Strategies For The Reuse Of Old Industrial Buildings Into Third Places

With recent events in the shifts in world economies and the relocation of industrial operations,vacant industrial buildings have been left behind.These abandoned industrial buildings lack of maintenance and are at continuous risk of further depreciation which leads to demolition.In conjunction with the ongoing urban development and city renewal,these old industrial buildings are better reused than demolished as they are equipped with locational,spatial,and structural characteristics that make them ideal for a new third-place function.The modes of life have also significantly changed due to technological advancements and the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.Therefore,these lifestyle changes have created a need for spaces outside the home or work that cater to the needs of remote work,learning,leisure and entertainment – a third place.The author defined a third place as a multifunctional space for users in a community and aimed to promote cohesion in the community.This paper proposes that the transformation of old industrial buildings into third places can significantly avert the old industrial buildings from demolition and meet the need for creating third place spaces,which are spaces outside the home that caters to multifunctional use and encourage community cohesion.Therefore,this paper chooses to study the strategy of reusing old industrial buildings into third space.Through literature review,case study,comparative study and other research methods,we study the spatial and structural characteristics of old industrial buildings and the characteristics of third space buildings,and analyze the fit between the two.Secondly,by summarizing and analyzing the actual renovation cases and combining with field questionnaire research,we explore the influencing factors of reusing old industrial buildings into third space in terms of site conditions,outdoor environment and indoor environment,and propose corresponding design strategies.Main contents of this thesis:First part: Starting from the literature research,this thesis analyses and studies the transformation of old industrial buildings into third places.This part also focuses on the basic definitions of the related concepts.Second part: Detailed analysis of the concepts of old industrial buildings and third places.The industrial building characteristics are analyzed concerning the structure and spatial organization of single-story and multi-story industrial buildings.Third part: analysis of case studies of the transformation of old industrial buildings into third places.Three case studies are selected;Loc Hal,Monserrat Abelló library and a field study on the transformation project of the Beijing Shougang Starbucks Winter Olympics store.The case studies are analyzed based on background,site and surrounding services,the building’s external space,and the internal transformation.Fourth part: analyses the characteristics of third places and thorough literature search obtained influencing factors used to create a survey for the Beijing Shougang Starbucks winter Olympic store.The survey results were screened through the correlation analysis and the regression model,leading to the final extraction of influencing factors.Fifth part: Design strategies were analyzed and summarized through the influencing factors for transforming old industrial buildings into third places.The strategies are discussed in site evaluation,exterior space,interior space,physical interior environment and detailing.The thesis conducts research and analyses on the current problems of obsolete industrial buildings and puts forward relevant design strategies for designing third places from old industrial buildings.