Studio 1
Curating Identity
Saga; Act 2
Lisa Bengtsson
We are standing before a paradigm shift, where adaptive re-usage of vacant buildings will be the first to consider when launching a new project. The growth in population, progression of technology and change of the urban landscape leaves buildings demolished, abandoned or vacant. Adaptive reuse strategies are often applied to buildings that were not economically and/or socially viable. It gives the building a second chance for the future, a longer life and avoids demolition wastes and costs. It is a holistic process of economic, social, cultural, and environmental aspects. It is not about stagnation and avoiding the urban landscape to be developed, but to take it into the future without forgetting where it came from. Memories are built up and accumulating over time and adds a dimension of soul to the experience of a space. Memories are something new buildings can never have.
The project is investigating adaptive reuse and its implications in its context. What aspects are to consider during a reuse project?
What parts are important to conserve and what are to be discarded?
The subject for the investigation is Sagateatern in Umeå city centre. It is located in direct connection to the pedestrian commercial street running through the central parts of Umeå and is part of a neighbourhood with history of a strong community and entrepreneurship. The building was constructed 1953 and functioned as a cinema but was later refurbished into a theatre. It closed its doors 2016 due to lack of economic resources and is now facing demolition to give way for housing units.
The intervention aims to give back the space to the community and create a stage for smaller culture actors that do not have the resources to take part of the culture spaces available in Umeå. The intervention provides means for the theatre to be economically self-sufficient, enabling it to be in function without economical dependency to a third part. The strategy for this is time, where the day time program of market space and rentable spaces for various commercial purposes enable the nigh time program of cultural stage to exist and function to an affordable price. The housing units will be incorporated as a response to the topic of densification and urban progression.
The theatre is re-integrated into the community and becomes a cultural catalyst for small and novice cultural actors in Umeå, as well as providing a second life to a building of communal, social, and cultural value in its context.
