. In the project where the opening between the masses was turned into a courtyard and covered with stone in a contemporary form, the stone walls generally preserved their carrier quality. Due to the loss of some of the original stones, it has been cleaned and preserved in place, and the stones that have lost their quality are renewed in original materials and form. Stone elements were extracted from local quarries with traditional methods and brought to the site, prepared and applied in original materials and sizes.
Rec House
Design: Guallart Architects
Completion Date: 2020
Project Location: Barcelona, Spain
Photo: Guallart Architects
Natural Stone: Local natural stone
The Rec House is a reuse project that was rebuilt as a residential building by Guallart Architects, a small textile workshop in Barcelona in the late 19th century In other words, the upper scale of the region, which has a leather-oriented industrial identity, is a part of the project, where it is transformed to bring creative sectors together and host cultural events. Guallart Architects began the design continuation by demolishing the divider walls of the high-ceilinged two-storey stone building. By obtaining an open and spacious place, he planned the building as both a living space and a working area. In the project, the open-plan common area where homeowners can spend time together has been set up on the floor and the bedroom area upstairs. The working area, on the other hand, is designed to allow two separate uses, namely the mezzanine floor and the ground floor. In the interior, especially the stone walls left bare on the ground floor were accompanied by white plastered walls on the upper cards.
Louviers School of Music
Design: Opus 5 Architectes
Completion Date: 2012
Project Location: Louviers, France
Photo: Luc Boegly and Bruno Decaris
Natural Stone: Local natural stone
Built in France in the 17th century, the historical monastery was transformed into a music school by Opus 5. The project focused on thinking about the archaeological heritage within the city while at the same time bringing a new and modern music school to Louviers. In the original, the two-winged structure, the house where it lived in old age, saw quite differently over time. In the project, the demolished south wing was completed with a glass structure and the ground floor was arranged as a music library and the upper floor as an orchestra hall. The foyer area, planned on the ground floor of this wing and associated with the main entrance, was the result of the idea of welcoming visitors with the river flowing under the building. There are 24 classrooms, a library and two large orchestra halls. The existing stone structure in material form is completed with glass and concrete panels preferred on the south wing and establishes a relationship between the old and the new.
