Archinect - News

In Japan, abandoned and vacant homes are on the rise

2024-05-02T11:42:00-04:00

New government figures show that 5.9% of all Japanese homes are abandoned, while 13.88% of homes are vacant (a total of 9 million homes). The issue is predominantly impacting the country's rural areas, while the number of vacant and abandoned apartments and condo units is also increasing.

Several measures have been undertaken by local and national governments to address the increased cases, which can have consequences for building upkeep and maintenance. In 2022, the city of Nagoya began requiring condo building management to update authorities on the state of their complexes, while, in 2018, Yokohama city asked architects to assess undermanaged condo buildings and set up management associations.

Related on Archinect: Minimalist concrete apartments fill a narrow site in Tokyo, designed by Ryuichi Sasaki Architecture. Image credit: Sherpa

More broadly, Japan passed a law in 2015 allowing local authorities to issue warnings about vacant homes at risk of collapse, including powers to de...

Project abandonments rose sharply across the country during March

2024-04-05T15:48:00-04:00

Project abandonments have spiked recently across the country, according to a new analysis of construction project data contained in the ConstructConnect Project Stress Index for the week ending on March 31st.

Construction Dive has more on the latest economic indicators impacting nearly every sector of commercial architecture, including the startling revelation that outright abandonments have increased by 60% from 2021 base levels.

“Not many months after interest rates started rising in early 2022, the private sector was quick to respond with greatly heightened levels of abandoned projects,” Michael Guckes, ConstructionConnect's senior economist, explained. “This volatility, coupled with overall elevated weekly readings, has continued with little exception through present.”

However, the total number of privately funded abandoned projects was down 10.7% compared with the same month las...

Lana Del Rey is right: There is a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard

2024-02-01T13:10:00-05:00

With days to go until the 2024 Grammy Awards, one nominee in the running for Album of the Year contains an unexpected architectural overture.

Lana Del Rey’s Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, nominated in three categories, contains a song of the same name that dwells on an abandoned piece of infrastructure in Long Beach, California.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by lanadelreyInfo (@lanadelreylnfo)

In the song “Did You Know There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd,” Del Rey draws on themes of being forgotten and underappreciated in the future despite current fame. The lyrics draw a parallel between Long Beach's Jergins Tunnel under Ocean Boulevard which was closed to the public in 1967 and has since been largely forgotten, a historical fact Del Rey entwines with her own foreboding of one day being unappreciated and overlooked.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Emily B (@chimesatmidnight)

Constructed in 1927, the su...

Aether Architects presents an adaptive reuse transformation of an abandoned industrial facility in Shenzhen

2022-01-11T13:45:00-05:00

Aether Architects has unveiled a sleek adaptive reuse project of an abandoned factory boiler building in Shenzhen. Renovated for Zhongcheng Space Holdings Group, the structure had been sitting empty for more than ten years before its renovation.

The original building had no windows and was riddled with cracks. It was determined that the building was dangerous and required structural reinforcement before reuse. While it had been abandoned for such an extended period of time, the architects appreciated its washed rice stone elevations. As stated by the design team, the material made the structure appear like an ashlar stand amidst the surrounding lush vegetation.

The original factory boiler building.

The architects aimed to preserve this presence. Therefore, the core mission for the renewal was establishing the necessary lighting and ventilation to adapt the site for human use while retaining its original atmosphere.

The design team wanted to introduce the surrounding vegetation into...

Battle over Brutalism in Scotland remains unresolved

2019-06-28T12:57:00-04:00

St Peter's Seminary in Cardross is a category A listed building - the highest level of protection for buildings of architectural or historic interest. It was closed as a training college for priests in the 1970s and left to ruin. The Catholic Church described it as an "albatross around our neck".

A battle is brewing in Cardross, Scotland over the uncertain future of St. Peter's Seminary, a 1960s-era Brutalist complex that has been abandoned for nearly 30 years.

Widely considered Scotland's most important 20th Century structure, the seminary was designed by architects Gillespie, Kidd & Coia and opened in 1966 only to be abandoned in the 1980s.

Wrapped in concrete arches and punctuated by a stepped atrium, the pebble-studded complex has been referred to as both Scotland’s best and worst 20th Century building. The seminary was listed as a "Category A" architectural relic in 1992, the country's highest designation for historic buildings. But even with this designation, plans to rehabilitate the structure have fallen short.

Image courtesy of Flickr user Tom Parnell.

Scottish architecture expert Alan Dunlop told the BBC, "I would go as far as saying this building is as important as Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Glasgow School of Art."

Historic Environment Scotland, the country's ...

Vacant jewels: a closer look at Boston's empty buildings

2019-06-17T14:40:00-04:00

All over town, buildings sit empty, somehow unused despite a fierce shortage of housing and a long-running development boom that has transformed long-quiet patches of the city into hot property. [...] Some are better kept than others. Some have more prestigious addresses. But each is a puzzle unto its own.

Boston Globe reporter Tim Logan investigates the factors behind Boston's many vacant buildings — despite a booming real estate market. "Even crumbling and empty buildings serve a purpose in a new Boston where so much is shiny and fresh," writes Logan.

A binge-worthy YouTube channel about abandoned architecture

2019-01-02T16:21:00-05:00

Are you an architecture buff who has traveling at the top of your list this year? Many travel all over to view and capture beautiful sites on camera. However, what about the places that have been forgotten and abandoned over time? These places, once filled with life and activity, have laid silently, overgrown with remnants of the past. Many would decide to skip on such a place for several reasons. However, two friends decided to take exploration into their own hands and document their journey as The Proper People.

Image © The Proper People

Bryan and Michael of the Proper People used their love for film, photography, and architecture to explore forgotten places that exist all over the world. Beginning in 2014, the avid travelers set out on a journey to explore and photograph their findings. Having made over 135 videos, these architectural cinematographers have developed a rather large fan base thanks to YouTube. With over half a million subscribers, The Proper People, have allowed fo...

Brutalist collection of vintage postcards highlight iconic Eastern Bloc architecture

2018-09-18T15:45:00-04:00

With flawless blue skies and the latest landmarks of cutting edge design, postcards from across the Soviet Union were miniature propaganda posters for the success of the communist system. Showcasing brutalist hotels, futurist TV towers, and bold concrete tower blocks, each image is a snapshot of the transformative decades between 1960 and 1990: from the endless optimism of Khrushchev's Thaw, to the closing years of the Cold War.

These Soviet Union postcards have been collected as part of a book project, Brutal Bloc Postcards, featuring some of the most iconic brutalist landmarks within the Eastern Bloc. Many of these structures are now abandoned, derelict, or completely gone. Take a look at this unique glimpse into the past:

Eastern Gate of Belgrade or Rudo Buildings, late 1970s. Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia. Image: FUEL.

Memorial to the Marines, 1978. Zhdanov, Ukrainian SSR. Image: FUEL.

Recreation home of the Ministry of the Interior, 1970s. Budapest, Hungarian PR. Image: FUEL.

Residential housing, late 1970s. Chișinău, Moldavian SSR. Image: FUEL.

You can check out more of these brutalist postcards here.

26-story building in Brazil collapses after massive blaze

2018-05-01T13:29:00-04:00

An abandoned 26-story building in downtown Sao Paulo, Brazil, caught fire and collapsed early Tuesday, showering the surrounding streets with fiery embers and killing at least one person, firefighters said. About 150 firefighters were battling the blaze, which started at about 1:30 a.m. local time. It is thought to have been caused by a gas explosion, according to reports.

Though officially abandoned as the former São Paulo headquarters of the federal police, about 50 families were believed to have occupied the building as squatters. Most people have reportedly managed to get out, however at least one person died in the building collapse, firefighters said.

Detroit's abandoned Michigan Central Station may soon be bought and redeveloped by Ford

2018-03-23T15:19:00-04:00

Ford Motor Co. is in discussions to purchase the dilapidated Michigan Central Station in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood just outside of downtown, Crain's has learned from multiple sources familiar with the negotiations.

"A redevelopment of the depot, which has been abandoned and blighted for three decades since Amtrak stopped service in 1988, would be one of the most expensive and complex local undertakings in recent history," Crain's reports.

Redevelopment of Detroit's Michigan Central Station slowly gaining momentum

2017-07-24T13:54:00-04:00

Talk about redeveloping the long-vacant Michigan Central Station in Detroit's Corktown area heated up again Thursday during an announcement about this year's Detroit Homecoming, which will hold the first significant private event in the 104-year-old train station since the mid-1980s. [...] "(Redevelopment of) the depot is going to take a marathon, but we're not at the beginning of the race, we're a few miles into it," said Matthew Moroun, whose father, Matty, bought the building in 1995.

"I said, 'there's one thing: Every time I read a damn national story about Detroit, there's a picture of the train station with the holes in the windows as the international image of the city's decline,'" Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is quoted saying, recalling his conversation with billionaire businessman — and the building's owner — Matthew Moroun. "I said, 'I want you to put windows in the train station. And if you do that, everything else will be just fine.'"

Renovation costs for the 104-year-old train station — once the tallest rail station in the world and the city's pride but sitting vacant and in an increasingly derelict state since Amtrak service ceased in 1988 — are estimated to exceed $100 million.

Faraday Future's $1 Billion electric car factory in Nevada stopped in its tracks

2017-07-11T13:25:00-04:00

This is the second and likely final time construction will be halted on the one million square foot plant, which according to The Verge, was going to be Faraday Future's way of competing with fellow electric car manufacturer Tesla.

Faraday Future's "FFZero1 Concept Prototype." Image: Wikipedia

As the article notes:

It was just five months ago that FF was claiming that it was finally restarting construction of its proposed factory in North Las Vegas, almost 11 months after construction was first halted amid the company’s ongoing financial woes. Now it looks like that factory will never be built, as FF is reportedly looking into pursuing less ambitious (re: cheaper) options.

Restricted Areas: abandoned Soviet structures photographed in all their eerie beauty

2016-07-25T20:24:00-04:00

Danila Tkachenko is a Russian photographer whose series Restricted Areas crystallises the tendencies of many artists working on themes of the post-Soviet space. As Calvert 22’s Power and Architecture season demonstrates, there is a healthy interest in the abandoned or neglected buildings that once served as landmarks of Soviet ambition: the rack and ruin of utopia. What sets Tkachenko apart is the unforgiving simplicity of his compositions.

All photos from Danila Tkachenko's series Restricted Areas. For far more of these beauties, head over to Calvert Journal.

The ghost hotels of the Sinai coast

2016-06-08T17:14:00-04:00

The villas are naked concrete, baked in the sun like unpainted pottery. The swimming pool is a trough with light fixtures poking from the sides. There are no guests, many stray dogs, and one-full time member of staff—a watchman who spends much of his time tending a fruit orchard where mangoes, oranges and lemons grow. If this were an isolated case, it would be mere misfortune. But the Seagull is just one ruin among dozens that line some 200 km of road on the southeastern Sinai coast.

"These ghost hotels are a product of the collapse of Egypt’s tourism industry after the revolution of 2011 and the political turmoil and terrorist attacks that followed."

For more news from Egypt, check out these links:

Exploring China's urban decay

2015-10-29T20:54:00-04:00

Connal...is one of the most active members of China’s approximately 200-strong urbex community. Worldwide, the pursuit – which some describe as “recreational trespass” – is estimated to have about 20,000 adherents, the majority in Europe and the United States. Connal’s urbexing has taken him into derelict science museums, “haunted” pre-Revolution hotels, ghostly amusement parks, and a half-finished shopping centre that he calls the Great Mall of China.

For more on abandoned, decaying sites worldwide, check out Archinect's coverage:

Abandoned schools = new development opportunities

The Mysterious, Abandoned Silos of Washington, DC

Chinese Fun: Photographer Stefano Cerio captures the eerie side of empty amusement parks

2015-08-25T18:31:00-04:00

In Stefano Cerio's series “Chinese Fun,” he explores the facades of amusement without an audience’s reaction. The photographer enters areas built for fun and leisure in the off months or closing hours, exploring the absurdity that creeps into the architecture of entertainment when there is no one to enjoy it but a single camera.

Shijingshang Park-Beijing

Shanghai Happy Valley-Shanghai

Water Cube-Beijing. Photo by by Stefano Cerio.

Cover of Stefano Cerio's recently released book, Chinese Fun. Click here to see more of the series.

All photos by Stefano Cerio.

In other recent amusement/bemusement-park news: Banksy about to open "Dismaland" pop-up exhibition in British seaside resort

This Guangzhou skyscraper still stands unfinished after 16 years

2015-04-07T15:12:00-04:00

An abandoned skyscraper still stands incomplete in the bustling capital of Guangdong Province after 16 years because no one is brave enough to ask for it to be torn down. The 46-story building looks strange as it towers over Guangzhou, a commercial hub in southern China with a population of more than 12 million. Its location just behind a golden high-rise building -- popular in China -- and luxury hotels makes the concrete shell look especially creepy and eerie.

Gensler proposes "Underline" bike paths in London's abandoned tube tunnels

2015-02-05T13:47:00-05:00

Could the answer to London’s congestion be a network of subterranean cycleways? A new project from design firm Gensler suggests that maybe – just maybe – it might. Dubbed the London Underline, the project would turn London’s abandoned tube tunnels into living streets beneath the city. [...] London Underline is being taken seriously enough in some quarters. Earlier this week, it won the Best Conceptual Project gong at the London Planning awards.

The Mysterious, Abandoned Silos of Washington, DC

2014-11-17T13:22:00-05:00

The McMillan Sand Filtration Site is one of Washington, DC's most conspicuous mysteries. Unbeknownst to the thousands of commuters and residents that pass by its rusted gates daily, below this sprawling parcel of land lies a series of vast underground caverns built in the early 20th century by the Army Corps of Engineers as a natural purification facility for DC's turbid water supply.

The latest episode of PBS Digital Studios’ Unusual Spaces series visits mysterious abandoned silos and underground reservoirs at the McMillan Sand Filtration Site, just 2 miles north of Capitol Hill in DC.

Ten years on, Athens 2004 gives Greece little to cheer

2014-08-11T18:50:00-04:00

It was billed as a chance to transform Greece's image abroad and boost growth but 10 years after the country hosted the world's greatest sporting extravaganza there is little to celebrate at the birthplace of the modern Olympic Games. [...] For Greeks who swelled with pride at the time, the Games are now a source of anger as the country struggles through a six-year depression, record unemployment, homelessness and poverty. Greece has struggled to generate revenue from the venues.

What Happens When Digital Cities Are Abandoned?

2014-07-14T19:20:00-04:00

I’m a quiet fan of these urban explorers, people who devote time to poking around abandoned buildings or “haikyo”.... And because I’ve spent so much time inhabiting digital rooms myself, I often think about how time decays digital structures. I imagine all of the strings of text that have come before or after mine that similarly disappeared into the void. But what happens when those spaces stick around, as in a virtual world—when they can’t physically decay?

In Detroit, a Groundbreaking School Comes Back as Condos

2014-06-18T13:39:00-04:00

Due to plummeting enrollment and a troubled district, vacant school buildings—heck, just vacant buildings—are none too rare in Detroit. After 19 years of abandonment, the Nellie Leland School, however, is no longer vacant—it, as abandoned urban buildings are want to do, is back in session as condos. [...] Today, the school is known as Leland Lofts, a set of expansive condos in the Lafayette Park neighborhood near downtown Detroit, where a 1,465-square-foot, one-bedroom loft goes for $175K.

In Detroit, a Groundbreaking School Comes Back as Condos

2014-06-18T13:39:00-04:00

The tragedy of Tampico, Mexico: a city of violence, abandoned to the trees

2014-06-02T14:00:00-04:00

As a result of the violence, the local real estate market has bottomed out. Those who flee the city usually can’t sell their homes and businesses, so more and more buildings, including some of Tampico’s largest and most impressive ones, lie abandoned. Buildings that could easily survive for another century are mere empty shells, with huge trees growing through the roofs and out of the windows. Such levels of abandonment are rarely seen in the centre of a major city.

Paris' "ghost stations" could be revitalized as galleries, swimming pools, restaurants

2014-02-07T14:42:00-05:00

The Paris Métro, opened in 1900, extends over more than 200 kilometers of track, serving more than 300 individual stops. But there are 11 more stations that, though once built, now stand nearly abandoned. Many of these "ghost" or "phantom" stations shuttered after the occupation during WWII. [...] Parisian mayoral candidate Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet has a bold plan for these phantom stations ... these abandoned spaces should be reclaimed for the city's residents.

Working alongside mayoral candidate Kosciusko-Morizet, architect Manal Rachdi and urban planner Nicolas Laisné composed a few renderings of what the stations could become under the proposal. Featuring Arsenal, one of the stations closed since 1939, here are a few potential uses:

Night club:

Restaurant:

Art gallery:

Theater:

All images via NKM Paris, from Oxo architects + Laisné Architect.

Bradley Garrett, Urban Explorer

2012-10-05T19:38:00-04:00

He may look like a kid in a hoodie, but Bradley Garrett has a degree in anthropology and history, a PhD in social and cultural geography, and is about to take up a research post at Oxford University. But away from his lofty academic work, this bespectacled American is a trespasser – "urban explorer" has a nicer ring – who infiltrates abandoned buildings, sewers, bridges and office-block rooftops, filming and photographing them to bring these hidden spaces to public view.

China's abandoned Wonderland

2011-12-13T13:54:20-05:00

A farmer carries a shovel over his shoulder as he walks to tend his crops in a field that includes an abandoned building, that was to be part of an amusement park called 'Wonderland', on the outskirts of Beijing December 5, 2011. Construction work at the park, which was promoted by developers as 'the largest amusement park in Asia', stopped around 1998 after funds were withdrawn due to disagreements over property prices with the local government and farmers.

Ghostly Developments Also Haunt Spain’s Banks

2011-05-10T15:59:11-04:00

Most of these units have never sold, and though they were finished just three years ago, they are already falling into disrepair, the concrete chipping off the sides of the buildings. Vandals have stolen piping, radiators, doors — anything they could get their hands on.