Just the other day a couple of us were staring at the grain elevators and silos, wondering what the process would be like to convert them to dwellings. I know that it has been done before in other cities, but the task appears daunting considering the scope of the project, the building materials (concrete and more concrete), the money, the historic nature of the structures, and of course finding the visionary who can pull it off.
Just this morning, a friend sent me these images from Copenhagen. Although this is an entirely different way to go about reusing a grain silo, I thought that the development was rather striking and forward thinking. Instead of building apartments inside the silos, developers were using them as a structural core upon which to build out from. There will be some who feel that this misses the point and that by covering them up the historic and industrial nature of the elevators are sacrificed. The flip side is that if you don't come up with a practical use for the architectural monuments, they may altogether disappear one day. Remember HO Oats? The interior of the silos houses massive atrium spaces, stairways, elevators and mechanicals.
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Just this morning, a friend sent me these images from Copenhagen. Although this is an entirely different way to go about reusing a grain silo, I thought that the development was rather striking and forward thinking. Instead of building apartments inside the silos, developers were using them as a structural core upon which to build out from. There will be some who feel that this misses the point and that by covering them up the historic and industrial nature of the elevators are sacrificed. The flip side is that if you don't come up with a practical use for the architectural monuments, they may altogether disappear one day. Remember HO Oats? The interior of the silos houses massive atrium spaces, stairways, elevators and mechanicals.
Silo Point in Baltimore:
http://www.silopoint.com/html/
Calhoun Isles in Minnesota:
http://www.Calhounisles.net/site_home.cfm
Mill City Museum in Minneapolis:
http://www.millcitymuseum.org/
Grünerløkka studenhus in Norway:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grunerlokka_Studenthus.JPG
Expcept for the Oslo silos (which look like a hideous East German detention center), none of your examples are/were at all like Buffalo's.
The picture that Newell put up is intriguing, I could see that on our Waterfront. Really, what else is going to be done with them? I don't buy the argument that just because they're a relect of our past they must be preserved.
The point of these examples is to illustrate that adaptive reuse of grain elevators, in all their varieties, is possible. These communities didn't look at their grain elevators as a hindrance.
Cool stuff PaulBuffalo
Here's another.
http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/10198/bio-towers-in-lauchhammer-germany.html
Liveforever, I never saw those. They're stunning. Thanks for the link.
Paul - Great examples.... I live about 6 blocks from the Calhoun Isles development in Minneapolis and it is a truly amazing conversion... My understanding is that they were very similar grain elevators to what stands on Buffalo's waterfront.... I have been in a unit (and nearly lived there) and the circular floor plans confirm it.
As for the Mill City Museum, they did not actually convert the elevators themselves... part of the elevator is still attached, but most of that conversion was to the mill itself.
Gardner, I've heard that Calhoun Isles has had a lot of turnover in their units over the years. Perhaps, the circular floor plans have presented unwelcome challenges to residents(?).
I think Silo Point is the most comparable example to Buffalo's opportunity. Located downtown, on the harbor, similar features to...Cargill, i.e.
If our silos were deemed historic, the Historic Tax Credits that are about to be signed into law in NYS (which BRO still hasn't covered the story yet) would be a tremendous boon to the cause. Factor in the lift bridge, Canal Side..this could be another great neighborhood!
Sadly they wouldn't, grain elevators are considered "structures" by the IRS and only "buildings" are eligible for the tax credits, at least the federal tax credits.