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Posts Tagged ‘Silos’

Groundscrapers: Survivalist Condos in Converted Missile Silos

02 Feb

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

luxury condo exterior entry

Located in a converted subterranean silo near Concordia, Kansas, the first complex of these high-end survival accommodations is already sold out and their creators are working on a second nuke-proof silo transformation project for eager buyers. Many silo homes exist already, but few are designed for multi-family living and many remain semi-theoretical as yet – this one is luxurious and fully realized.

luxury condo floor plan

luxury underground living complex

Luxury Survival Condos boasts both the nuts and bolts, “physical protection, redundant infrastructure for power, water, air, and food,” as well as a surprising array of amenities: facilities for “cross training, aquaponic farming, medical support” including a “community swimming pool, dog walking park, rock climbing wall, theater and general store” as well as a jail for anyone who misbehaves.

luxury subterranean underground condoes

The eye-popping prices are compared by founder Larry Hall to Manhattan residences, but seem steep even by New York City metrics: $ 1.5 million for a half-floor unit just under 1,000 square feet, $ 3 million for a full floor and $ 4.5 million for a “penthouse” (two floors). For those who can afford it, the company also offers their services for transforming whole silos into single-family survival retreats.

missile silo montage

The first space was purchased in 2008 and features seven floors of living spaces, able to accommodate up to 75 occupants. The various areas are connected by elevators (to be powered by green off-grid sources in an emergency) as well as stairs for redundancy. Each resident is allocated a 5-year supply of freeze-dried food in addition to the vegetables and fish grown and bred underground. Water and air treatment are addressed as well, with a 750,000-gallon reserve of drinking water as well as filtering systems. Generators and wind turbines feed into a battery bank to store up at least some level of power reserves as needed.

luxury silo climbing wall

luxury silo facilities power

luxury silo split level

Given how much people pay to buy these units one has to wonder if they ever bother to use them under normal conditions, perhaps to get a sense of what life would really be like should they end up living there in a real end-of-world scenario. Of course, the standard problems apply: if others know where this is, what is to keep the hordes from attempting to overwhelm it were a global disaster ever to unfold?

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Industrial Silos to Public Art: Massive Mural for Vancouver

23 Aug

[ By Steph in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

Silo Mural Vancouver 1

Six industrial silos along the heart of Vancouver’s waterfront have been transformed into colorful, towering human figures in a massive mural project by Brazilian street artist duo Os Gemeos. The identical twins, known for large-scale and often politically-charged urban art, raised funds via IndieGoGo to complete the project for the Vancouver Biennale.

Silo Mural Vancouver 2

The silos are a landmark for the city, sitting within an ocean cement manufacturing and distribution plant on Granville Island, but they’re not exactly nice to look at. While the rest of the island is brimming with colorful plants and costumed buskers, the silos stand as the final tie to its industrial past.

Silo Mural Vancouver 5 Silo Mural Vancouver 6

The Sao Paulo-based brothers raised over $ 25,000 for the 2014-2016 Biennale exhibition celebrating art in public spaces, helping to offset the total cost. The finished work, which will be the team’s largest yet, will be unveiled on September 7th, 2014. The mural will measure a total of 23,500 square feet and stand 75 feet tall.

Silo Mural Vancouver 3

“We have an ongoing project called ‘Giants’ that has been realized in several places in the world such as Greece, USA, Poland, Portugal, the Netherlands, Brazil and England, and we will continue now in Canada, but with a difference. As the proposed Biennale has a strong connection with sculpture, we decided to find a place where the painting can be transformed, creating a dialogue between the two-dimensional and three-dimensional worlds.”

Silo Mural Vancouver 4

Silo Mural Vancouver 7

“Another aim of this project is to bring new characters to Vancouver while sharing perspectives and cultures and establishing a relationship between the people who frequent this site and integrate this work into city scenery. The connection between water and land on Granville Island, on the false creek margins, also had a lot to do with the choice of location – for us, the water acts as a vein, symbolizing life, and it is very present in our work.”

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Cultural Center Carved Out of 42 Grain Silos in South Africa

13 Mar

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

grain silo mega atrium

An amazing hybrid of preservation and transformation, this project involves carving a series stunning spaces inside a huge series of concrete silos set alongside the waterfront of Cape Town. Once the tallest structure in the city, but abandoned since 1990, this converted complex will provide a home for 80 art galleries and create a hub for cultural activity.

grain silos close up

The spatial solution proposed by Thomas Heatherwick Studio involves scooping out huge voids within the existing industrial heritage site. This approach in turn exposes visitors to the tubular interiors of the silos via a newly-formed atrium while conserving much of the original building exterior. Meanwhile, below the surface, a series of re-purposed underground tunnels and storage spaces will provide additional access to the architectural history of the complex.

grain silo atrium zoom copy

The non-profit endeavor will exhibit contemporary African art via indoor galleries as well as a rooftop sculpture garden, bookstore, restaurant, bar and more. THS will be working on the Zeitz MoCAA (founded with the collection of entrepreneur Jochen Zeitz) with a series of local partners including Ven Der Merwe Miszewski (VDMMA), Rick Brown Associates (RBA) and Jacobs Parker.

grain silos at night

grain silo interior space

In an interview with DesignBoom, he architect sough to ask and answer the critical quesiton: “How do you turn forty-two vertical concrete tubes into a place to experience contemporary culture? Our thoughts wrestled with the extraordinary physical facts of the building. There is no large open space within the densely packed tubes and it is not possible to experience these volumes from inside. Rather than strip out the evidence of the building’s industrial heritage, we wanted to find a way to enjoy and celebrate it. We could either fight a building made of concrete tubes or enjoy its tube-iness.”

grain silos building section

grain silo section zoom

Of the project, David Green (CEO of the V&A Waterfront) said: “thomas heatherwick understood how to interpret the industrial narrative of the building, and this was the major breakthrough. His design respects the heritage of the building while bringing iconic design and purpose to the building.”

grain silos south africa

grain silo slice closeup

Regarding the search for a perfect site, Jochen Zeitz explains that “for five years we investigated suitable sites across Africa. The V&A waterfront provided an iconic heritage building, situated in one of the most visited and iconic sites in [the country].” Meanwhile, all of the existing silos will be capped with glass to let in light and show off their shape from above.

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Stacked on Silos: Shipping Containers Reclaimed as Dorms

13 Feb

[ By Steph in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

Shipping Container Silo Student Housing 1

Disused grain silos long considered an eyesore in Johannesburg, South Africa are now topped with four layers of reclaimed shipping containers and almost ready to house hundreds of eager students. Mill Junction is an innovative housing project by Citiq Property Developers offering secure, comfortable, reasonably priced housing that could help raise the number of students who actually earn a degree.

Shipping Container Silo Student Housing 2
Shipping Container Silo Student Housing 6

The 11-story grain silos make up the bulk of the complex, with many apartments contained within. Windows have been cut into the silos and a paint job will help unify them with the colorful containers stacked on top. Mill Junction will contain 375 individual apartments as well as libraries, lounges, computer rooms and study facilities.

Shipping Container Silo Student Housing 3

The height of the complex will give students some of the best views in the city, especially those lucky enough to get the shipping container units with balcony space. About half of South African undergraduate students drop out of school, partially due to the high cost of living. This project offers energy-efficient, low-cost accommodation with details like motion-sensor lighting and common green space on the roof.

Shipping Container Silo Student Housing 4
Shipping Container Silo Student Housing 5

Construction was completed in January 2014 and students are expected to start moving in within weeks.

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Indoor Skydiving Inside Concrete Silos & Cargo Containers

03 Sep

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

converted concrete skydiving center

Take your pick between a pair of once-abandoned silos: one lets you explore nearly 100 vertical feet of underwater space with hidden caverns, while the other suspends you in virtual free fall, riding air currents in a cylindrical wind tunnel.

converted cargo shipping containers

While those two primary volumes form the core experience of this conversion project, a series of shipping containers (stacked ten stories high) surrounding these structures will provide support and circulation spaces. Warsaw studio Moko Architects aims to start construction in just over one year on this ambitious project, set in the city’s industrial district.

converted concerete silo section

The modified cargo containers additions are designed to contain offices, shops, a cafe and hostel as well training rooms or sports outfitters for visitors. These stacked  attachments will be form a dynamic array and be connected via staircases spanning between the central cylinders. As they slip past one another in space, outdoors decks are formed organically as well on various roof levels within the vertical design configuration.

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Indoor Skydiving Inside Concrete Silos Cargo Containers

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Abandoned Cement Factory & Silos Transformed into Offices

19 Feb

[ By Steph in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

Abandoned Cement Factory Office 1

An incredible abandoned cement factory, covered with ivy and partially in ruins, has been transformed into a massive office complex that preserves both the original architectural integrity of the structures and honors the factory’s period of disuse. Architect Ricardo Bofill discovered the property in Spain in 1973 and claimed it for the head office of his firm, Taller de Arquitectura.

Abandoned Cement Factory Office 2

Abandoned Cement Factory 3

When the property was discovered, it was full of staircases to nowhere, exposed pipes and half-fallen structures. The industrial complex consisted of over 30 silos, subterranean galleries and machine rooms. The transformation of the space started with knocking down some of the unsalvageable structures, which left behind curious concrete forms that give the impression of a modern abstract sculpture park.

Abandoned Cement Factory Office 4

Abandoned Cement Factory Office 5

The eight silos that remained became the offices, archives, a library, a projection room, a lab for architectural models and sleeping spaces. A massive space known as ‘The Cathedral’ hosts exhibitions, concerts and other cultural functions.

Abandoned Cement Factory Office 6

While the interior spaces have been cleaned up, much of the machinery has been left behind, and the grounds have been restored to a balance between intentional landscape design and the chaos of greenery that proliferates when buildings are not maintained.

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Abandoned Cement Factory & Silos Transformed into Offices

07 Feb

[ By Steph in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

Abandoned Cement Factory Office 1

An incredible abandoned cement factory, covered with ivy and partially in ruins, has been transformed into a massive office complex that preserves both the original architectural integrity of the structures and honors the factory’s period of disuse. Architect Ricardo Bofill discovered the property in Spain in 1973 and claimed it for the head office of his firm, Taller de Arquitectura.

Abandoned Cement Factory Office 2

Abandoned Cement Factory 3

When the property was discovered, it was full of staircases to nowhere, exposed pipes and half-fallen structures. The industrial complex consisted of over 30 silos, subterranean galleries and machine rooms. The transformation of the space started with knocking down some of the unsalvageable structures, which left behind curious concrete forms that give the impression of a modern abstract sculpture park.

Abandoned Cement Factory Office 4

Abandoned Cement Factory Office 5

The eight silos that remained became the offices, archives, a library, a projection room, a lab for architectural models and sleeping spaces. A massive space known as ‘The Cathedral’ hosts exhibitions, concerts and other cultural functions.

Abandoned Cement Factory Office 6

While the interior spaces have been cleaned up, much of the machinery has been left behind, and the grounds have been restored to a balance between intentional landscape design and the chaos of greenery that proliferates when buildings are not maintained.

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