EKATERINA ULITINA Envisaging an afterlife of a building as a part of its timeline Mismemory

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IN

DEGREE PROJECT ARCHITECTURE, SECOND CYCLE, 30 CREDITS

,

STOCKHOLM SWEDEN 2020

Mismemory

Envisaging an afterlife of a building as a part of

its timeline

EKATERINA ULITINA

KTH ROYAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

TRITA TRITA-ABE-MBT-20129

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LONG LIVE THE BUILDING

Ekaterina Ulitina KTH School of Architecture Tutors: Karin Matz, Rutger Sjögrim

MISMEMORY

Ekaterina Ulitina

KTH School of Architecture

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PREFACE

The world changes quicker than human generations do. As soon as we learn to be architects, we need to unlearn and relearn: the knowledge becomes no longer relevant, the aesthetics no longer appealing, the techniques no longer innovative. A life span of a building is longer than a life span of a profession. Almost as soon as a building is delivered, it needs to be reprogrammed, readjust-ed – or even erasreadjust-ed. This project tries to understand how and why we alter existent architecture through a series of exercises that explore different approaches in restoration and reconstruction. They will lead me to a proposal that will try to answer the question:

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an·thro·po·mor·phism, n. attribution of a rich, human body related, narrative to an edifice’s life cycle; the parallel often losing its relevance

when it comes to the end cycle of an edifice when compared to human death.

au·then·ti·ci·ty, n. untouched originality of an edifice, often expressed referring to the way the exterior correlates with well-defined periods in

architectural historiography or the expectations of it.

au·thor (the), n. also refered to as this student, Ekaterina Ulitina.

e·di·fice, n. an architectural and/or design object: a building; an urban system; a landscape etc.

e·thics of care, p.n. a concept that heralds mutual respect and acknowledgement between the object and the subject of care, repair, restoration

etc., establishing a moral relationship between them.

na·ta·lism, n. in architecture: preoccupation over the act of creation of (new) edifices while ignoring the inevitable decline or death of the

already existent ones.

pre·emp·tive, adj. pro-actively anticipating and responding to (e.g. decay).

re·in·ven·tion, n. process and/or result of reconfiguration, re-purposing or re-adaptation of an edifice with a new programme, context and

needs; implies change of function; may or may not imply partial aesthetic conservation.

res·to·ra·tion, n. process and/or result of returning an edifice to a state of integrity or completeness that may or may not have existed at a

specific point the past.

re·no·va·tion, n. process and/or result of bringing an edifice to a state of adequate functioning; unlike restoration, renovation is prospective and

does not have to take the previous ethos of the edifice into consideration.

re·pair·a·bi·li·ty, n. environmentally and economically beneficial characteristic of a building or its components to be feasibly put back together,

mend or restored (see restoration).

re·pli·ca, n. an edifice that imitates, simulates or mimics a pre-existant or imagined edifice that may or may not have existed in the past. ru·in, n. 1) a mortally wounded building; 2) a building for which life support ceased to be provided (see anthropomorphism).

GLOSSARY*

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MATRIX

I started by constructing my own theoretical scope through reading about the existing theories, by revisiting definitions and concepts.

I then tried to collect examples of existent alterations and group them in a matrix. Each of these examples was subject to one or a series of alterations, after deteriorating, gradually or abruptly, for some to the point of ceasing to exist. What are the ways to make a building live longer?

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Book Store Dominicanen Mackintosh’s Hill House Moderna Museet Malmö

465 Caledonian Road Ise Grand Shrine The Old Wellington Inn

185 Post Street Hôtel Fouquet’s Barrière

168 Upper Street St Albans Cathedral

Katarina kyrka Nationalmuseum

Astley Castle

Westerbork concentration camp Mill City Museum

1294 1904 1901 1874 1203 1552 1908 1860s 1850s 1088 1695 1866 1889 1555 1939 1874 2007 2019 2009 2013 2013 2006 2008 2006 2019 1893 1996 2019 2010 2012 2015 2003 Unknown

Charles Rennie Mackintosh John Smedberg Mallett, Porter & Dowd

Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Jean de la Vallée Friedrich August Stüler

August Tiede Unknown Unknown

Cadwallader C. Washburn The Museum of Natural History

Merkx + Girod Architects Carmody Groarke Tham & Videgård Arkitekter

Stephen George & Partners Local craftsmen

William Anelay Brand + Allen Architects

Édouard François Groupwork Edmund Beckett Diener & Diener Architekten

Ove Hidemark Wingårdhs

Witherford Watson Mann Oving Architecten Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle

REINVENTION REPLICA RENOV A TION RUIN Original funct ion?

Original material fabric?Original build

ing techniques? Ever der elict ? Urban locat ion? Interior al tered ?

Project name Newbuilt Restored Original architect Restored by

The Netherlands United Kingdom Sweden United Kingdom Japan United Kingdom USA France United Kingdom United Kingdom Sweden Sweden Germany United Kingdom The Netherlands USA Country CASE STUDIES

that accompany the project are picked according to subjective criteria of the author. Each one of the examples was subject to one or a series of alterations, after deteriorating, gradually or abruptly, for some to the point of ceasing to exist.

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RENOVATION REINVENTION REPLICA

“We want it to look like it used to look or like you think it did.”

“We want it to remind you of how it used to look or of like you think it did.”

“We want it to look like something else used to look or like you think it did.”

HOW TO CLASSIFY PRESERVATION?

parasite wraps around juxtapositions inserts alongside interior only exterior only parts all collapse demolition abandonment erosion

BY FORM BY AFFECTED AMOUNT BY NATURE OF DECAY BY CONTRAST OF INTERVENTION

extreme restrained referential enhanced not enhanced condition time function condition time function condition time function

A building gradually deteriorates with time and then gets returned to its initial state and continues

performing its original function

A building gradually deteriorates with time, and its programme alters after restoration or

reconstruction

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PATCHWORKPATCHWORK RECONSTRUCTIONRECONSTRUCTION REFURBISHMENTREFURBISHMENT VICTORIAN RESTORATIONVICTORIAN RESTORATION Newbuilt year: Alteration year: Original Architect: Restored by: Country: Type: Does the building perform its original function? Was the original material fabric used? Were the original building techniques used? Was the building ever derelict? Is the building in an urban location? Was the interior altered?

Newbuilt year: Alteration year: Original Architect: Restored by: Country: Type: Does the building perform its original function? Was the original material fabric used? Were the original building techniques used? Was the building ever derelict? Is the building in an urban location? Was the interior altered?

PATCHWORK RECONSTRUCTION YES NO NO YES YES NO

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM KATARINA KYRKA

1889 2012 August Tiede Diener&Diener Germany Renovation 1695 1995 Jean de la Vallée Ove Hidemark Sweden Renovation YES YES YES YES YES YES 100m 100 m Newbuilt year: Alteration year: Original Architect: Restored by: Country: Type: Does the building perform its original function? Was the original material fabric used? Were the original building techniques used? Was the building ever derelict? Is the building in an urban location? Was the interior altered?

PATCHWORK RECONSTRUCTION YES NO NO YES YES NO

1889 2012 August Tiede Diener&Diener Germany Renovation 1695 1995 Jean de la Vallée Ove Hidemark Sweden Renovation YES YES YES YES YES YES 100m 100 m Newbuilt year: Alteration year: Original Architect: Restored by: Country: Type: Does the building perform its original function? Was the original material fabric used? Were the original building techniques used? Was the building ever derelict? Is the building in an urban location? Was the interior altered?

REFURBISHMENT VICTORIAN RESTORATION

NATIONALMUSEUM ST ALBANS CATHEDRAL

YES YES NO NO YES YES 1866 2018

PATCHWORK

RECONSTRUCTION

YES NO NO YES YES NO

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REFURBISHMENT

VICTORIAN RESTORATION

REFURBISHMENT

VICTORIAN RESTORATION

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REFURBISHMENT

VICTORIAN RESTORATION

REFURBISHMENT

VICTORIAN RESTORATION

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FAÇADISMFAÇADISM INCUBATIONINCUBATION IRREVERSIBLE CONVERSIONIRREVERSIBLE CONVERSION REVERSIBLE CONVERSIONREVERSIBLE CONVERSION Newbuilt year: Alteration year: Original Architect: Restored by: Country: Type: Does the building perform its original function? Was the original material fabric used? Were the original building techniques used? Was the building ever derelict? Is the building in an urban location? Was the interior altered?

465 CALEDONIAN ROAD MACKINTOSH’S HILL HOUSE

1874 2013

Mallett, Porter & Dowd Stephen George United Kingdom Reinvention 1904 2019 Charles Mackintosh Carmody Groarke United Kingdom Reinvention NO NO NO YES YES YES NO NO NO NO NO NO 50 m 20 m Newbuilt year: Alteration year: Original Architect: Restored by: Country: Type: Does the building perform its original function? Was the original material fabric used? Were the original building techniques used? Was the building ever derelict? Is the building in an urban location? Was the interior altered?

1874 2013

Mallett, Porter & Dowd Stephen George United Kingdom Reinvention 1904 2019 Charles Mackintosh Carmody Groarke United Kingdom Reinvention NO NO NO YES YES YES NO NO NO NO NO NO 50 m 20 m Newbuilt year: Alteration year: Original Architect: Restored by: Country: Type: Does the building perform its original function? Was the original material fabric used? Were the original building techniques used? Was the building ever derelict? Is the building in an urban location? Was the interior altered?

REVERSIBLE CONVERSION

1901 2009

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTACKNOWLEDGEMENT MISMEMORYMISMEMORY PERIODIC RECONSTRUCTIONPERIODIC RECONSTRUCTION REASSEMBLYREASSEMBLY Newbuilt year: Alteration year: Original Architect: Restored by: Country: Type: Does the building perform its original function? Was the original material fabric used? Were the original building techniques used? Was the building ever derelict? Is the building in an urban location? Was the interior altered?

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT MISMEMORY

185 POST STREET 168 UPPER STREET

1908 2008 Unknown Brand + Allen USA Replica 1850s 2009 Unknown Groupwork United Kingdom Replica YES NO NO NO YES YES YES NO NO YES YES YES 100m 20m Newbuilt year: Alteration year: Original Architect: Restored by: Country: Type: Does the building perform its original function? Was the original material fabric used? Were the original building techniques used? Was the building ever derelict? Is the building in an urban location? Was the interior altered?

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT MISMEMORY

1908 2008 Unknown Brand + Allen USA Replica 1850s 2009 Unknown Groupwork United Kingdom Replica YES NO NO NO YES YES YES NO NO YES YES YES 100m 20m Newbuilt year: Alteration year: Original Architect: Restored by: Country: Type: Does the building perform its original function? Was the original material fabric used? Were the original building techniques used? Was the building ever derelict? Is the building in an urban location? Was the interior altered?

PERIODIC RECONSTRUCTION REASSEMBLY

ISE GRAND SHRINE THE OLD WELLINGTON INN

4 BCE 2013 (every 20 years) Unknown Local craftsmen Japan Replica 1552 1999 Unknown William Anelay United Kingdom Replica YES YES YES NO NO NO YES YES YES NO YES NO 20m 100 m Newbuilt year: Alteration year: Original Architect: Restored by: Country: Type: Does the building perform its original function? Was the original material fabric used? Were the original building techniques used? Was the building ever derelict? Is the building in an urban location? Was the interior altered?

REPLICATION

All of the architects seemed to have

acted as if their alteration was the

last one that will occur to the edifice.

Every architect wants the last word.

No spin-off expected.

What is architecture, if not an endless

repetition of forms, typologies, and i

deas, only slightly mutating

from generation to generation,

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CASE STUDY SITES

With these two notions in mind - of replication and of preempting the changes, I picked three Stockholm sites. They are located in different contexts: formal, functional and forest.

The first is Vildmannen 7, a building in Östermalm that was meant to be demolished in the 40s but never was, then suffered in a fire that supposingly increased its emotional value and is now to be renovated and repurposed.

Next is Nya Fargfabriken, a building is being torn down at the moment since its a part of Lövhol-men urban transformation project in the formal industrial area.

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PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

1: FISKARTORPET

3: VILDMANNEN

2: NYA FÄRGFABRIKEN

1: FISKARTORPET SKI SLOPE FILM PHOTOGRAPHS

2: NYA FÄRGFABRIKEN FILM PHOTOGRAPHS

2: NYA FÄRGRABRIKEN

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MONTAGES

I applied three different methods from my matrix to these buildings and saw immediately how deeply case-specific each of the methods was; the incubation method functioning well with the Hill House in the rural Scotland couldn’t function in the denser area that Östermalm is; the meticulous

patchwork of Museum of Natural History in Berlin wouldn’t make much sense with something

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FISKARTORPET SKI SLOPE REASSEMBLY VILDMANNEN 7 INCUBATION 2: NYA FÄRGRABRIKEN PATCHWORK

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RESEARCH CONCLUSION

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SITE

The site chosen for this architectural experiment is a ski jump erected at Norra Djurgården in 1928, raising above lake Laduviken. The jump was shut down in 1982, abandoned due to being a victim of climate change. Despite no plan to tear down the tower (it should be kept as a historical building), the ski in-run slowly became a ruin. As a part of Royal National City Park, it is owned by Swedish Government through the National Property Board. At the moment the building premises are rented out to a conference facilities provider and a mountain biking equipment shop, while the jump itself is not in use.

The location is special, remote and close to the city at the same time. An extensive urban

development area Norra Djurgårdsstaden borders lake Laduviken to the East, contributing to it being a common location for sports and recreation.

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ROPSTEN

TEKNISKA HÖGSKOLAN

GÄRDET GASVERKET

DREVERGATAN

NATIONAL CITY PARK

LAKE LADUVIKEN

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ROPSTEN

TEKNISKA HÖGSKOLAN

GÄRDET

NORRA DJURGÅRDSSTADEN

NATIONAL CITY PARK

LAKE LADUVIKEN

VÄRTAHAMNEN

GASVERKET

DREVERGATAN

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TOWARDS NORRA DJURGARDSSTADEN

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REPLICA

The strategy was to, first, study the volumes and the proportions of the existing buildings, and then analyse the possible alterations that could apply to them.

20 examples of volume study depict possible transformations of the tower, the existing parts repre-sented in white and the addition in pink.

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PROPOSAL

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SECTION AA

A

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PROGRAMME

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OFFICE SPACES

are located in the tower

OPEN STAIRCASE

leads up to a viewing platform to be in-stalled on the top of the ski jump tower.

SERVICE SPACES

like toilets, kitchen, escape stairs are assembled at the back of the building,

leaving the public spaces more open.

AMPHITHEATRE

is associated with the stairs connecting the ground floor with an open staircase

EXHIBITION SPACE

occupies a third of the first floor: the sports centre is a double hight space

URBAN SPORTS CENTRE

spills outside and hosts facilities for bouldering, skateboarding and

mountain biking

OFFICE SPACES

ENTRANCE HALL

houses a cafe, a shop and an exhibition space, and opens un toward the

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GROUND FLOOR

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1ST FLOOR

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2ND FLOOR

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3RD FLOOR

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4TH FLOOR

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WAYS OF SEEING

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STRUCTURE

The structural elements are lightweight concrete walls, with brick infill. It establishes a hierarchy of materials, a ‘scope’ for the future alterations. A load bearing concrete wall being easier to replace or modify that the pierced brick clad wall.

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EPILOGUE

I have tried, as promised, to incorporate the dimension of time in the proposal, to preempt the further changes. I have established a hierarchy of the elements in the building, leaving the directions for the future extensions. The composition of interior spaces allows rearrangements and programmatic modifications. By morphing, mimicking and replicating another building, perhaps I have also, to an extend, lowered my ambitions as a creator and a masterpiece-maker, ready for the post-architects to come with their post-proposals, the ones better than mine.

The future, however, remains obscure to me. No matter how hard I try to guess what will happen after me and how the proposal will change as the time goes, I won’t. An almost correct answer is after all a not good enough answer.

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MISMEMORY

Was the interior altered?

Is the building in an urban location?

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Arrhenius, Thordis. 2012.The Fragile Monument. London: Artifice Books.

Burroughs, Brady, Beda Ring, and Henri T Beall. 2016. Architectural Flirtations. Stockholm: Arkitektur- och designcentrum. Cairns, Stephen, and Jane Margaret Jacobs. 2014. Buildings Must Die. Cambridge (Mass.): The MIT Press.

Campkin, Ben, and Paul Dobraszczyk. 2007. Architecture And Dirt Introduction. The Journal Of Architecture 12 (4): 347-351.

Hollis, Edward. 2010. The Secret Lives Of Buildings: From The Parthenon To The Vegas Strip In Thirteen Stories. London: Portobello Books. Jackson, Steven J. 2013. Rethinking Repair. MIT Press

Koolhaas, Rem, Jorge Otero-Pailos, and Jordan Carver. 2016. Preservation Is Overtaking Us. New York: ColumbiaBooks on Architecture and the City Otero-Pailos, Jorge, Erik Langdalen, and Thordis Arrhenius. 2016. Experimental Preservation. Zürich: Lars Müller Publishers.

Sample, Hilary. 2016. Maintenance Architecture. MIT Press.

EKATERINA ULITINA Envisaging an afterlife of a building as a part of its timeline Mismemory

Mismemory

Envisaging an afterlife of a building as a part of

its timeline

EKATERINA ULITINA

MISMEMORY

Ekaterina Ulitina

KTH School of Architecture

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE

GLOSSARY*

MATRIX

PATCHWORK

RECONSTRUCTION

PATCHWORK

RECONSTRUCTION

PATCHWORK

RECONSTRUCTION

PATCHWORK

RECONSTRUCTION

REFURBISHMENT

VICTORIAN RESTORATION

REFURBISHMENT

VICTORIAN RESTORATION

REFURBISHMENT

VICTORIAN RESTORATION

REFURBISHMENT

VICTORIAN RESTORATION

FAÇADISM

INCUBATION

FAÇADISM

INCUBATION

FAÇADISM

INCUBATION

FAÇADISM

INCUBATION

IRREVERSIBLE CONVERSION

REVERSIBLE CONVERSION

IRREVERSIBLE CONVERSION

REVERSIBLE CONVERSION

IRREVERSIBLE CONVERSION

REVERSIBLE CONVERSION

IRREVERSIBLE CONVERSION

REVERSIBLE CONVERSION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

MISMEMORY

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

MISMEMORY

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

MIMICRY

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

MISMEMORY

PERIODIC RECONSTRUCTION

REASSEMBLY

PERIODIC RECONSTRUCTION

REASSEMBLY

PERIODIC RECONSTRUCTION

REASSEMBLY

PERIODIC RECONSTRUCTION

REASSEMBLY

NONE OF THEM PREEMPTS

ALTERATIONS TO COME

IDEA OF

REPLICATION

All of the architects seemed to have

acted as if their alteration was the

last one that will occur to the edifice.

Every architect wants the last word.

No spin-off expected.

What is architecture, if not an endless

repetition of forms, typologies, and i

deas, only slightly mutating

from generation to generation,

CASE STUDY SITES

MONTAGES

RESEARCH CONCLUSION

SITE

REPLICA

PROPOSAL

PROGRAMME