Document Type
Thesis, Senior
Degree
B. ARCH
Date
Spring 2019
Keywords
globalization, neo-industrial era, programmatic revitalization, St. Louis, Cannabis, hemp seeds, marijuana
Language
English
Disciplines
Architecture
Description/Abstract
As a result of globalization, manufacturing in America moved overseas. The coasts, with greater access to international markets, have flourished, creating a distinct divide between the middle and the edge. Moving from the post-industrial era into the current age of the neo-industrial, revitalization of the middle can occur by introducing an industry utilizing previous skill sets. Therefore, the center of the United States can be made relevant again through the programmatic revitalization of post-industrial sites.
In the post-industrial era, St. Louis has suffered from economic decline, unemployment spikes, and population decreases. Revitalizing forgotten industrial spaces with a new mode of production will provide an opportunity for economic expansion. Cannabis, consisting of both hemp and marijuana, is a growing industry that primarily exists on the edges of the country, stimulating economies and creating tax revenue.
The project utilizes three sites in St. Louis because of the nature of the cannabis industry. Hemp is grown in rural areas (Defiance, MO) and marijuana is grown in greenhouses (St. Louis Place). An abandoned post-industrial building along the Mississippi River acts as a cannabis production factory, distribution center, and museum experience.
Hemp seeds, stalks, and marijuana are imported into the freight depot from the growing sites. The seeds produce biofuels, animal feed, and CBD oil and the stalks produce thread, cloth, and finished garments. These products are exported across the country via truck, freight, and barge depending on the scale of production. The parti of the building is influenced by production process, distribution, and scale.
The factory is integrated into the city by the museum experience that allows the public to view the production processes and the Mississippi, and to engage with the heritage of the site and the cannabis industry as an apparatus for revitalization.
Recommended Citation
Domine, Juliet and Paulk, Virginia, "Finding a New Center: A Study of Neo-Industrial America" (2019). Architecture Senior Theses. 447.
https://surface.syr.edu/architecture_theses/447
Source
Local Input
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Additional Information
Thesis Advisor:
Lawrence Davis