Upon Concrete: Retrofitting Architecture with Malleability

Abstract

Throughout history, architecture has evolved and advanced in parallel with the technical development of reinforcements. With the innovations of processing and shaping smelted metals and the development of reinforced concrete structural systems, the concrete structure — which could only provide short-span spacing — was reinforced with iron and other metals to achieve a more expansive and porous space. As a result, the strengthened structural system could enable architecture not only to accommodate various scales of programs and occupancies, but also to retain the impartiality between humans, space, and structure. In other words, the structural reinforcements could be integrated with building retrofits and become the component that creates spatial flexibility and adaptability in architecture and the urban environment. Concrete structures are gradually becoming underused because of the unadaptability and the oppressive qualities of the space. The concrete parking structure, selected within Chicago’s dense urban area, provides an opportunity for experimenting with the steel reinforced techniques for further uses of various programs and occupancies. Different steel reinforcing techniques are integrated together into a system that can infuse the structure with the capacity to accommodate heterogeneous habitable spaces. Retrofitting existing concrete structures with zinc-plated steel reinforcements significantly elevates the structural elements into which could endow the architecture with more diversity, sustainability, and other social urgencies.