CATALYST Obsolescence

A primary catalyst in this project is the notion of obsolescence. In Cincinnati alone there are several examples of buildings and structures in disuse and disrepair because of their functions becoming obsolete. Factories, churches, hotels, and even a standpipe are places that once housed significant purposes and have been left to decay or stand preserved yet inaccessible to public use. For example, the Crosley Building was a warehouse manufacturing radios and other electronics beginning in the 1930s. Because the radio and other early technologies are obsolete, the building no longer has purpose and sits today vacated and crumbling. A different type of obsolescence in the city is the Brent Spence Bridge. The bridge is still in use yet functionally obsolete because it was not built to handle the amount of traffic required of it today.

Across the country there are many abandoned industrial buildings such as World War II era factories, grain elevators, and other manufacturing plants. Many of these were built for one purpose and built to last, which makes adaptation difficult when they no longer serve our needs. Andrew Winters looked at well-built structures such as concrete grain elevators that are costly to destroy and nearly impossible to adapt. Industrial facilities have sunken into obsolescence because of economical shifts and technological advances. Often, they have been torn down in favor of constructing high end residential communities, severing the nostalgic presence from the community, and removing all possibility of adaptation, (Winters 2019).

Industrial and manufacturing buildings are at a higher risk of obsolescence, and I would venture to say that infrastructure is at risk as well. Stefanos Antoniadis investigates the problem of waste stemming from architectural obsolescence and subsequent destruction. His journal article is focused on reuse of these sites and preservation. Antoniadis points out that buildings designated as “cathedral” or “basilica” or even “the Colosseum,” have “become a recognizable urban fixture that should by all means be preserved, (…) Therefore, even before deciding by means of an architectural project to tamper with a building in order to prolong its shelf-life, it is obvious that well-known and established artefacts such as the Basilica or the Cathedral will be less liable to become obsolete,” (Antoniadis 2020). Because of this mindset in society, we prevent obsolescence in buildings that hold meaning to us rather than stewarding bridges, factories, warehouses, and more. These spaces are all subject to falling out of use yet will likely be demolished and replaced rather than preserved and adapted.

What do we do with obsolete spaces? Historic landmarks such as the Crosley Building cannot be destroyed but allowing them to rot is doing the city and its people a disservice. Contested spaces such as the Brent Spence Bridge aren’t easy to navigate and are financially difficult to settle. Because abandoned places can become overgrown, it raises the question; what if we let the environment take it back? Instead of destroying what stands, there must be a way to adapt structures into landscapes that can grow and change based on the needs of its users and inhabitants.