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The "Post-Landfill": Finding Sustainability in Problematic Twentieth Century Heritage

Part 2 Project 2022
Karlis Kukainis
Mackintosh School of Architecture | UK
This thesis aims to explore a renovation strategy of a vacant mid-20th century hospital estate in Yorkhill, Glasgow through testing the limits of reuse practices of reclaimed materials from demolished buildings nearby. Since 1990, 45% of all demolitions in Scotland took place in Glasgow. Its tendency of reinventing itself by constantly demolishing and rebuilding raised interest in what opportunities can be found in this abundance of construction waste. The project addresses issues faced by similar modern estates around Europe doomed for demolition - high cost of renovation and maintenance, unpopularity and tainted collective memory, inefficient floor planning, unattractive aesthetics, secluded urban placemaking, poor detailing and energy efficiency. Programming is used to explore creative reuse methods on 2 scales - large commercial and community use. Reuse methods of the catalogued reclaimed materials are utilized to inform the building’s programme and architecture itself by proposing a 20th-century heritage reuse institute (‘‘Landfill’’), public workshops, affordable rent studios, commercial spaces, and an innovation centre. The proposal seeks to foster such practices in Glasgow and Scotland becoming an architectural manifestation of reuse itself. It embraces imperfect materials over immaculate surfaces and challenges the public’s view of decay as a sign of sustainability through longevity.
Karlis Kukainis

Tutor(s)

2022
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