Hudson River Ruins
The other day I was reading More Ways to Waste Time and came across Leah’s review of Ghostly Ruins: America’s Forgotten Architecture, which reminded me of two gents I read about in The New York Times a few weeks ago. Rob Yasinsac and Thomas Rinaldi have dedicated countless hours to documenting the decaying landmarks in the Hudson Valley region. Yasinac and Rinaldi include and go beyond the ruins of famous estates and include factories, foundaries, steamboat hulls, icehouses, electric plants and many more landmarks that are not always the first sites that people want to save. With so much focus on environmental cleanups and the increasing value of waterfront real estate, we often tend to tear down, bury, fill in and erase places that powered the industrial revolution and provided jobs for generations. While a few enlightened projects have embraced and honored such sites, many more have perished.
When perusing these endangered sites, try to see them with new eyes. Check out two examples of preservation and reuse projects like these that have successfully breathed new life into similar dormant complexes.
Urban Outfitters - Landscape Architecture by D.I.R.T. Studio. This project is sited on the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Peruse the photos and check out:
1. The way to history is remembered (patriotic Rosie the Riveters galore)
2. The materials onsite are documented, appreciated and reused
3. The site is restored to a new glory, with the landscape architecture marking significant traffic patterns, calling attention to new and former uses and weaving some of the old materials into the fabric of the site in a new way.
For more information on this project and all the groups that worked together to make it happen, click here.
The concrete and asphalt was broken up and reused in the landscape:
Another great example is The Cathedral of Cool, the former power plant magically transformed by Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron into Tate Modern in London:
The power plant was designed by the same architect who designed Britain’s red phone booths:
Does museum space get any better than this?
These examples and the popularity of loft space make give me hope that the kind of buildings Yasinsac and Ribaldi document have a greater chance of being saved and reused. You can buy Hudson Valley Ruins: Forgotten Landmarks of an American Landscape here.
Hudson River photos from HudsonRiverRuins.org
Urban Outfitters photos from D.I.R.T. Studio
Tate Modern photos from London Tourist Board
November 2nd, 2007 at 3:43 am
When I started reading your post, I immediately thought of Tate Modern…and there it is at the end!!! I think we can always re-use old buildings, provided they get renovated by people with knowledge, respect and sensibility.
November 2nd, 2007 at 9:41 am
Wow, there are some beautiful unused spaces in my hometown. Most are getting turned into apartment buildings and condos, but I would love to see an old train station turned into a museum.
November 3rd, 2007 at 6:19 am
Great links!
November 18th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
I am always thankful and inspired when I see old buildings being responsible reused. My current hometown, with a pop of 1000, is using an old garment factory for an art center with gallery and studio space. There is even talk of creating a “green” roof!