Heritage conservation of built environments through adaptive reuse is an integral part of preserving and regenerating a community's cultural memory and identity. The buildings we inherit become the visual storytellers of our communities' histories and traditions; how we design tells the story of how we lived. It is that treasure that is passed down through generations that morphs the characteristics of collective cultural identity. However, zeitgeist architecture which is adaptively reused, often focuses on preservation, restoration, or conservation of the architecture or the shell. Simultaneously, the heritage interiors are transformed, losing the spirit of place to the new use and program. This thesis argues for the importance of preserving heritage interiors as a vital component of a building's story in adaptive reuse projects, referencing literature about the history of adaptive reuse and heritage conservation in built environments, as well as different approaches, tools, and strategies for heritage conservation in various projects and precedents. The thesis explores multiple case studies of varying typologies in Jordan, the Middle East, which successfully address the challenge of heritage interiors conservation. The study examines the different ways in which the spirit of the interior space is preserved and included as part of the design strategy while transforming the programming of the space and the new functions it serves. Examples of such strategies include materials and textiles, furniture, fixtures, use of original materials and architectural features, and the degree of intervention in the preservation, restoration, and conservation of the interiors. The thesis is grounded in the question of how adaptive reuse can approach heritage interiors in a way that conserves the experience of the architecture and the interiors while transforming the programming of the space.
conservation.
This thesis project first looks to the Living Building Challenge’s Water Petal framework as standards for this building to follow. The framework outlines that the building needs to be water positive, meaning all the water needs to be taken from the environment, run through the building, and discharged back out into the environment in a safe manner that benefits the local environment. To begin my research, I first looked to case studies of buildings that incorporate elements of the hydrological cycles of their sites, studying how these buildings function
efficiently without causing damage or depleting resources. The project then goes onto analyze the site on which the building will sit. The prototype building is located in Papago Park, facing the Papago Buttes. The building itself is a meditation pavilion, providing a place for visitors to rest and enjoy the beauty of the natural landscape.
In terms of the water systems at work in the building, the project acquires water through several means. The first is through rain, in which the building catches rainwater on slanted planes of the roof as well as through a ground filtration system within the landscaped zones surrounding the building. The water filters through the soil, through multiple filters and eventually to a large storage tank below. Water is also collected using existing bioswales lining the nearby canal to harness water as part of the building system. This water is also filtered and sent to the storage tank. Because of the weather patterns we have here in Arizona, the storage tank is very large, needing to hold about 3,000 gallons of water. This water is then ready to be used by toilets or irrigation, or treated one step further through the process of ozonation to be used for sinks and drinking fountains. The blackwater, or sewage water, then gets pumped through a
membrane bioreactor in which sludge is sent to an anearobic digester and the remaining water continues to a constructed wetland where it ends its journey. Along the way, this water is pumped through a shallow channel in the ground in which people within the building can view as it makes its way out to the wetland. Upon reaching the wetland, the water will eventually seep back into the ground, replenishing the natural water table and thus completing the full loop cycle
of the project.
to the Hayden Library 2020 renovations team.