Social & Planetary Benefits In Architectural Reuse Book

The process of reusing existing materials and building components rather than manufacturing new ones has been gaining greater traction in the construction industry recently due to the reduction in waste materials and carbon consumption this can generate. As designers, reuse strategies require us to radically change the ways we conceive of the design of our schemes, bringing into question how we might respond creatively to buildings, components, and landscapes which have been designed by others, and to consider the potential afterlife of the materials we use beyond their application in the projects we are constructing.

Yet there are many benefits to this approach which stretch beyond the environmental and aesthetic credentials which we have come to expect from employing such strategies in our designs. As the following project demonstrates, embracing creative reuse can open up novel opportunities for a reviving historic craft techniques, and for helping introduce a new generation to the construction industry.

When artist Lucas Muñoz joined with business entrepreneurs Felipe Turell and Javier Antequera of Proyectos Conscientes, they set out to transform a redundant building in Madrid into a restaurant which would take a holistic view of responsible consumption - in terms of the way the building was created, as much as in the food they would produce. Rather than measure value in purely monetary terms, the scheme privileges the values of sustainability, social engagement, business ethics, and inclusivity. MO de Movimiento has become a centre for testing and experimentation, which sets a new agenda for design practice by placing an emphasis on the social benefits of creative reuse, and by establishing a more equitable working environment.

The building had once been the Espronceda Theatre which had closed in 1991, and then become a recording studio. It required a large-scale strip out to form the open spaces necessary for the creation of the restaurant, which generated 1.8 tonnes of construction rubble, along with numerous redundant light fittings, pipe work, and timber which would otherwise have gone to waste. To make best use of the materials presented to the team, it was necessary to adopt a more dynamic design process than might ordinarily be expected in a building refurbishment. Rather than having a predetermined outcome, the design of the interior, furnishings, and fixtures was developed incrementally through a process of improvisation and experimentation, which required the team to respond to new discoveries, and open up to unforeseen opportunities which presented themselves. Muñoz served as chief collaborator, working with local artisans who were trained in traditional techniques. These artisans often operated on a small-scale, and were thought of as being rather out of date for the contemporary construction industry, yet their mutual collaboration enabled them to explore new applications for their specialist craft knowledge.

For example, to minimise its operational carbon consumption, the space is cooled using a traditional adiabatic cooling system. A series of sculptural, hand-formed terracotta pots made in a vernacular style from Badajoz were fired using a 500-yearold underground oven, and filled with water before being hung at high level throughout the space. These make use of evaporative cooling to mediate the hot, dry air which characterises the environment of Madrid. To heat the space, water is warmed in pipes which run through the two pizza ovens on site. This is then pumped around elegant sculptural coils of copper piping which are suspended from the walls, their curves celebrating the skilled handiwork of plumbers which might ordinarily be concealed behind wall finishes.

Calling upon his practice expertise in transforming industrial materials into highend products, Muñoz helped guide the upcycling of waste materials, through collaboratively prototyping innovative fixtures for the restaurant. As a result, the rubble from the demolition works has been encapsulated into thick terrazzo tiles which form bench seating to the perimeter walls, complemented by chairs and stools crafted from the blocks and timber which were reclaimed during the removal sprung floor of the theatre. Strip lighting which has been reclaimed from various car parks across the city has been deconstructed, with the casings fitted with more energy efficient LEDs to form industrial chandeliers. The old neon tubes have been repurposed to create sculptural light fittings, whilst bundles of electrical wire have been reformed to serve as door handles. Even the staff uniforms - designed by Inés Sistiaga - have undergone a process of transformation. Clothing from charity shops has been dyed using natural colourings, including dyes created from the nails reclaimed from the theatre’s auditorium. These have then been embellished using ancestral embroidery techniques, by working with the women of the Atheleia workshop.

Yet some of the most impactful strategies employed in the scheme are less visible. Behind the scenes during development, a sustainability team led by Cristina Freire and Marcel Gomez scrutinised the supply chain for every material used in the project, calculating the energy consumption at the point of production, the impact of transportation, and even researching the employment conditions at the suppliers’ premises to challenge the social values the project was supporting - which often challenged the normal collaborations the contractor would undertake.

The ethos of local sourcing of materials which once applied to the architectural transformation of the space has now been applied to the produce used within the kitchens - which also reduces the carbon footprint of the food served. The greater impact on the ecosystems within which this food is produced is also taken into consideration, ensuring organic, fair trade, and ethical practices are in place throughout. Half of the restaurant’s staff come from three different youth foundations - Norte Joven Association, the Tomillo Foundation, and the Raíces Foundation - supporting those who have experienced aspects of inequality, barriers to employment, and social exclusion, to help gain new skills which will provide opportunities in the workplace.

Employing strategies of reuse have reduced the scheme’s carbon footprint by over 70% in comparison to a standard restaurant refurbishment. Yet alongside the benefits for environmental sustainability, the processes employed in delivering these strategies offer long-term social and economic sustainability for the region, with a scale of positive influence which stretches far beyond the project itself. The scheme highlights the advantages of embracing adaptation - not only in terms of the materials used, but also in relation to our design approach in employing them, and the need to rethink how we might use experimentation, learning, negotiation, uncertainty and collaboration as positive attributes with which to build in the future.

Dr Ruth Lang is a senior tutor in Radical Practice at the Royal College of Art, and is lead researcher for the Future Observatory’s Low Carbon Housing project at the Design Museum in London. Her book Building For Change: the architecture of creative reuse was published by gestalten in 2022.