Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an old site or building for a purpose other than which it was

built or designed for. Along with Brownfield reclamation, adaptive reuse is seen by many as a key factor in land conservation and the reduction of urban sprawl. However adaptive reuse can become controversial as there is sometimes a blurred line between renovation, facadism and adaptive reuse. It can be regarded as a compromise between historic preservation and demolition. Definition Adaptive reuse deals with the issues of conservation and heritage policies. Whilst old buildings become unsuitable for their programmatic requirements, as progress in technology, politics and economics moves faster than the built environment, adaptive reuse comes in as a sustainable option for the reclamation of sites. In many situations, the types of buildings most likely to become subjects of adaptive reuse include; industrial buildings, as cities become gentrified and the process of manufacture moves away from city; political buildings, such as palaces and buildings which cannot support current and future visitors of the site; and community buildings such as churches or schools where the use has changed over time. Adaptive reuse is seen as an effective way of reducing urban sprawl and environmental impact. By reusing an existing structure within a site, the energy required to create these spaces is lessened, as is the material waste that comes from destroying old sites and rebuilding using new materials. Through adaptive reuse old, unoccupied buildings can become suitable sites for many different types of use. FACTORS AFFECTING ADAPTIVE REUSE Criteria for adaptive reuse While the process of adaptive reuse is a decision often made purely by companies establishing a particular brand or presence, there are often criteria for deciding whether a building should be conserved and reused or just demolished for the area of land it occupies. Some of these determining criteria include; The societal value of a given site; that is, the importance to the community of the use of a site by community members or visitors. The potential for the reuse of a particular site; the physical damage sustained to the site and its support of future use, the character of the existing site in terms of the proposed reuse. The historical importance of the site; in terms of both the physicality of the street-scape and the area, as well as of the role of the site in the communitys understanding of the past. The natural ecological conditions of the site; whether the site is suitable climatically or can support the proposed environmental work needed in the site.

Kelso Home building a classic candidate for adaptive reuse being razed to accommodate the parking lot of a new athletic facility Economic considerations There has been much debate on the economic possibilities and viability of adaptive reuse as different corporations and companies seek to find sustainable ways to approach their corporate or retail sites. There are many outcomes that affect the economic return of adaptive reuse as an avenue to a companys use of a given site. Factors such as the reuse of materials and resources as well as a lesser need to involve energy, both in terms of labour and machine powered, can effectively decrease the monetary funds needed for companies to establish sites. However, there can be hidden costs in reusing old buildings such as; the unknown contamination of older sites, decay and disuse affecting the usability of a building as well as the possible need for modification of an older building to fit current and future building codes. With each project, the economic costs differ from project, to project and some professionals go as far as to assert that new build is always more economical, and renovation is universally more expensive, due to their own involvement with adaptive reuse projects. Others claim that the return on investment is enhanced when using an older building, because of the savings involved. One Canadian developer claims that reusing buildings generally represents a saving of between 10-12% over building new. In terms of profitability, there are also the assertions that adaptive reuse projects often have an uncertainty to their profitably, that newer developments lack. When looking for funding to build, these considerations must be addressed. With many heritage sites on the agenda for government agencies, there are, a number of financial incentives provided in order to increase the use of older sites in many countries. In the provinces of Canada, some municipalities offer financial encouragement for heritage development such as, the City of Waterloo who waived the development charges for the Seagram Lofts that have been estimated to be around $700,000. Governing bodies also benefit from the reuse of once abandoned sites as once occupied, they generate tax revenue and therefore often recover the initial investment. Advantages of adaptive reuse With the debate of adaptive reuse as a sustainable avenue in the development of key sites, there are many advantages to using certain sites for redevelopment. Some of these advantages include the sites location; in many cases, historical sites are often located in the centers of large cities due to the spatial development of a given area, these buildings can often be heritage-listed and therefore sold as an entity, rather than just for the land that they occupy, which the new tenants then have to retrofit the building for their particular purpose. Older buildings also often have a specific period character through the detailing and joinery of their constructed eras that newer or reconstructed developments lack, in certain cases, such as the hospitality industry; the grand character of a site can influence the feel of their building and are used for maximum potential to enhance the sites physical attractiveness to a client.

The benefits of adaptively reusing heritage buildings:

Environmental Adaptive reuse of buildings has a major role to play in the sustainable development of Australian communities. When adaptive reuse involves historic buildings, environmental benefits are more significant, as these buildings offer so much to the landscape, identity and amenity of the communities they belong to. One of the main environmental benefits of reusing buildings is the retention of the original buildings embodied energy. The CSIRO defines embodied energy as the energy consumed by all of the processes associated with the production of a building, from the acquisition of natural resources to product delivery, including mining, manufacturing of materials and equipment, transport and administrative functions. By reusing buildings, their embodied energy is retained, making the project much more environmentally sustainable than entirely new construction. New buildings have much higher embodied energy costs than buildings that are adaptively reused. In 2001, new building accounted for about 40 per cent of annual energy and raw materials consumption, 25 per cent of wood harvest, 16 per cent of fresh water supplies, 44 per cent of landfill, 45 per cent of carbon dioxide production and up to half of the total greenhouse emissions from industrialised countries. The Australian Greenhouse Office notes that the reuse of building materials usually involves a saving of approximately 95 per cent of embodied energy that would otherwise be wasted. In this context the reuse of heritage buildings makes good sense. Social Keeping and reusing historic buildings has long-term benefits for the communities that value them. When done well, adaptive reuse can restore and maintain the heritage significance of a building and help to ensure its survival. Rather than falling into disrepair through neglect or being rendered unrecognisable, heritage buildings that are sympathetically recycled can continue to be used and appreciated. Increasingly, communities, governments and developers are seeking ways to reduce the environmental, social and economic costs of continued urban development and expansion. We are realising that the quality and design of the built environment in our towns and cities are vital to our standard of living and our impact upon natural resources. In the context of local government planning, heritage has merged with more general environmental and quality-of-life concerns in recent years. Communities increasingly recognise that future generations will benefit from the protection of certain places and areas, including heritage places. Our lifestyle is enhanced not just from the retention of heritage buildings, but from their adaptation into accessible and useable places. The reuse of heritage buildings in established residential areas can provide the community with new housing and commercial property opportunities. In the greater Sydney region, for example, a number of large publicly owned sites containing heritage buildings are being redeveloped including the former Parramatta, Lidcombe, and Rozelle Hospitals. Location, access and public transport availability will always attract developers, and the size of the sites, and variety of

buildings available for reuse mean that a good mix of dwelling types can be offered, with broad appeal to buyers as a result. Town planners and councils that recognise and promote the benefits of adaptive reuse of heritage buildings, then, will be contributing to the livability and sustainability of their communities. Economic There are several financial savings and returns to be made from adaptive reuse of historic buildings. Embodied energy savings from not demolishing a building will only increase with the predicted rise of energy costs in the future. While there is no definitive research on the market appeal of reused heritage buildings, they have anecdotally been popular because of their originality and historic authenticity. A study for the NSW Heritage Council that included four adaptive reuse or redevelopment sites revealed that the combination of financial incentives and the commercially oriented nature of the adaptive reuse schemes outweighed any extra heritage related costs and project risks. The study also concluded that these sympathetic adaptive re-use schemes have created commercially viable investment assets for the owners. Promoting innovation The adaptation of heritage buildings presents a genuine challenge to architects and designers to find innovative solutions. As development pressures increase in our cities, more heritage buildings are being reused, producing some excellent examples of creative designs that retain heritage significance.

Barriers to adaptive reuse As mentioned above, adaptive reuse sometimes isnt the most viable option for all historic sites. For some sites that have been left alone to decay by neglect, the physical damage of the site can render the site unusable both in terms of the cost to repair the damage as well as unsafe by government standards. Sites contaminated by old materials such as asbestos also become unviable for the process of adaptive reuse. BY LOCATION Canada Adaptive reuse is not the norm in Canada, where redevelopment has historically meant demolition and building anew. Calgary and Edmonton are particularly known for their pro-demolition culture, but they are not unique in this regard. However, since the 1990s, adaptive use has gained traction in Canada. The conversion of former railway-centred warehouse districts to residential and commercial uses has occurred in Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Regina, and Winnipeg. In Toronto, the Distillery District, a neighbourhood in the city's southeast side, was entirely adapted from the old Gooderham & Worts distillery. Other prominent re-uses include the Candy Factory on Queen Street West and the Toy

Factory, in the city's Liberty Village district, both done by Quadrangle Architects, a firm specializing in adaptive re-use in Toronto and elsewhere. Vancouver's Yaletown, an upscale neighbourhood established in the 1990s, features warehouses and other small-industrial structures and spaces converted into apartments and offices for the gentrification of the area. Montreal's Griffintown, Old Port, and Lachine Canal areas all feature ex-industrial areas that have been reused or will do so in the future on current plans. United States Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco was the first major adaptive reuse project in the United States, opening in 1964. Urban waterfronts, historically used as points for industrial production and transport, are now selling-points for home buyers and renters. In American city neighbourhoods that have seen racial and ethnic demographic changes over the last century, some houses of worship have been converted for other religions, and some others have been converted into residences. A large number of brick mill buildings in the Northeast United States have undergone mill conversion projects. In the United States, especially in the Northeast and Midwest, loft housing is one prominent result of adaptive reuse projects. Formerly-industrial areas such as the Meatpacking District in New York City, Callow hill in Philadelphia and Soma in San Francisco are being transformed into residential neighbourhoods through this process. This transformation is sometimes associated with gentrification. Station Square in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania is an example of a mile-long former Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad terminal and headquarters being converted into a retail, office, hotel, and tourist destination. The Pratt Street Power Plant in Baltimore was converted to offices, retail, and restaurants. An example of adaptive reuse conversion to office space are The Hilliard Mills. Other museums adapted from old factories include "MassMOCA," the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, the Watermill Center in Long Island, New York, and The Dia Art Foundation Museum in upstate New York. In San Diego, California, the historic brick structure of the Western Metal Supply Co. building at 7th Avenue (between K and L Streets) was preserved and incorporated into the design of PETCO Park, the new baseball-only ballpark of the San Diego Padres, and can be prominently seen in the left-field corner of that ballpark. It now houses the team's flagship gift shop, luxury rental suites, a restaurant and rooftop bleachers, and its southeast corner serves as the ballpark's left field foul pole. Australia In Australia, there have been a number of adaptive reuse projects as the main cites have turned from industrial areas into areas of high value and business areas. In Sydney, sites such as the old Sydney Mint have been renovated and adapted into inner-city headquarters for the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales. The movement of the city from an industrial, working class area into a gentrified area with high house prices has helped a number of adaptive reuse sites to exist within such an area, the old Hyde Park Barracks building has also been transformed from an old jail into a museum which documents and records the history of Australias first settlers and convicts.

The industrial history of Australia has also been an influencing factor in determining the types of buildings and areas which have gone on to become adaptive reuse sites, especially in the realms of private residences and community based buildings. Some such sites include, Nonda Katsalidis Malthouse apartments in Richmond, a conversion of a former grain silo and the South Australian site of the Balhannah Mines which was adapted into a private residence and has received awards from the Housing Industry Association and the Design Institute of Australia. Europe In Europe, the main forms of adaptive reuse have been around former palaces and unused residences of the different European royal families into publicly accessible galleries and museums. Many of the spaces have been restored with period finishes and display different collections of art, and design. In Paris, France, the most famous example of adaptive reuse is the Muse du Louvre, a former palace built in the late 12th century under Philip II and opened to the public as a museum in 1793. Also, in London, England, the Queen's House, a former royal residence built around 1614, has become part of the National Maritime Museum and houses the museum's fine art collection. The Tate Modern, also in London is another example of adaptive reuse in the European continent, unlike other adaptive reuse galleries in Europe, the Tate Modern takes full advantage of the site of the former Bankside Power Station, which involved the refurbishment of the old, abandoned power station. The wide industrial space has proven to be a worthy backdrop to modern art, with the famous turbine hall hosting artists including Olafur Eliasson, Rachel Whiteread and Ai Weiwei. Other famous adaptive reuse sites in Europe include the Maastricht branch of the Selexyz chain in the Netherlands. This project received 2007 Lensvelt de Architect interior design award for its innovative reuse and is number one on The Guardian's worldwide top ten bookstores list. India An option for threatened heritage structures? The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai is planning the constructive re-use of one of the largest textile complexes in the country, the India United 2&3 Textile Mills, located on 16 acres in central Mumbai. 30,000 sq m of industrial space here is to be transformed into a Textile Mill Museum, housing galleries of historic costumes, traditional textiles, looms, and a permanent exhibit on the history of the textile mills and the life of the mill workers. The restoration plan also envisages textile galleries, cafs, a fine dining restaurant, a museum shop, boutiques, a crafts centre, an auditorium, and space for temporary exhibitions and fashion shows. This is a change that has been welcomed in a city where many such mills have been sold to private developers and suffered the wreckers hammers. The plan draws attention to the concept of adaptive re-use of heritage structures that have deteriorated over the years due to lack of maintenance and lost their charm. With increasing awareness of environmental and heritage concerns, the three Rs re-use, recycle and reduce have come into greater focus. Sustainable architecture, green buildings, carbon footprints are common terms in

architecture today. However, how many cities have actually considered re-using old heritage buildings? Demolition is usually considered an easier option. The concept of the adaptive re-use of heritage buildings is yet to catch on in India. Chennai is home to various heritage buildings and precincts whose future is uncertain. Some of them are Fort St George, the Bharat Insurance Building, Gokhale Hall, Senate House and the Buckingham and Carnatic Mills. These remain neglected and a couple are considered fit only for demolition. But isnt reuse an option? K. Kalpana, conservation architect and an INTACH member who was part of the team that restored Senate House, says, We need to look at the re-use of heritage structures in the right perspective. The question of re-using buildings is an option you can resort to for buildings which have gone out of use due to their misuse and lack of maintenance. Structures that are still in usable condition must be made use of in the way they were intended to be. Like the old colonial houses in Pondicherry, which are still being used and are well maintained. The Bharat Insurance Building, for instance, has several offices and meeting halls and it can be used for the same purposes even today, she points out. There has been greater awareness compared to 10-15 years ago when it comes to such restoration, she adds. Heritage bungalows unfit for residential use can be transformed into chic cafs, restaurants and boutiques, recommends A. Srivathsan, architect. Amethyst, Fab India on Woods Road and Krishna Sweets in Purasawalkam are good examples of this. The State Bank of India and the General Post Office on First Line Beach can be imaginatively put to better use. Srivathsan strongly feels that it is necessary for the PWD, which maintains most Government buildings, to build up capacity to restore the heritage buildings that are Government-owned. While they are good at repair and regular maintenance, the PWD personnel are not well trained for specialised conservation jobs. Another hurdle is the PWD protocols that only recognise standardised specification, rates and construction procedures. It is necessary to build new databases and develop protocols to reduce or manage procedural tangles in the case of heritage buildings, he urges. When it comes to private owners it is important that incentives and technical help are extended by Government. Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) is one of the tools that can be used, he says. But there are other alternatives too, like tax concessions. At the end of the day, however, mainstream construction practices must be more responsive to the needs of heritage buildings, he adds.

RESTORATION FOR ADAPTIVE REUSE AS HERITAGE HOTEL- TIJARA FORT, RAJASTHAN.

Image: Neemrana Fort Palace, Rajasthan, India, a 15th-century fort, has been restored for adaptive reuse as a heritage hotel

Le Mill, one of Mumbais multifunctional, lifestyle concept stores opened a few months back. Le Mill is housed in a former rice mill right in the middle of the citys tenacious dock area covering 15,000 sq ft converted to a retail facility and is a clever adaptive reuse project which have been popular in Mumbais former mill sprawls. When old buildings become unsuitable for their programmatic intentions, as progress in technology, politics and economics restructures itself faster than the built environment, adaptive reuse comes in as a sustainable option for the reclamation of sites with more affordability.

The designer has kept the structural additions to a minimum and maintained the rafters and high ceiling from the original space. The industrial feel is completed with exposed HVAC ducts and ceiling-hung light fixtures. Its dramatic and we do away with an additional layer of false ceiling. Flooring is exposed concrete with just a hint of gloss with a semi-finished polish. Its incompleteness makes a statement, a positive one.

Kollam is fortunate to have gone to the annals of history to have the first Police Museum in India. It is an excellent initiative to conserve the architectural heritage of Kerala by adaptive reuse of a hundred year old inn, with four courtyards, which was used as a Police Station, has now become a center of Police History. The Museum exhibits the history of World Police, Indian Police and Kerala Police.

Musee d'Orsay
Architect Gae Aulenti Location Paris, France map Date 1980 to 1987 timeline Building Type historical art museum, adaptive reuse Construction System bearing masonry, etc. Climate temperate Context urban riverside Style Modern

The Gare D'Orsay was built in 1900, its original function being a railway station. By 1969, the building was closed to the public, with an uncertain future looming over it. This was due to the fact that the grand space could no longer accomodate the ever increasing lengths of train carriages of the day. By the mid 70s the Louvre was becoming extremely overcrowded. It was decided that a new museum be built in Paris, so that the Impressionist paintings could be enjoyed in more spacious surroundings. The French government at the time gave its approval and support for the former railway station's conversion into a museum. By the mid eighties the new museum was up and running.

"The station is superb and looks like a palais des beaux~arts..." wrote the painter Edouard Detaille in 1900. Eighty-six years later, his prophecy was fulfilled. The transformation of the station into a museum was accomplished by ACT architecture group, made up of Mr. Bardon, Mr. Colboc and Mr. Philippon. Their project was chosen in 1979 out of six propositions, and would respect Laloux's architecture while nonetheless reinterpreting it according to its new function. The project highlighted the great hall, using it as the main artery of the visit, and transformed the magnificent glass awning into the museum's entrance. The museum has been organized on three levels: on the ground floor, galleries are distributed on either side of the central nave, which is overlooked by the terraces of the intermediate level,these in turn opening up into additional exhibition galleries. The top floor is installed above the lobby, which covers the length of the quai, and continues into the highest elevations of the former hotel, over the rue de Bellechasse. The museum's specific exhibition spaces and different facilities are distributed throughout the three levels the pavilion Amont, the glass walkway of the former station's western pinion, the museum restaurant (installed in the dining hall of the former hotel), the Caf des Hauteurs, the bookstore and the auditorium.

The building is a fine example of Adaptive Re-use, a proposition from the ICOMOS Charter for the Protection of Buildings. The redevelopment of the building was undertaken between 1980 to 1987 The rue de Lille was once the central lane of the garden belonging to Henri IV's famous queen, Marguerite de Valois. Upon her death in 1615, the property was sold by lots, and private mansions continued to build up the neighborhood, while on the banks of the Seine a port known as the Grenouillire served as a resting place for lumber barges and other cargo. The construction of the quai d'Orsay began in 1708 near the Pont Royal, and was completed a century later under Napoleon I's Empire. The aristocratic vocation of the neighbourhood was definitively imposed at the end of the 18th century when the Htel de Salm (today the Museum of the Legion of Honor) was built between 1782 and 1788. During the 19th century, two buildings stood upon the site of the future Orsay station : the Cavalry barracks and the Palais d'Orsay, built between 1810 and 1838 successively by Jean-Charles Bonnard and Jacques Lacorne. Although the Palais had originally been planned for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the end it housed the Cour des Comptes (Court of Accounts) and the Conseil d'Etat (State Council). During the violence of what is known as La Commune in 1870, the entire neighbourhood was burnt down. For thirty years the carbonized ruins of the Palais d'Orsay served as reminders of the horrors of civil war.

Tea room On the eve of the 1900 World's Fair, the French government ceded the terrain to the Orleans railroad company, who, disadvantaged by the remote location of their Austerlitz station, planned to build a more central terminus station on the site of the ruined Palais d'Orsay. In 1897, the company consulted three architects: Lucien Magne, Emile Bnard and Victor Laloux. Victor Laloux ended up designing the railway station, it was built in 6 months, in time for the exhibition.

The hotel closed its doors on January 1st, 1973, not without having played a historic role : the General de Gaulle held the press conference announcing his return to power in its ballroom (the Salle des Ftes). In 1975, the Direction des Muses de France already envisioned installing a new museum in the train station, in which all of the arts from the second half of the 19th century would be represented. The station, threatened with destruction and replacement by a large modern hotel complex, benefitted instead from the revival of interest in nineteenth-century architecture and was listed on the Supplementary Inventory of Historical Monuments on March 8, 1973. The official decision to build the Muse d'Orsay was taken during the interministerial council of October 20, 1977, on President Valry Giscard d'Estaing's initiative. The building was classified a Historical Monument in 1978 and a civil commission was created to oversee the construction and organization of the museum. The President of the Republic, Francois Mitterrand, inaugurated the new museum on December Ist, 1986, and it opened to the public on December 9th.

The interior design of the museum was conceived by a team of scenographers and architects directed by Gae Aulenti. With Italo Rota, Piero Castiglioni (lighting consultant) and Richard Peduzzi (architectural consultant), Gae Aulenti succeeded in creating a unified presentation amidst such a large diversity of volumes, in particular by using a homogeneous stone covering for the floors and walls. This installation brings the immesurable space of the former station down to size. The signage was conceived by B. Monguzzi and J. Widmer. As for the lighting, natural light is used, as is artificial light, in order to allow the variations in intensity which are needed according to the different works of art presented.

Five Houses on the Goldsmiths Street

With the requirement of providing office space for the different NGOs operating from this region, the five houses were segregated into two clusters namely four interconnected houses and the fifth with a large yard as garden around. The four houses being too small in themselves had to be redesigned and interconnected to accommodate more facilities to suite the requirements of an office, like office rooms, meeting halls, pantries, dining spaces, restrooms and toilets. Thus came the decision to connect the houses through common amenities, while following the policy of least intervention with the existing structure in conservation. The restoration was done considering two important concepts of conservation namely use of like-for-like and policy of least intervention.

Before and after pictures

House 1

House 2

House 3

House4

House 5

The structural reconstruction work was done using mud mortar and lime plaster as was the case in the existing parts of the buildings. 1. R.C.C Verandah replaced with traditional 'thalvaram'. 2. New pavilion constructed on the roof terrace. 3. Rooms inside opened up to accommodate a 'kudam'. 4. Existing ventilators replaced with old windows. 5. New staircase constructed in place of the old dilapidated staircase. 6. Existing 'thalvaram' cleared off the wooden grilles . 7. Height of the rear room raised to obtain larger volume of space. 8. Brick columns of the 'mutram' replaced with old wooden columns. 9. Entrance to the third house remodeled with a traditional thalvaram 10. Rear rooms of the third house reconstructed to accommodate toilets and bathroom 11. Collapsed portions of the hird house reconstucted in the traditional way 12. Thach of the thalvaram replaced with traditional country tiles 13. Brick columns of the thalvaram replaced with old wooden comlumns 14. Collapsed rear rooms of the fourth house repaved with traditional square clay tiles.

Goldsmiths Street Houses Elevations

Houses 1 to 4

House 5

Goldsmiths Street Work in progress

Bungalow on the Beach

Bungalow on the beach, former Collectors bungalow, it has been restored and redesigned to house a heritage hotel managed by Neemarana Hotels.The sea-side building was bought by the Neemrana group in 2002 and was in an advanced state of disrepair, where parts of the verandah had collapsed and the roof of the first-floor verandah had been dismantled. The restoration was carried out using traditional materials and construction techniques like Madras terrace method of floor slab construction in lime mortar, timber lean-to-roof for firstfloor verandah, etc. A new timber staircase was added to approach the first-floor. The method of least intervention with the original structure has been followed to accommodate modern facilities like bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms, kitchen and dining rooms, reception, etc.

Hunsett Mill
Norfolk Broads National Park, United Kingdom

Photo Courtesy of Cristobal Palma--facade of extension The hunsett mills renovation project, by london-based architecture firm acme, was guided by a focus on environmentally friendly practices and the desire to create a building that would fit naturally into thelandscape, in terms of both aesthetics and function.

Photo Courtesy of Cristobal Palma

Photo Courtesy of Cristobal Palma Unique design challenges were presented by the property's location, in the protected wetlands of the norfolk broads. historically adapted for industrial use, the landscape of the broads has benefited from contemporary trends that emphasis conservation and a return to nature.

Photo Courtesy of Cristobal Palma--garden space

Photo Courtesy of Cristobal Palma--surrounding landscape Originally the home of the keeper of the hunsett water pumping mill, the building underwent a series of extensions over the course of the 20th century. Added room-by-room and all at different times, the changes not only gave the house a disjointed appearance but also caused the land to sink, increasing the frequency of flooding from nearby marshes. The acme renovation demolished the old additions and returned the building to its original architecture. In their place, a single large extension was added behind the house, more seamlessly integrating into the landscape.

Photo Courtesy of Cristobal Palma--timber cladding

Photo Courtesy of Cristobal Palma--view of the house from river ant The extension was conceived as a shadow of the existing house, and indeed from certain vantage points, it is barely visible behind the original property, despite its size. its charred timber facade blends into its setting, without resorting to mimicry of traditional building styles; and the distinctly modern architecture is tempered by the use of traditional pitched roofs.

Photo Courtesy of Cristobal Palma

Photo Courtesy of Cristobal Palma--dining space Throughout the house, external and internal windows and optimal use of space lend a feeling of capaciousness to the rooms.the open ground floor is given a sense of structure by a fireplace, and its separate living spaces are unobtrusively demarcated by changes in floor level. The first storey intersperses its seven rooms with hallways and pockets of space that look out over the first floor, and are thereby open to the full two-storey height of the building.

Photo Courtesy of Cristobal Palma--kitchen space

Photo Courtesy of Cristobal Palma--second level hallway

Photo Courtesy of Cristobal Palma--center fireplace Sustainability was a major consideration in every step of the design process. the building is oriented and structured to provide maximum solar exposure, and thereby benefit in colder weather from free passive solar heating. by leaving the internal surfaces of the exterior timber exposed, the heat captured by daytime sun exposure is steadily released into the house in the cooler evenings. additional heat can be provided by a wood-burning stove. Natural ventilation for warmer months is encouraged by the stack effects produced by several doublestorey spaces. Electricity, from a renewable energy company, is the only off-site resource connected to the property.

Photo Courtesy of Cristobal Palma--(left) stairway down to the ground level,(right) bedroom

Photo Courtesy of Cristobal Palma--(left) below the staircase, (right) faceted ceiling

Photo Courtesy of Cristobal Palma--(left) bathroom, (right) ceiling forms The timber walls and roofs were selected for their insulating and thermal regulating properties, and were harvested from sustainable forests. The technique of superficial charring that lends a traditional and interesting appearance to the structure is not merely aesthetic but also functional, weatherproofing and preserving the timber without the use of chemicals. Wood for the hunsett mill was sourced from Japan, where the use of charred timber ('yakisugi') for building purposes is a common practice and where its production is more sustainable than industry

practices in the UK. construction innovations reduced the amount of heavy machinery required on site and minimized the extent to which earth was broken.

Photo Courtesy of Cristobal Palma--charred timber cladding

Photo Courtesy of Cristobal Palma

Photo Courtesy of Cristobal Palma--in context The architects did not overlook the broader needs of the unique landscape. Construction of a new embankment directly behind the buildings protects against flooding more reliably and efficiently than previous defenses downstream, and returns 25 hectares of nearby forest and grassland to its preindustrial marshland condition. the garden is composed of indigenous plants to minimize its ecological footprint.

Photo Courtesy of Cristobal Palma

Photo Courtesy of Cristobal Palma--prior to construction

Photo Courtesy of Cristobal Palma--foundation

Photo Courtesy of Cristobal Palma--solid timber structure

site plan--drawing Courtesy of acme

ground floor plan--drawing Courtesy of acme

first floor plan--drawing Courtesy of acme

roof plan--drawing Courtesy of acme

section--drawing Courtesy of acme--section showing the floor defense