FUNCTIONALISM as a product of industry
Creating a new identity for something as industrial as a grain elevator requires substantial knowledge about the structure and processes that originally drove the massive machine into existence. This supplement is created to submit these findings to the reader, so that they are able to see the development of the building and understand it through the eyes of the architect.
contents |
01
Standard Grain Elevator a supplement to better understand the existing conditions of the archetypal industrial modernist structure
conditional exploration 02
existing conditions 10
site research
structural elements
principle application
location
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08
12 16
grain storage 20
mechanical elements 28
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03
conditional exploration inhabitation of industrial space
04 | site research Cleveland, OH
Detroit, MI
05
Buffalo, NY
This exploration begins with the placement of symbiotic architecture onto a utilitarian industrial structure as it decays, with hopes of creating for it a new human centered identity. Just as stem cells or bone grafts act as catalysts for creating biomatter, the building reacts to that new identity to become a metabolic, adaptive microcity of variable sensational spaces. Progressively, a series of filters at descending scales is applied to all major postindustrial cities in the northeast United States until three sites of different function and scale are chosen.
(left & above) The “geotagging maps� of Eric Fischer utilize websites like Flickr and Instagram to find what objects people are photographing and where the photographers are from: blue lines are local photographers, red is tourist, yellow is unknown, and the red dot is the site location.
06 | site research Telescope Mill: Cleveland, OH
United Artists Theater: Detroit, MI
site research |
07
Standard Grain Elevator: Buffalo, NY
These maps are cross-referenced with historic industrial maps to find the sites that meet all of the selected criteria: historic local significance, industrial form, public interest, and accessibility. Certain principles are applied in their own unique fashion to each of the three sites. Natural light is regarded as a softening element to the imposing industrial feel of the building, the human scale is enhanced in context of the industrial scale, and public accessibility is accentuated.
(left & above) These three sites were the only ones that survived the layers of filters used to establish the ideal existing industrial structure. They each present an abundance of opportunities for development.
08 | principle application
The Standard Elevator in Buffalo, NY is chosen as the test site for the thesis due to its unique and specific form. It presents the greatest challenge for modification as well as the greatest opportunity for structural development and social integration. The European modernist masters were heavily influenced by the American grain elevator, as the significance of its symbolic formal qualities are undeniable to any architect that has looked into them with some scrutiny.
principle application |
09
The grain elevator is neither form, nor function, nor symbol. It is all three. -Lippert In reality, we frequently continue to appreciate elements whose function has been lost over time; the value of these artifacts often resides solely in their form. -Rossi Thus we have the American grain elevator, the first fruits of the new age. The American engineers overrun with their calculation our expiring architecture. -Corbusier
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11
existing conditions contextual and structural research
12 | structural elements Some Text Regarding the Standard Elevator (copied from the Historic American Engineering Record HAER No. NY-241)
structural elements |
13
Some Text Regarding the Standard Annex (copied from the Historic American Engineering Record HAER No. NY-241)
14
12” O.C. spacing
6” O.C. spacing
12” O.C. spacing
structural elements |
15
Battle at the Stalingrad Elevator On September 18, 1942, less than 40 Russian soldiers were called to defend the grain elevator in Stalingrad as the German army pushed its way through the city. 400 footmen, accompanied by 12 tanks, made 10 attempts to attack the structure over three days. The Germans pounded the massive concrete structure with artillery, antitank guns, mortars, and tank guns, setting the grain on fire. Hand-tohand combat raged through the structure, which finally fell to the Nazi forces on September 21, 1942.
Such resistance is proof of the intense structure necessary to preform the tasks of the grain elevator.
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location |
17
Buffalo, NY, once an industrial giant, has become decrepit and misused as the advancement of technology has long since bypassed the city’s usefulness as the agricultural gateway to and from the Northeast. Frozen in time, what appears to be a graveyard of functionalist structures may actually be a breeding ground for development and architectural innovation.
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location |
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The Standard Elevator is the last functioning grain storage facility in the Old First Ward, Buffalo, NY, USA. It boarders the winding Buffalo River as well as a struggling neighborhood only one mile from the center of the city, along a well travelled radial road.
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grain storage |
21
A simple blackboard is used to keep track of which bins store each type of grain, the date they were updated, and how many bushels are stored in each.
22 | grain storage
Standard Elevator (1928)
West Workhouse & Drying Tower
Mobile Marine Leg 1
River Facade of the Standard Elevator
Mobile Marine Leg 2
grain storage |
23
Standard Annex (1941)
East Workhouse & Train Loading
The functional needs of the elevator were directly responsible for the materialization of its simple geometric form. Le Corbusier, Mendelsohn, and Gropius saw a new school of architectural thought in the massive functionalist structures that were symbolic of prosperity and mass production.
24 | grain storage Boat to train (shown) - process of the movement of grain from import by water to storage, and from storage to export by land.
(above) Transverse section through mobile marine leg (west workhouse in background). The marine leg moves into position, raises the grain from the boat, measures and weighs it.
25
(above) Longitudinal section with central workhouse and ghosted marine leg for reference. The grain is stored by “turnspout” or “conveyor and tripper” in the desired bin until it is demanded.
26 | grain storage (above) Longitudinal section with central workhouse. When needed, the grain is emptied onto a lower conveyor and transported to the central workhouse.
grain storage |
27
(above) Transverse section through the central workhouse and train depot. At the central workhouse, it is lifted and weighed again to be dispersed properly to the awaiting train cars.
The same process may also be completed backward, depositing grain from the train to the barge.
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V-Spouts
Workhouse & Bin Floor
Deployable Arm
Marine Leg Track
River Dock River Elevation with mobile marine tower
Vertical movement of grain (which occurs in full cycle three separate times) occurs in one of four towers: one on the west end, two mobile marine towers to the south (shown), and one located between the original elevator and its annex.
mechanical elements |
29
Turnspouts & Conveyors
Storage Bins
Hoppers & Conveyors Foundation Longitudinal Section (center)
Longitudinal movement of grain along the length of the elevator occurs either on top of the storage silos or in the basement, leaving the majority of the building in the middle for storage.
30
(1)
(2)
A
A
(3)
The marine legs running along the south face of the elevator serve to move grain from barges running along the Buffalo River, weigh it, and store it in the correct bin.
mechanical elements |
31
V-Spout
Turnspout (1) Tripper (2)
Grain Lift Arm
Scale and Hopper
Steel Hopper (3) Long. Conveyor Grain Barge
transverse section through the marine leg and storage bins (A-A)
32
(1)
(2)
B
B
(3)
The Eastern Workhouse (located between the original elevator and annex) serves to move grain between storage bins and train cars when it is ready to be shipped.
mechanical elements |
33
Grain Measurement
Scale and Hopper (1) Turnspouts
Longitudinal Conveyor
Grain Lift
Train Loading Dock
Marine Leg Track (2) Train Unloading (3)
transverse section through the east workhouse and railroad loading (B-B)
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36
Structural research and existing site images in this book are thanks to the Library of Congress Historic American Engineering Record. Drawings, diagrams, and collages are by the author.
Tyson Keen Phillips Instructor: Aki Ishida May, 2013