Renovated Samson West Building

Samson West is a dormitory built in West Philadelphia’s University Campus in 1971. The floor slabs and columns are made of reinforced cast in place concrete. The enclosure is made with prefabricated concrete panels that are welded to the slab through embedded steel angles. behind the concrete panels are furring strips to hold the interior dry wall. The walls are not insulated and the windows are sliding single panes that do not open fully for safety reasosn. the building was designed by Richard & Dion Neutra.

The theme of this studio is adaptation for current and future climate scenarios. Our proposal is to adapt the Samson West dormitory to the future by transforming it into the Circular Economy Living Lab.

Living Lab:

A place for ongoing, rapid and iterative experimentation and innovation.

Question:

What is circularity and how can it be a form of building adaptation?

Shear layers:

Stewart Brand has identified building 6 layers that have differing scales and temporal evolutions. These layers include: site, structure, skin, services, space plan, stuff. Circularity is concerned with building life cycles, therefore should address these layers.

Statement:

As building materials’ extraction and manufacturing contributes largely to the detriment of our climate, the circular economy (CE), by introducing strategies that correspond to the type and condition of a material stock, adds value throughout the value chain while drastically reducing production of new materials.

Program:

(1) Utilities: seasonal water storage, seasonal temperature storage, flexible mechanical space

(2) Material Test Facility: circularity for the community.

(3) Circularity Forum: indoor + outdoor space that is accessible from grade. Active roof space.

(4) Repair Shop

(5) Circular Goods Recovery: trash + recycling chute; collections, sorting facility; scales, weights and measures; washing facility; returns to building

(6) Bulk Goods Store: Stakeholder is Ray’s Reusables; access through front door for use by dorm residents, other students and neighbors.

(7) Circular Economy Extension Office: location near front door for receiving visitors from the community to answer questions on CE.

(8) Internal Materials and Reusables Loop: Bulk food and lifestyle goods recirculate for co-operative participants for the building.

(9) Internal/External Goods Loop: Materials from students and neighbors cycle through the building.

(10) Internal/External Knowledge Loop: The Extension office forms the backbone of the circular economy, propelling into the neighborhood and testing facilities in the CE at large.

(11) Circularity Classrooms

(12) Circularity Standards Lab

(13) Circular Economy Co-op Dorms: for research subjects. Non-specific dorms, but students must agree to CE compact + participate in CE lifestyle.

(14) Circular Economy Research Residency: Researchers dorms and shared living space for CE residents.

(15) Collection Location: lounge + centralized refrigeration

(16) Buffer Space

(17) Resale market: seasonal furniture sale; weekly resale market; flexible outdoor-indoor space + convertable to open air; summer shade or sleep shelter