Cathedrals of Light: Transforming the Urban Silo

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Silos hold their own weight. Industrial structures made for storing bulk materials, silos are usually used in agriculture to store grain. Historically, silos have been made as far back as the 8th century B.C. in ancient Greece, commonly storing everything from food products to coal and cement. While largely industrial and utilitarian in nature, silos have their own aesthetic language. Crafted from diverse materials, each structure normally takes on a cylindrical shape capped by a conical or dome-like form. Silos have become iconic urban landmarks symbolizing history, culture and place.

Exploring the transformation and adaptive reuse of silos, we’ve drawn together seven projects from the Architizer database. While different silo types exist, from bunker to bag silos, we’re focusing on tower silos and the powerful experiences they build with volume and light. Utilizing addition, subtraction and carving, each project rethinks existing silo forms and reimagines them through formal moves. Collectively, they reveal different ways to give new life to silos around the world.

Kunstsilo – New Art Museum and Cultural Quarter by Ravagnani Vecchi Architects, Kristiansand, Norway

Designed to provide a transition between the old town, Kvadraturen and the new Kanalbyen residential district, Kunstsilo was made to create a symbolic and experiential link to the industrial harbor context. Proposing to remove part of the silo building, the project carves out six rows of silos and its corresponding warehouse volume to arrange the interior as a foyer that celebrates verticality.

The Silo by COBE, Nordhavnen, Copenhagen, Denmark

Located in Copenhagen’s new neighborhood Nordhavnen, The Silo was designed to become a point of orientation among its surroundings. Featuring 40 different apartments, the project works with the existing silo structure to become an urban silo for Copenhagen.

The Granary by Interface Studio Architects LLC

As the adaptive reuse of a former grain silo structure near Center City, The Granary is designed to create new housing within the existing structure. Utilizing the 60-foot-tall silo voids in the building, the project would introduce new programs and spaces to explore.

Hotel Ascension by DIOINNO ARCHITECTURE PLLC, Buffalo, N.Y., United States

Located in Silocity, the Hotel Ascension project would revitalize the existing Marine A Silo structure in Buffalo. Playing off the building’s monumental spaces and geometry, the design would feature uninterrupted vertical rooms that dance with lights from top to bottom.

Irish National Seed Vault by BESH Studio, Limerick, Ireland

Embracing the function and nature of storing, this silo design proposes to transform an existing industrial facility into a seed vault for the future. Formed to adapt existing storage bins into a climatized archive for Ireland’s seeds, the project would also introduce new programs like gallery spaces and a public observation deck.

After Image by RAAAF, Groningen, Netherlands

After Image explores the possibility of inhabiting an underground space around a series of pillars that once supported the Sugar Factory silo. By revealing the foundation, RAAAF states that “an enormous concrete cathedral appears 40 feet below ground level.”

Zeitz MOCAA by Heatherwick studio, Cape Town, South Africa

Designed to reinvent the historic Grain Silo at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, Heatherwick’s Zeitz MOCCA centers on an interior carved from within an infrastructural object. Galleries and a central circulation space are placed around the silos’ concrete structure to create a cathedral-like central atrium.

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