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ON REUSED ARCHITECTURE 2 1
Yellowred on reused architecture
2 volume i
Yellowred on reused architecture
Edited by Martin Boesch, Laura Lupini and João F. Machado
Mendrisio Academy Press Silvana Editoriale 170 wunderkammer or the flip side of reuse
House Visser, Bergeijk Gerrit Rietveld 1955-56 Aldo van Eyck (1968-9) 1974 with Sol Lewitt’s The Cube project axonometric view IAUG Genève 2001
Casa Visser / Bergeijk Gerrit Rietveld, 1955-6 Aldo van Eyck, (1968-9) 1974 (con il progetto THE CUBE di Sol Lewitt) assonometria IAUG Genève 2001 - Boesch FLOATING 173 Text by Matteo Aimini and Federico Pompignoli In this issue, Yellowred presents a particular case of reuse under way for some time but constantly neglected and never really investigated in depth. A pragmatic process without an apparent theoretical argument, comparable to a theatrical act whose script changes during the performance itself, disorienting even the actors: the case of large ships. The story of the Costa Allegra emphasizes the innate metamorphic ability that a few technical artefacts, such as water vessels of a certain size and dimension, demonstrate to have in changing programs and structural components according to the socio economic processes to which they are subjected. This flexibility is not easily applicable to the city of accumulated sedimentations, to the complex layers and traces of pre-existing realities. Perhaps, it is in this very difficult process, at times dimension-related or regulatory, in processing materials and managing costs, that resides a possible challenge for another future, ever hovering between dreamy visions of a tabula rasa and the pragmatic necessity of rethinking the built identity starting from the expelled discards and the existing elements that, in their own way, have in the past helped to create the fabric. However, it is inevitable that programmatic changes and substantial manipulations to the pre-existing are considered radical, if one wants to be inspired by the model of large ships in order to trigger the process of adaptation to new and possible needs that the city and its inhabitants require. Perhaps, in tune with Latouche, the "happy degrowth" does not necessarly imply an arrest in development, rather simply suggests a different vision of speed and resources, geared towards greater awareness and responsibility also in the function of reduction of waste and hence of the production of one of the most in-vogue products: the discard. 174 175
1 2 The Costa Allegra was Annie Johnson III was built in 1969 with the acquired on December name Annie Johnson 4th, 1969, by ship owners III (along with its twin Rederi AB Nordstjernann, Axel Johnson, which and already in 1978 will become the Costa it underwent its first Marina) by the Crichton- renovation intervention Vulcan shipyard in Turku, that included the removal Finland. It was created of the crane on the deck, as a container ship, first given that the major ports in a series of five units, in the world already had each capable of carrying independent systems for 627 TEU (Twenty-Foot the handling of cargo. Equivalent Units).
1960 1970
50 years of Container context — The ‘60s represented a turning point in terms 1968, Encounter Bay 1,530 teu technology — The ‘60s constituted a crucial moment in Based on this new concept, the hull was divided into of long-distance intermodal freight transport, due to the Ship Growth terms of shipbuilding. This was the time during which the modules, produced in industrial facilities outside the introduction of the container module. construction system of the hulls radically changed; in fact, shipyard. The ships themselves were assembled in dry dock, 1972, Hamburg Express 2,950 teu In fact, the one most widely used today is the ISO container Container-carrying the provision had always been for the construction of the no longer in basins; the different modules are positioned capacity has increased (International Organization for Standardization) for which the framework for the entire main hull, which at a later time with techniques of matching and alignment, from which it 1980, Neptune Garnet 4,100 teu by approximately 1,200% measures were established at the international level in 1967. since 1968 was covered by wooden planking to then subsequently be proceeds directly to the welding inside of a closed hangar. In light of a common width of 8 feet (244 cm) and a common replaced by nailed iron sheets. Only at final completion is the manufactured product height of 8 feet and 6 inches (259 cm), two standard lengths 1984, American New York 4,600 teu The entire construction took place in a dry dock basin; in launched. of 20 and 40 feet (610 and 1220 cm) were established. light of this constructive process, the ship, in all respects, Even the shape of the hull was transformed: for centuries, The Geneva Convention of 1972 drew up the international could be compared to the construction of a building, the the shape of the hull was designed with a “V” section, which standards in the transport sector for containers. use of highly skilled labour necessary to ensure the artisan was more or less pronounced depending on the purpose 1996, Regina Maersk 6,400 teu The convenience of a piece of equipment allowing for the process of transformation determined the long construction (commercial or military). Such a shape ensured good loading of goods not having to be moved until reaching time and one not devoid of the difficulties involved in stability and manoeuvrability considering the relatively large their destination offered clear advantages: fewer instances 1997, Susan Maersk 8,000+ teu such a case. The change of material, from wood to metal size of the vessels. From the ‘60s onwards, the shape of the of damaged cargo, better logistical operations and an that occurred after the industrial revolution, just as the hull changed, taking on the form of a flat bottom, and thus increased speed in loading and unloading. introduction of steam propulsion over wind, didn’t change with a “U” section. 2002, Charlotte Maersk 8,890+ teu much the way of conceiving the hull’s shape. This shape ends up having better performance with respect After 1960, ships become industrial products in all respects, to the increased weight of the vessels due to the large-scale for which the construction system, through the assembly introduction of steel and to the increasing dimensions. 2003, Anna Maersk 9,000+ teu of prefabricated modules, was borrowed from the aviation In fact, in the hulls of contemporary displacement vessels, industry (*). the power required to overcome critical speed grows exponentially, mainly due to wave resistance and partly * (NB: the port of Saint-Nazaire in France, which is an because of the surface friction of the hull. If one observes 2005, Gjertrud Maersk 10,000+ teu important industrial centre, hosts both the STX shipyards a displacement vessel under way, one notes that in the and the company Airbus). effort to cut its way through the water, it generates a very significant bow wave that continues along the side and rises supporting the stern; in other words, at maximum, or critical, 2006, Emma Maersk 11,000+ teu speed, the hull ends up being supported by a single wave
2012, Marco Polo (CMA CGM) 16,000+ teu
2013, Maersk Mc-Kinney Maller 18,270 teu
2014-2015, CSCL Globe/ MSC Oscar 19,000+ teu
2018, ??? 22,000 teu 176 177
3 4 5 In 1986, it was sold to It was then sold to the In 1990, the Annie The reconstruction work with a weight of 800 tons accommodate 1000 Regency Cruises, a ship Mediterranean Shipping Johnson III was acquired began on September 4th, was inserted. The hull passengers and had 399 owner based in Greece, to Company (MSC), which by Costa Crociere that, 1990, and the ship was acquired a longer body, cabins, including 13 suites be converted into a cruise removed some structures in the Mariotti shipyards completed on November reaching 187 meters for a (10 with balconies), three ship; while renamed on the bridge; it was later in Genoa, converted it 16th, 1992. gross tonnage of 28,500 restaurants, six bars, two Regent Moon, it remained registered with the name into a cruise ship and The Costa Allegra took tons. The commission swimming pools, two for years in the port of Alexandra and reused for rebaptised it the Costa shape from the hull of the cost the owners around whirlpools, an outdoor 215 Perama without the its original purpose as a Allegra. old container ship thanks 260 billion Lire (about 134 meter-long jogging path, a project being completed. container chip (NB: there to a daring operation of million Euros). wellness centre with gym is no reference to MSC naval surgery. During the The finished ship was and sauna, and a theatre Crociere S.p.A). intervention, it was cut in made up of 11 bridges, of with around 360 seats, two and a block thirteen which nine were reserved a casino, a nightclub, a and a half meters long and for the passengers; the library, a business centre twenty-five meters wide Costa Allegra could and a beauty centre.
1990 that has its crest at the bow and the next ridge under the market — In the ‘90s, during the exponential growth of costs vs benefits — Considering large ships as rhetorical life span — As with all industrial products, even for modern stern, that is, a wave that has the same length of the hull. luxury cruises in the Mediterranean, the Costa company did “floating palaces,” some crucial aspects are lost, such as the ships, the lifecycle has a finite duration. The “bulb of the bow” has the dual function of generating not have enough available ships to meet the needs of the fact that the cost of construction of a contemporary cruise Although in shipbuilding the possibility is foreseen for the floating wave and stabilizing the pitching, as to avoid as market. The only solution adopted by the Genoa’s shipyards, ship (e.g. MSC Preziosa launched in 2012: 333m long, 38m various types of reuse, modifications and alterations, in much as possible the exit of the bow from the water surface to ensure a reasonable timeframe, was to convert two wide, and 67m high for 139,072 GRT) is around 600 million order to allow vessels to be used as long as possible, it is interrupting the displacement flow. merchant vessels that, due to its hull dimensions, could be Euros. That figure is supposed to be amortized between 5 inevitable that the closer the lifecycle approaches the end, Generally, the presence of the bulb in large vessels involves a well adapted to the requirements of future passenger ships. and 8 years, more rapidly than is the case for a hotel of the the more the parameters/standards of use must necessarily greater efficiency of 12-15% in terms of fuel consumption. Such a transformation involved a number of technical same characteristics and dimensions. decrease or lessen. The first bulbous bow, for example, we find it applied to an difficulties: given that from the standpoint of fluid dynamics, This is explained by the fact that for ships, it is not possible No restyling intervention or structural arrangement can American military ship: the USS Delaware, launched in 1910. merchant ships are designed to carry heavy loads that to include any cost for land acquisition. Delays or other obviate the end of a product designed to serve within a given Following that, in the ‘20s, the bulb was applied to civilian have a function in terms of stability for navigation, the inconveniences are not admitted since the industrial process time frame. German vessels like the transatlantic Bremen, which won consequent weight reduction implicit in the transformation is hyper-regulated and the construction in the factory Beyond this limit, only dismantling appears to be the most the Blue Riband in 1929 at an average speed of 27.9 knots. into a passenger ship involved a weighting in the form of a “isolates” the manufactured product from uncertainty economically advantageous option. By the decisive ‘60s onwards, all displacement ships will ballast that could constitute a cost not easily amortizable. due to the context of the work site; above all the mobility exhibit a bulbous bow. This explains why ships are generally transformed for guarantees that the ship will float around the world by different uses, but always consistently with the cargo/ helping the market trends in the various regions, always mercantile or passenger function. taking advantage of the most favourable conditions to The Costa Allegra therefore represented an anomaly, where operate. the needs of the market forced a usage not foreseen in the technical possibilities.
25 Expansion of the cruising market’s demand 21,3 21,7 20,6 20,9 20 18,8 17,6 15,9 16,2 15,1 15 14,3 13,1 12 11 10 9,9 8,6 9 7,8 7 6,3 5,6 5,8 5
Million of consumers 0 ‘94 ‘95 ‘96 ‘97 ‘98 ‘99 ‘00 ‘01 ‘02 ‘03 ‘04 ‘05 ‘06 ‘07 ‘08 ‘09 ‘10 ‘11 ‘12 ‘13 ‘14 Year 178 179
6 7 Starting in 2006, it The race to the increase the first to pass the own means to the seaport Having moved to Genoa underwent a new in tonnage in the threshold of 100,000 t., of Savona on March 25th, at the end of July, the restyling in the interiors Mediterranean started launched in Chantier de 2012. next month it was sold to suit the taste of the in fact between 1996 L’Atlantique shipyard in to the Turkish company Asian market. The Costa and 1997 with the Saint-Nazaire, France. Bereket Gemi Söküm Allegra thus worked for construction of the Costa Beginning in February 27th, İthalat, İhracat ve Ticaret a long time off the coast Victoria launched by the 2012, it was taken out of Ltd. Subsequently towed of China, and its ports Bremer Vulkan shipyard service after a fire broke to the port of Aliağa in of departure became in Bremen, Germany, out on board that left her Turkey. It was demolished Hong Kong, Singapore, with the Carnival drifting out in the Indian on October 24th, 2012. and Shanghai, at a time Triumph launched in the Ocean. After making the when the Mediterranean Fincantieri shipyard in necessary repairs to allow market demanded larger Monfalcone, Italy, up to for navigation, the ship and more luxurious ships. the Carnival Millennium, was returned through its
2000 demolition vs disassembly — Most of the ships built In the world of architecture, always constantly subject to a In 2006, the Indian steelworks Mittal bought the historic worldwide are dismantled on the beaches of Bangladesh time lag with respect to what is happening in parallel fields French brand Arcelor. Of the original ship, there is nothing (194 ships in 2013). and professions, slowly, the concept of standardization and that remains; everything disappears forever in order to India, China, Pakistan, Turkey and the aforementioned industrialization of the construction and design process reappear in the form of a new industrial product, as also Bangladesh are the nations that most benefit from the reuse is making headway; for example, in North America, a happens in each of the many transformations undergone by of the amount of steel obtained from the dismemberment of place that has never suffered the destruction of cities the Annie Johnson III/Costa Allegra. the vessels. for military reasons, whose accumulated sediments are There are nevertheless examples in which the vessel The construction system of ships derived from the principles less cumbersome, the concept itself of building features undergoes a process of transformation of meaning such that of the assembly line makes it so that the demolition phase is a significantly reduced life expectancy. The building is it becomes something else, for example, a fixed dwelling. in reality more of a disassembly or dismantling of the same understood as a service, rather than an immutable good. At Amsterdam’s Korte Papaverweg, beginning in 2012, it is initial elements. Rather than intervening with modernization and/or interesting to note that only in this case, the boat keeps all The structural efficiency with which ships are designed renovation projects, the building is demolished and rebuilt. its original characteristics intact; it is frozen in the form of is also evident in the efficiency of deconstruction; the Not surprisingly, in this context, the use of steel is more real estate, thus along with its capacity to be transformed. dismantlement of such industrial products is inherent in widespread, as the new technology of BIM (Building their design and planned at the outset. Information Modeling) is nothing but an attempt to apply an *(NB: in 2010, the company Despe S.p.A. achieved a historic In Europe, the house, the building, the “immoveable” industrial work method to the world of architectural design (*). result for Italy by winning the award for the work of the property has the aspiration of being eternal as least in terms Consequently, even the concept of demolition is slowly year, at the event of the world Oscars of demolition, given of our idea of home, family, or existence; the ship is instead transforming into disassembly. out in Amsterdam; in that location, Despe presented its a movable property by definition, a mass consumer, cost- Meanwhile, on the Bangladeshi beaches of so-called de-construction of the bridge between the provinces of effective product but, still a simple means of transportation. “ship-brackers”, diesel, engine oil, and the remaining fire- Piacenza and Lodi (partially collapsed in 2009.) The ship is assembled and disassembled. The building is resistant chemical materials are collected and reused. The built or demolished. interiors are completely stripped: everything is removed The ship nonetheless represents a significant anomaly in and sold, from the enormous motors to the batteries, to the concept of the consumer economy; it contemplates the electric generators or miles of copper cables; nothing is left possibility of being modified, restructured and reused a out, including bunks for the crew, portholes, lifeboats and number of times, while, at the time, no personal computer, corridor lights. The steel of the hull and the over structures automobile, iPhone, or appliance allows for this possibility. are melted down and reused by the expanding industry. 181
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