EDITOR’S LETTER
W H AT LI E S BEN E AT H Around the world, obsolete quarries
are being transformed from dangerous eyesores to inspiring destinations –
providing new ideas for transforming
I
particularly challenging brownfield sites n this issue, we interview Martin Jochman, the architect behind the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland – a luxury hotel located almost 90m below ground in an abandoned quarry just outside Shanghai.
When Jochman (then working for Atkins) won
the commission to design a new hotel as part of
a large commercial and residential scheme with the
old quarry at its heart, he was given a height limit of just 25 metres – the developers Shimao were determined to minimise the impact of the building on the surrounding landscape. Jochman suggested something
The InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland, a ‘symbolic idea’ of what can be done with abandoned quarries
long time, but thanks to a huge investment it’s in
the process of being turned into a destination greenspace. Miron Quarry in Montreal
– formerly a limestone quarry and then
a little radical – why not build the
one of Canada’s largest landfill sites – is
hotel into the quarry itself?
currently being turned into “something
It wasn’t an easy solution – the project
like New York’s Central Park,” according
team were faced with challenges
to Laure Waridel of environmental NGO
including the difficulties of transporting
building materials down into the quarry, the risk of flooding and rockfall and the
need to ensure it was earthquake resistant. The
results are pretty impressive though – an 18-storey hotel
Équiterre (speaking to Montreal CTV news). A
hugely ambitious environmental rehabilitation
project, Parc Frédéric-Back has already opened on
the 153-hectare site on top of the old city dump, with work
with16 storeys underground (two storeys of which are
ongoing to continue to transform it into a major outdoor
aquarium), built with passive sustainability at its heart.
a circus centre. Elsewhere, quarries are being turned into
underwater, with some guests suites looking out onto an “There was no precedent to this building,” says Jochman.
“It’s become a symbolic idea of what can be done.”
Once depleted of their resources, quarries are often left
abandoned where they might fill with rainwater or be used
attraction with sports and cultural facilities, bike paths and wildlife habitats, parks, mixed-use housing districts, water
management systems and more, while Martin Jochman is
investigating the feasibility of further quarry reuse projects. Abandoned quarries can be a depressing blight
as landfills; they can become dangerous, polluted eyesores.
for communities. These projects provide new ideas
extensively in CLADmag, there are a range of interesting
result in facilities which benefit communities and
Although it’s not something we’ve covered
quarry projects taking shape across the world.
In Atlanta, Bellwood Quarry – an obsolete 100-year-old
granite quarry – has been an eyesore for residents for a
+44 (0)1462 431385
CLADGLOBAL.COM
for transforming challenging sites and will hopefully lessen the environmental impact of quarrying. Magali Robathan, managing editor, CLAD
@CLADGLOBAL
FACEBOOK.COM/CLADGLOBAL
CLADglobal.com 3 2019
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