ISA

PRODUCTIVE REUSE

Philadelphia’s history as a center of industry left the city with many vacant and crumbling industrial structures. What if this infrastructure could again be put to productive use? This project proposes to reactivate 72 grain storage silos in an existing granary as cultural and environmental amenities, including climbing walls, heat exchange labyrinths, and art galleries. A 12-story, 100-apartment overbuild and new commercial uses at ground-level enable the development and serve to further activate the site. Questioning traditional attitudes toward historic preservation, the project asserts the need to integrate new projects with old structures in order to fully realize their mutually productive futures.