DECAY AND REBIRTH

A project by Chon Fai Kuok in the UMN BS in Architecture undergraduate studio 05 taught by Wolf Scott and Todd Grove

The project is a Center for Architecture located in the Minneapolis historic mill district. The site is part of the Minneapolis mill ruin courtyard, which is deteriorating and has been scheduled for removal due to safety concerns. While the historic artifact may inevitably be torn down, the project utilizes the limestone debris and transforms it into a mass anchoring a proposed reverse cantilever to shelter the new construction.

The project juxtaposes old and new to tell a story of adaptive reuse. The distinct new construction lifts the spatial quality of the limestone masonry wall and changes the perception of the historic landmark. The architecture center is designed to reconnect different generations within the architectural community, providing for programming such as design lectures, architecture students’ projects exhibitions, and mentorship events, for people from multi-generations to share ideas and experience stories of architecture from different perspectives.