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The New Industrial Building: How (and Why) Functional Spaces Are Going Chic
To prove that art is useful, one need only point to architecture. There is no denying that Toronto’s Old City Hall (or its New City Hall, for that matter) is a breathtaking sight; many people can attest to being inspired by the Royal Conservatory of Music or moved by the Humber Bay Arch Bridge. These structures are cleverly created by master artists to arouse awe and wonder ― but also to serve several purposes, such as housing parliament, connecting communities, and shuttling pedestrians from here to there. Architecture is at once beautiful and practical.
However, for centuries, builders of a variety of structure neglected to consider art in construction. Industrial buildings were erected with only utilitarian purposes in mind: They housed machinery and employees that produced goods, and that was that. Yet, in recent years, even industrial structures have succumbed to aesthetics, and today, most industrial builders must consider art as well as function in their designs.
Industrial beauty is not yet absolute ― there still exist a number of unappealing industrial structures. However, the industry is quickly moving toward a more attractive average, and there are several theories why.
The Industrial Appeal
In the 1970s, hundreds of massive warehouses around the outer boroughs of New York City were transformed from industrial buildings to residential spaces ― with little augmentation to their look and feel. Low-income city-dwellers moved into loft apartments that maintained the bleak industrial look: exposed brick walls, steel beams, bare concrete floors, metal-framed windows. For the most part, the struggling artists who moved into these apartments were unable (and unwilling) to add conventional comforts; instead, they adopted the industrial style and incorporated it into their already-growing chic.
Today, the industrial look is a popular one for homes and businesses alike. Usually, the best option is to find an old, unoccupied industrial space that already offers the typical style. Modifying an industrial structure to one’s needs is usually much less expensive than attempting to convert a building’s established style. As a result, old industrial structures have become premium property ― and industrial businesses have needed to construct new places to get work done.
As traditional industrial spaces are overcome by non-industrial occupants, industrial companies have relocated to more modern, less obviously industrial buildings and structures, so they can be productive and profitable in their own spaces.
The Green Movement
Today, few businesses are free from the influencing power of the green movement. Consumers are clamoring so loudly for sustainable practices that even notoriously dirty industries, like oil and construction, are striving to clean up and go green.
Buildings take the lion’s share of most nations’ energy; common indoor processes like heating, cooling, and lighting are extremely energy expensive. Thus, the first place many businesses look to diminish their energy footprints is their base of operations. Fortunately, the opportunity to add sustainable features, like recycled building materials or passive solar heating and cooling, also allows businesses to improve the aesthetics of their structures.
In fact, it seems impossible to separate beautiful architectural design from sustainable construction. Some of the greenest buildings in the world also happen to have some of the most strikingly attractive style. For example, the RBC WaterPark Place III tower has one of the best environmental ratings in the country ― a Platinum LEED certification ― but is also a dazzling gem on the Toronto coast. Similarly, industrial companies are working to integrate simple, sustainable fixes into their workspaces, like employing lightweight fabric structures instead of energy-intensive steel and concrete, which also helps them to be more picturesque overall.
The Urban Aesthetic
No city wants a reputation for being ugly and dirty, and most actively strive toward a more beautiful appearance. Industrial business almost always lowers the appeal of an urban center, and as a city stretches toward culture, it pushes away the necessary industries that helped the metropolis grow.
Toronto is a prime example of this. As with most Western cities, Toronto was an industrial center in the latter half of the 19th century: The surrounding forests fell, coal-powered factories puffed black smoke day and night, and lakes shrunk to accommodate the city’s swelling numbers. However, 100 years later, Toronto began to change. The city demolished several old structures as sanitation measures and enacted laws that limited when, where, and how manufacturers could work. Today, Toronto is close to the glittering standard for Western cities, and it is all because industrial structures no longer look and behave as they did more than a century ago.
Increasingly around the West, industrial buildings must adapt their operations to the changing demands of the cities in which they work. While the “industrial style” is popular among non-industrial businesses and residential designers, true industry is moving away from the traditional look and feel of manufacturing. Instead, green buildings that mesh with a city’s architectural tone are pleasing not only to companies but to those who live and work around the structures, as well.