Page 199 - Beyond Decommissioning

180 Beyond Decommissioning

Fig. 6.14 Gemini Residences, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Photo by M. Laraia.

Built in 1927 to operate as a corn silo and closed down in 1984, this industrial building
situated on the waterfront was not far from demolition. Public protests made
reconversion possible: the silo has now two functions, a concert hall with 2000 places
2
and an office area (4000 m ). In the ground floor the port activities continue to work,
mainly allowing the cross traffic in the area. The inside of the Silo has been rented to a
partner for 50 years and since its opening in 2011 it has become one of the main con-
cert venues in the city (La Croix, 2014). Another noteworthy project concerned the
former sanitary station (used for processing and disinfecting immigrants). The
1948 building had long been derelict and—despite being listed as an historically sig-
nificant structure—was in use as a squat. Museum Regards de Provence, a private col-
lection of Provencal artworks from the 19th and 20th century, is now on display in the
old sanitary station (Metropolis, 2013).
A surprising, almost shocking proposal for conversion of two disused grain silos is
described by Dezeen (2016b). In this proposal by architecture students at the Univer-
sity of Lund, Sweden, one silo would be converted into a crematorium and a colum-
barium (a structure of vaults lined with recesses for cinerary urns): it will be called
House for the Dead. The second silo would be a housing development—called House
for the Living.
The two areas of the scheme are differentiated by a change in materials. For the
crematorium, the industrial concrete is conserved and the machine towers are reused
for the cremation. The housing silo instead is equipped with insulation and cladding.
A park designed to look like a forest would link the two ex-silos. Indeed, the students’
statement “We hope that through our project we can prove that what is unthinkable
today can become the reality of tomorrow” sounds true (though a bit provocative…).