3. ups-And-downs

20 Jannievinke, NDSM Scheepsbouwloods, Dynamo Architecten, [website], 2012, Available at http://learningfrommultifunk.wordpress.com/2012/01/29/ndsm-scheepsbouwloods (Accessed 21/02/2019)

21 Kinetisch Noord, Projectvoorstel NDSM-terrein Amsterdam-Noord, 1999, p.1

22 Stealth Group, op. cit, p. i45 (Accessed 09/12/2018)

23 Ibid., p.i26

24 Ibid., p.i27

25 Ibid., p.104

26 Ibid., p.i45

27 Ibid., p.i47

28 Stichting Kinetisch Noord, Kunststad NDSM-Werf: Projectverslag IPSV 2240, 2006, p.15

29 Klerk, E., Guild of Industrial Buildings Along the River IJ, [website], [no date], Available at http://www.evadeklerk.com/en/het-gilde-van-werkgebouwen-aan-het-ij/ (Accessed 20/02/2019)

30 Havik, K., ‘Monotony and diversity along the banks of the IJ’, OASE 73 Gentrification, Avidar, P., Havik, K., and David, Mulder (Eds.), Rotterdam, NAI, 2007, p.129–136

31 Stealth Group, op. cit, p.69 (Accessed 09/12/2018)

32 Unceta, P., Nederlandsche Dok En Scheepbouw Company (NDSM) Amsterdam (the Netherlands): A Critical Evaluation of the Role of Strategic Spatial Planning in Its Development, 2018, p.8

33 Urban Land Institute, op. cit, p.3 (Accessed 21/01/2019) 34 Ibid., p.4

35 Ibid., p.6

36 Ibid., p.5

37 Ibid., p.6

38 Historic England, King’s Cross, London: Development by Argent, Case Studies, 2017, Available at https://content.historicengland.org.uk/content/heritage-counts/pub/2017/casestudy-argent-developer.pdf (Accessed 21/01/2019)

39 Urban Land Institute, op. cit, p.6 (Accessed 21/01/2019)

40 ARUP, King’s Cross Central: Supporting Statement for a Listed Building Consent Application to Demolish the Stanley Building North, 2004, p1, Available at https://www. kingscross.co.uk/media/18-Sup-State-Stanley.pdf Accessed 24/02/2019)

41 ARUP, King’s Cross Central: Supporting Statement for a Conservation Area Consent Application to Demolish the Culross Buildings, 2004, p1, Available at https://www.kingscross. co.uk/media/22-Sup-State-Culross.pdf (Accessed 24/02/2019)

42 ARUP, King’s Cross Central: Supporting Statement for a Listed Building Consent Application to Dismantle Gas Holder No.8 so as to relocate and re-erect its guide frame and a Conservation Area Consent Application to demolish the Western Goods Shed, 2004, p2, Available at https://www.kingscross.co.uk/media/20-21-Sup-State-GH8WGS.pdf (Accessed 24/02/2019)

43 Latham, D., op. cit, p.12

44 Zucconi, G. and Giovannoni, G., ‘A Theory and A Practice of Urban Conservation’, Change Over Time, Vol.4, No.1, Spring 2014, p.80

45 Bullivan, L., Masterplanning Futures, Abingdon, Routledge, 2012, p.1

3 Masterplans

giving Accounts of the scheme

The Masterplan of the Urban Regeneration comprises reused buildings as well as new developments. How would these developments affect or complement AR at a larger scale? Fig. 15 All new buildings at NDSM north and south except for Afbramerij, NDSM east (Grey Area) are the heritage places.

In the west of NDSM, Shipdock Amsterdam came into business as a ship repair company reviving the shipbuilding at the area. Subsequently acquired by Damen Shipyard, it is officially called Damen Shiprepair Amsterdam (DSA) and performs repair, maintenance, refit and conversion work46. Cornelis Douwesweg Region at river IJ maintains its industrial function at a larger scale, with DSA in ship repairing and construction at the core despite the fall of NDSM. The spirit of shipbuilding-related tradition is still maintained in the area until now.

In the UK, after the havoc of wartime and the Nationalisation of 1948, the transport of freight by rail suffered a speedy decline. The improvement of connectivity to the station, opening of East Coast main line connecting London to Edinburgh, privatisation

and a series of investment in refurbishments and restoration of the buildings tremendously powered the King’s Cross railway station to its current success. The region remains the hub for freight and passenger transport, with the use of its underground station substantiated by the opening of Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) at St. Pancras International.

Despite the difficulty to measure the spill-over effects of the rejuvenated shipyard and train station have on the extent of success of their respective adaptively reused sites, it must be acknowledged that the initial functions of both sites persisted through times of change, and serve as the anchor for the regeneration of the sites. In these kind of large projects, before any new developments start, the renovation of buildings designated for AR would be carried out first to recreate the sense of identity and this would serve as the basis for the upcoming developments.

IMproved Access

The primary regeneration strategy is the opening-up of the sites to the public. At Amsterdam, the city council sponsored the ferry lines that bridge both side of banks of the IJ river, so pedestrians and bikers could easily, for free, access NDSM from Houthavens, the Centraal Station or Buiksloterweg. At King’s Cross, underground tube and train stations were renovated, enhancing the comfort and the ease of access for the site. Building developers when doing individual buildings of AR, could not influence the area outside of their projects boundary. The public domains of NDSM or KX could be designed to enhance the success of the AR buildings they surround, hence the appeal of tackling a site with AR buildings.

puBlIc spAce

The public space of the NDSM consists of those leftover spaces between the buildings and empty buildings that are rentable for public events. The uninspiring hardscape is dominated by asphalt roads and lifeless granite stones. These are the signs of lack of funding, as well as the overdependence on car or bicycles, though in a way, they enhance the rugged industrial look of the site. The green landscape is still being developed, but the access to the bank of IJ river has already been improved. The studies and observation have illustrated the abundance of vacant spaces available for new developments, and these are serving as temporary parking spaces currently. All parking spaces are over-ground to avert the high cost of soil remediation needed for treating brownfield site47, and the absence of need to shove parking or traffic underground, due to vast spaces available. This applies even for new buildings where the parking is normally located nearby.

For King’s Cross Central, high quality

Fig. 16 Final Masterplan of KX, London. More information on AR projects could be found at the appendix.

landscaping and public spaces are designed, such as the Granary Square and the Lewis Cubitt Park, along with the new pavers that encourages walkability, while almost all car parks are located underground. The reduction of cars on street level boosts the use of greener alternative transportations and the visual clarity of the regenerated sites, with the public exploring the site without the need to be alert of cars. This has a knock-on effect on the maintenance of the reused buildings due to less emission of corrosive elements, while allowing people to appreciate the aesthetic quality of the Victorian King’s Cross. The Regent’s canal-side is redesigned so that it is available for public use, contrary to its former use as a private transport route for steamships and boats.

A high quality public pedestrian space is a ‘true democracy’, giving everyone a sense of belonging and creating a more socially integrated community48. However, there is a problem with some of the new public spaces: that they are not strictly public at all. Instead they are privately owned public spaces, or POPS, where private owners can refuse right of entry to members of the public, closing off swaths of the city. It is warned that these spaces are designed on corporate model that favours ornament and high levels of footfall for retailers in place of community spirit and sustainability49 . The feeling that it is a bit too neat and tidy, clashes with the vibrancy of the reused Victorian buildings.

events

A common noteworthy strategy for both sites to improve the exposure and image while the conservation and construction works for the AR buildings were ongoing is the use of events as mediators. Events were organised to stir the interest of the public and private corporations to come in and invest. NDSM were formalised as event venues that carry artistic content that correlate with the context of the territory and atmosphere which is characterized as brutish and powerful50. In KX, events targeted different groups of users, ensuring a healthy mix of people.

resIdentIAl

At NDSM, the target of 40% residential area is being hit through the construction of new buildings such as the Pontkade, the Yard and the North Dock. The main reason buildings could not be reused as residential areas is because of the noise level from cultural and event spaces at NDSM East, even though limited by controlled size and volume of the event as well as application of sound limiters on tents and other constructions, the location of stage and speakers, sound generators and etc51. Its counterpart in London includes Rubicon Court, Saxon Court and Roseberry Mansions. The conserved sites are mainly reused as offices and restaurants.

energy solutIons

In NDSM, the shipbuilding hall was initially powered by unconventional solutions: the energy supply came from a windmill placed in the monumental crane, the electricity produced from generators on vegetable oil and the heating of studios via groundwater heat52. It was very sustainable but in the end electricity, water supply, gas, electrical power grids still need to be provided by the Municipality. Compare and contrast this to the sustainable solution of King’s Cross. The scheme has installed a combined heat and power plant and each building is connected to the centre. This dispenses with the need for boilers in the buildings themselves and targets 5 percent reduction off energy bill53. This is a very important key element especially to AR projects. The space within the reused Victorian buildings could be optimised because there is no need of accommodating a boiler room within, which brings a cheaper rental per usable floor space.

AdAptIve reuse functIons

The particularly interesting disparity observed occurs between the extent of monetisation of the reused sites of NDSM Amsterdam and King’s Cross London. In Amsterdam NDSM the reused buildings are mostly studios, offices and workshops for the creative industry as well as sites for temporary events at a low rental. For the King’s Cross site, however, most of the reused buildings erected are leased to big corporations as offices and headquarters, as well as luxury retails. The interesting contrast here is that the former is attempting to resist gentrification because of the protection to the renters but the latter invites gentrification. It seems to confirm what the critics argue, that it is really about expanding the wealthy core of London into an area that was previously mixed, and that its values are ultimately those of retail and property54 .

effects on urBAn AreA

The opening up of Regent’s Canal tow path for the first time in the site unlocks east-west movement via the tow path. There is hence an idea of use of the path as access routes instead that increases the accessibility of the site. In Amsterdam the city found its place for arts people but also opened up public ferry routes to improve access, slowly populating the area.

Saving the site from dereliction through this development, however, also signifies the loss of creative spaces, underexploited and potentialfilled zones on which cities thrive5 .

46 Damen Shiprepair & Conversion, About, [website], [no date], Available at https:// www.damenshiprepair.com/en/shipyards/damen-shiprepair-amsterdam/about (Accessed 24/02/2019)

47 Gemeente Amsterdam North, Investeringsbesluit NDSM-werf, 2012, p.54

48 Bullivan, L., op. cit, p.13

49 Vasagar, J., ‘Public spaces in Britain’s cities fall into private hands’, The Guardian, 2012, Available at https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/jun/11/granary-square-privately-ownedpublic-space, (Accessed 24/02/2019)

50 Hoogland, A., Once Something is Finished It Becomes Dull, [interviewed by Archmap. lt], [no date], Available at http://archmap.lt/en/articles/lietuviu-uzbaigti-dalykai-tampanuobodus (Accessed 24/02/2019)

51 Gemeente Amsterdam North, op. cit, p.25

52 Stichting Kinetisch Noord, op. cit, p.3

53 Urban Land Institute, op. cit, p.12 (Accessed 21/01/2019)

54 Moore, R., Thomas Heatherwick’s Coal Drops Yard – shopping in the Instagram age’, The Guardian, 2018

55 O’Sullivan, F, King’s Cross – London’s Changing Landscape in Microcosm, CityLab, 2015, Available at https://www.citylab.com/equity/2015/10/kings-crosslondons-changing-landscapein-microcosm/410668 (Accessed 24/02/2019)

4 Reuse & Development

scrutinising & comparing singles

At each building level, how are they similar or different with each other?

shIpBuIldIng hAll ndsM vs grAnAry BuIldIng Kx

Fig. 17

Fig. 18

The Shipbuilding Hall becomes The individual studios, with their the haven for the squatters and own electricity and water supply, are artists, the users of the site. There built, absolved the need of heating were about 250 studios within the and cooling the whole building. Else, complex. Central Saint Martins fitting the walls and roof of the whole moved into the Granary Complex building with adequate insulation as a university. Both were targeted and installing extensive service entail to lead the effort in regeneration a significant cost unaffordable and of their respective sites. Both the unviable. The negative space between Shipbuilding Hall and the Goods of the building and the studios Yard Complex served as the primary become a flexible semi-public area buildings delivering the functions of where events and commercial works the sites, regardless of the past or the too large to be contained in studios present. Their colossal size relative to happen. other buildings of their sites posed issues in regeneration of the area. The While the Goods Yard Complex brings primary feasibility issue that has to be together all the disparate parts of the well-managed is the viability of the Central St. Martins, it is a largely development of the shipbuilding hall privatised building, where the main and the Goods Yard Complex. Given educational buildings open to staffs the size, the amount of economic and students only. The central atrium gains has to be larger than the new is a huge space flooded with roofreplacement of structural parts too lights that is serviced with a range of feeble to continue their function, heating and cooling strategies. There the designed new spaces and the is hence a massive load of service maintenance of it, the main cost of works being carried out to fit piping AR. networks into the building. The roof of the goods yard complex was In accordance to the idea of City as completely rebuilt for the use of the a Hull, the shipbuilding hall solely university, with concrete and timber functions as the shell of the Art City. blocks structure inside. Fig. 17 & 18 : Shipbuilding Hall before and after Fig. 19 : The facade of the Granary Building is maintained. Fig. 20: Granary Building is now the art school of Central St. Martin’s. Fig. 19

Fig. 20

slIpwAys ndsM vs coAl drops yArds Kx

While the two functions seem to be at variance with each other, the interest for this comparison is the redesign of the buildings uses with relative to their height. The open areas of the slopes at the slipways and the yard level in between the Eastern and Western Coal Drops buildings are for public access. The spaces beneath the slipways and the London buildings are privately reused, for creative workspaces and high—end retail respectively. Therefore, the nature and intent of the two public spaces are different.

Being a ”Rijksmonument” (national monument), motorised transport is banned from going over the slopes and works that might cause damage to the slipway is not allowed56 . Slipway X is prohibited from hosting events, unlike Slipway Y, and has to be fenced by organisers during events nearby. Other than that, the slipways are mostly devoid of reasons that allure people to stay or use that space. The temporality of the spaces allows incidents to happen, and the appreciation of their raw and industrial quality if nothing happens. The temporariness of the place is definitely not what the informal space between Eastern and Western coal drops buildings had intended to achieve. The irony of the site is that although it is indiscriminate to all kinds of people, the high-end retail shops reduces the engagement of the buildings to the general public, instead perhaps only appeals to the window shoppers and offer little incentive for the public to stay there. Their reuse as luxury retail outlets with stimulating public spaces introduces exclusivity to the rich and psychologically deter public use that they simply are used as connection. This could perhaps be interpreted as an attempt to fulfil the societal obligations of providing public spaces while monetising the buildings.

Photo: the retail shops do not require critical mass as a means to increase potential customers because of their niche market, and less use of definitely does not indicate a bad design of public spaces, but the potential use of the space could have been maximised. Design issues persist, such as the introduction of glass to the kissing roofs at the south-facing side reflecting blinding sunlight or

Fig. 21

Fig. 22

the perception of old structures being haphazardly placed but in truth they are deprived of support functions by the new ones57 - a touch of modernity gone awry.

The workings of both places before their respective interventions were very interesting. Cranes at the perimeter had to haul ships or boats from the shipbuilding hall, and slipways were used to festively launch mammoth tankers and ocean liners. They allowed dry-docking of smaller ships as well for reparation works too. In London, the Victorian buildings served as coal storage and a depot for transporting coal from rail wagons to road carts. The change in level was to harness the power of gravity: the coal would be dropped from the bottomwagons through a hole in the middle level where it was sorted and graded before being shovelled into sacks at yard level to be transported by horse and cart58. There are traces on the sites that hint their original uses, but the explanation on the historical s have been basically found wanting: no indications of what activity happened where, and how stuffs work. The retention and restoration of old structures are laudable, however, they alone are not enough to match the ambition of presenting the historical credentials of the sites anew.

Fig. 23

Fig. 21, 22: X&Y Slipways was a squatter’s haven for artists, then are repurposed for mainly art functions. Fig. 23, 24: Coal Dropyards before and after repurposing, with extension of upper floor with roofs that connect and becomes the public space for retail shopping. Fig. 24

crAne 13 ndsM vs gAsholder trIplets Kx

Crane 13 was used to move heavy components of the ship but it has been abandoned for over 20 years. The whole crane was dismantled and taken off from the site, due to absence of maintenance. The Gasholder Triplets frames suffered similar fate, for the extension to St. Pancras Station Channel Tunnel Rail Link project, and stored adjoining Gasholder No.8. These redundant structures would have been scrapped and disposed if not for the conservation movements by the grassroots.

The idea of AR subsequently extends to non-buildings: structures deemed obsolete to the contemporary developments but crucial to the historical narrative. The issue with these structures ancillary to their industrial functions is their irregular and functionalist forms. Typically, functionalist buildings ‘derive their artistic character directly from the way the challenge of function is met, and all the qualities they have in common - forthrightness and simplicity, the emphasis on the basic geometry of architecture rather than ritual of the historic styles, the use of building materials in a way that brings out most strongly their intrinsic qualities’59. In this sense, the rectangular and long-span form found in industrial warehouses makes sense the maximum exploitation of every inch of space available, and is poised to be reused in multiple possible ways. However, the slender and circular forms of the respective structures set limitations on their reuse.

The shapes are therefore repackaged as a culmination of design masterpiece and history - industrial luxury. Single components of the crane in NDSM were reinstalled back on the site as a three-unitsonly luxury hotel. The gasholder frames are restored and relocated to the north-west of coal drops yard. Proposals for the gasholders include apartments, urban rainforests and offices60 but the final outcome is luxury apartments. Redesigning for habitation is a viable solution as a profit-maximising alternative to being frozen as monuments, but the process has to be scrutinised in order to make sense of the extravagance in design. The painstaking issues lies on the restoration and designing works of the structures.

Fig. 25

Fig. 26

Before the crane was reassembled, a chunk of money was splurged on the site works. Quay recovery and soil remediation due to land pollution was not insurmountable; instead, tremendous cost was due to bureaucracy and the search for a 500-pound bomb dropped during WW261. In King’s Cross, the delicate bits were the disassembly, transport and reassembly of the long structural members of the skeleton of gasholders.

One of the technical challenges of the crane was adapting to wind load, therefore the structure is fortified in critical spots, as well to deal with extra weight62. The crane gently rotates in face of wind to reduce maximum wind load while giving a 360⁰ view from the tower. Thus, a rotating shaft and a gold pivot bearing with swivel assembly where all piping work passes through have to be specifically designed63. Big challenges were the fire and safety requirements. The required water capacity for fire-fighting was provided by the water tanks and the spa pool on top, while water needs to be pressurised adequately to reach the high levels of shower areas due to the verticality of the crane.

The designers of the Gasholders had to deal with three different size of blocks and work within the confines of the circular shape; the gasholder plinths that support the frameworks had to be secured by huge bolts; the frameworks are freestanding so a building sequence had to be worked out; offsite manufacturing and prefabrication had to be done to increase fast delivery and onsite safety64 .

Various reasons like these inflated the cost of AR, leading to the question if projects like these are worth the effort and cost, corresponding to the idea of AR that includes “economically viable new purpose” by Urban Land Institute65. Financially, the projects are expected to make a return in investment and therefore, the value of the new products have to be high enough to entice restoration which would have never happened without

Fig. 25, 26: The abandoned Crane 13 and restored as a hotel. Fig. 27: Gasholder Triplets in St. Pancras before it was repurposed. Fig. 28: Relocated and repurposed Gasholder Triplets as a high-end residential. Fig. 27

Fig. 28

the money. The eventual cost of refurbishment of crane is more than € 3,150,000 with each room costing more than €650 per room per night. The Gasholders Apartment construction costs £100m66, containing 145 apartments ranging at least £825,000 for a studio apartment, to £7m for the highest specification and rising, which should not take too long before the developer started earning profits. While appreciating the results of AR, the motive of the developer seemed more on reaping the financial benefits, which undeniably is still a win-win. Nonetheless, one could

other reuses

The sites also offer another type of creative reuse where even nonbuildings are reused. Most of the NDSM site deal with repurposed ships and shipping containers. For example Kapitein Anna was a passenger and freight ship converted into hotel and restaurant69, or MAHU 880 was a minesweeper built during the cold war before being adapted by former navy men to a learning place and participates in maritime events71 .

However, in KX, this kind of only wonder if there is an extent in monetising historicism and memory.

The practice of AR is rich and varied and its importance includes not only the reuse of existing structures but also the reuse of materials, transformative interventions, continuation of cultural phenomena through built infrastructure, connections across the fabric of time and space and preservation of memory - all of which result in densely woven narratives of the built environment with AR as their tool67 .

repurposing rarely occurs. The equivalent of that in NDSM would be train structures in KX site and perhaps rail system, but it is because the train system is still working.

Only buildings and public spaces would be repurposed. The only reusing of material that happens is the skip garden. The budget allocated to renew the space is also huge enough to allow new designs, and therefore less smart compared to its Dutch counterpart.

Fig. 29

Fig. 30

Fig. 31

Fig. 32 Fig. 33

Fig. 29: Pollux Pacific Ship served as a maritime training ship68 before it is used as the current bar restaurant.

Fig. 30: AmstelBotel is a river-cruiser-turned-hotel built in 1993. The hotel is a combination of luxurious architecture and contemporary facilities70 .

Fig. 31: The reuse of materials are also prevalent with shipping containers creating offices like Treehouses, Student Village, Pllek restaurants.

Fig. 32: The original concrete structures for docking were used as foundation to build the Kraanspoor office building above.

Fig. 33: The skip garden was built from recycled wood as well in the Kings Cross site.

56 NDSM.nl, Helling-X, [website], [no date], Available at http://www.ndsm.nl/location/ helling-x/

57 Hyde Park Now, Coal Drops Yard: A Critique, [blog], 2018, Available at https://www. hydeparknow.uk/2018/10/28/coal-drops-yard-a-critique/ (Accessed 24/02/2018)

58 Coal Drops Yard, History of Coal Drops Yard, [website], [no date], Available at https:// www.coaldropsyard.com/history-of-coal-drops-yard (Accessed 24/02/2018)

59 Richards, J., The Functional Tradition in Early Industrial Buildings, London, The Architectural Press, 1958, p.15

60 Allies & Morrison Architects, Porphyrios Associates, Townshend Landscape Architects, Kings Cross Central: Urban Design Statement, (no date), p.83 Available at: https://www. kingscross.co.uk/media/25-Urban-Design-State.pdf (Accessed 12/12/2018)

61 Faralda Crane Hotel, [no date], Available at http://faralda.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/ Facts-and-Figures-English-7-Long-.pdf (Accessed 24/02/2019)

62 SID Studio, Faralda NDSM Crane Hotel, [no date], Available at http://www.sidstudio.nl/ projecten-pages/p0025-hensenkraan.html (Accessed 24/02/2019)

63 Kurt, Converted Crane: 150-foot-tall Dutch Hotel Spins in the Wind, 2015, Available at https://weburbanist.com/2015/02/19/converted-crane-hotel-150-foot-tall-resort-spins-in-thewind/ (Accessed 24/02/2018)

64 Kenny, J., Squaring the Circle at King’s Cross, Construction Manager, 2016, Available at http://www.constructionmanagermagazine.com/onsite/squarin6g-cir4cle-ki5ngs-cross/ (Accessed 24/02/2018)

65 Jo Allen Gause and others, New Uses for Obsolete Buildings, Washington, Urban Land Institute, 1996, v.

66 Hoare Lea, Hoare Lea & Gasholders London, p.3, Available at https://hoarelea.com/app/ uploads/2018/11/HL-Gas-Triplet-Hero-Story-WEB.pdf (Accessed 23/02/19)

67 Berger, M., Hermann, H. and Wong, L., Adaptive Reuse Today - Editorial, The Int|AR Journal, Vol. 1, 2009, p.4

68 Pollux Pacific, [website], [no date], Available at http://polluxpacific.nl/en (Accessed 24/02/2019)

69 Kapitein Anna, History, [website], [no date], Available at https://www.kapiteinanna.nl/ about-kapitein-anna/history-kapitein-anna (Accessed 24/02/2019)

70 Dutch Amsterdam, Amstel Botel: Floating Hotel in Amsterdam, [website], [no date], Available at http://www.dutchamsterdam.nl/255-amstel-botel-floating-hotel-amsterdam (Accessed 24/02/2019)

71 Historic Naval Ships Association, HNLMS Mahu, [website], 2015, Available at https://www. hnsa.org/hnsa-ships/hnlms-mahu (Accessed 24/02/2019