Ongoing transformation as a strategy for reusing De Toekomst, a former strawboard factory in Scheemda.

In the Netherlands there are vast industrial monuments going to rack and ruin, monuments that have a story to tell about the pioneering spirit of Dutch enterprise. It is often difficult to give such complexes a new duty. A good example is the largest of all Dutch ruins, De Toekomst strawboard factory in Scheemda, in the far north-east of the country. This national monument has stood empty for more than 40 years with no possibility of a new purpose in life. This state of affairs can be explained by the economically weak region, the sheer size of the factory and the national heritage department's angle on it. The heritage department (RDMZ) wants to return 'De Toekomst' (Dutch for 'the future') to the way it was in 1908. The upshot of what will be a costly restoration is the return of the strawboard factory, which will still need a new duty to be found for it. My wish is to devise a strategy that will result in a feasible design for reuse, taking as my departure-point the current state of the building, not that of 1908. The received qualities of its parts are influential in seeking out a new programme. By locking into these qualities, the former factory can be reused with a minimum of additional means. This process of reallocation, rather than being a one-off intervention, is to follow an organic growth model. Instead of being established beforehand, the outcome or programme changes with the change in needs, with both financing and activities phased in the growth model. I developed two quite different concepts. In the Shelter concept, the existing is uppermost. The building is made wind and waterproof with minimum intervention and then freestanding furniture added to identify the duties to be performed there. In the Upgrading concept it is the new duty that is uppermost. The space is upgraded to new-build standards.
This design seeks to build upon the received characteristics of the factory so as to weld old and new into an organic whole. The chosen duty of therapeutic farm gives De Toekomst a versatile programme that can invest the building and its grounds with new meaning.
My design steps off from the key characteristics of De Toekomst, such as the self-sufficient, homogeneous brick complex standing object-like in the landscape. Originally, each of its parts was tuned to its particular role in the production process. This strategy similarly informs the new set-up, with each part of the building getting its own spatial treatment. With its transformations in full view, De Toekomst can be read as a time chart, with each change represented by a new layer. This holds equally for its new duty. Over the years, the factory complex became more and more open through clearance or collapse, making it increasingly hard to see what is interior and what exterior. This aspect has likewise been retained where possible.
Many of the rooms have kept their tough quality, with the brick structure defining the building's ambience. Low-tech and low-budget means are used to expand upon the factory's rough-and-ready character, generating a new unity. As building-on to the factory is itself part of the curriculum of the therapeutic farm, a self-developing mechanism has been set in train that can grow as and when necessary in the complex.
A rough estimate of building costs shows that the strategy followed here is effective in redesignating monuments such as De Toekomst.
Armed with the growth model, investments can be attuned to the actual needs as they present themselves. Even more important than the great financial advantage is the fact that the building can be appropriated immediately, since use in this case means upkeep. With the minimum of investment, a process can be set in train that spreads through the building like an oil slick. The essence of this strategy is that the reuse process itself takes centre stage rather than some fixed future outcome.

Place of education: AvBGroningen | Specialization: architecture | Tutors: Haiko Meijer, Clemens Bernhardt