Tear It Apart // A Short Reflection
It was while one my way to University today, passing a petrol station under renovation that caught my attention and informed today’s article. While a large banner may have blocked part of my view, the sounds were certainly unmistakeable. A large excavator was hard at work, repeatedly smashing down on the steel frame roof of what used to be a petrol station. By the time I had returned from lunch, the workers had left and a mangled pile of metal lay, surrounded by shattered pieces of glass and fragments in every direction.
Applying Brute Force - An Excavator hits down to dismantle a section of roof. (Chan, 2014)
Having noticed this somewhat violent act, it triggered my memory back to my first article on impermanence with architecture. Here was a physical example happening in front of me, the demolition of a simple petrol station without any particular care or thought toward material conservation. This is evidently a clear issue hindering upcycling or even re-cycling. Heavy machinery is used to simply hit and dismantle structure with brute force, intentionally and unfortunately damaging steel elements which will most likely not retain the same level of strength or durability when it is melted down and recast.
The violence is done - the excavator stands alone amongst a mess of carnage.
(Chan, 2014)
The glass is completely destroyed - The question remains:
How much of this will be recycled? (Chan, 2014)
All is not lost however, as I found after some light research that the Japanese have developed a step in the right direction, approaching the process of destruction with a clean logic and simple order. Known as the disappearing skyscraper, a cantilevered machine contains the demolition, ensuring all pieces and elements are accounted for and removed accordingly. Waste management becomes an essential and considered part of the de-construction process and it clearly shows a safer, quieter and potentially more efficient method, especially in an age where an increasing number of our modernist creations will reach their twilight years and be replaced. The resulting efficiency in logically dismantling a building could also mean processes of reuse are greatly improved, as compared to my local petrol station, there are no scattered and broken shards with twisted and deformed metal waste left behind.
The simple summation that this Japanese process is “taking apart what has been put together with equal care” (Urbanist, 2013) is I think a significant ideological approach to adopt for a future in sustainable construction and will lead to better and more efficient systems of reuse and recycling. As uncomfortable as the thought maybe, architects should perhaps consider the demolition of their own building as carefully as its construction when designing, after all, we are all subject to mortality, our buildings may outlive us, but they certainly will not outlive time.
The Shrinking Building - Japan's innovative solution to de-construction in
highly urbanised and dense city areas. (Urbanist, 2013)
References
Urbanist. (2013) Incredible Shrinking: Building Top Down – Demolition in Style. Retrieved online via:
http://weburbanist.com/2013/01/30/incredible-shrinking-building-top-down-demolition-in-style/
A Video detailing the process of Japan's Shrinking Building may be viewed via this link:
Taisei-Seibu Joint Venture. (2013). Japan Presents the Incredible Shrinking Building. Retrieved Online via:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_4G_8gEjng