In response to the understanding that architecture is inherently extractive and carbon-intensive—and that there might be room to rethink our approach—this project foregrounds the potential of the existing. Rejecting architectures fondness for the tabula rasa, the scheme builds from two existing structures on the St. Elizabeth site—a workshop and a boiler room constructed in the early 2000s—with the aim of demonstrating both their continued utility and the broader applicability of diverse material systems and processes. Ultimately though, while there remains a fundamental need to build—to house, to accommodate, to provide for present and future demands—this project suggests, and even insists upon, an alternative approach: one that prioritizes doing more with less, and working carefully with what is already there.
