JGCH wins 2nd prize in packard belt reanimate the ruins competition

JGCH wins 2nd prize in packard belt reanimate the ruins competition
all images courtesy of JGCH

the packard automotive plant in detroit, once a producer of luxury cars, was completed in 1911 and closed its doors in 1958, subsequently falling into ruin and becoming a symbol of the city’s downfall and financial crisis. the call for an international competition titled ‘reanimate the ruins’, aiming to design, master plan, and update the complex was immediately fascinating to new york city’s JGCH architecture studio. ‘this story of possible regeneration was moving to me since I was born in havana, another city that has also become synonymous with ruins and destruction,’ says founder javier galindo.

aerial view

office interior 

cultural belt interior

the dilapidated factory is a facility in which automobiles were born. by thinking of this original situation, the history of the radically autonomous relationship between the car and the building became central to the project’s narrative. the vehicle was confined to the street while the structure was to be located within the city block, becoming the realm of the people. the worlds of the machine and that of men were detached, and they rarely functionally interweaved with one another. 

it wasn’t until the opening of the lingotto building in turin and others like it that the car became a contributor of architectural design. but this progressive dialogue was not carried on in future integrations. the condition of segregation and detachment between the two entities needs reevaluation in favor of a more inclusive and integrated system. to the studio, the packard facility seemed the perfect opportunity to reignite this lost communication.

building/car relationship

renderings of the building/car relationship

at 3000 feet long, the project does not relate to the surrounding city blocks and will always be viewed as a barrier. by dividing the larger volume into smaller portions, the scale is reduced to be more contextually sensitive, but also to enable porosity across the complex and the possibility of cross-programmatic interaction.

axonometric view

despite the car’s role in creating sprawl and destroying the center of the michigan metropolis, it was impossible to treat it as an irrelevant part of the architecture. the proposed loop of circulation that folds and meanders through the existing infrastructure is seen as a way to stitch together all the resulted smaller scale pieces. it supplies the grander gesture needed for a cohesive master plan. the form was inspired by the regenerative power of the serpentine belt found in engines, which provides and unifies different components into a holistic functioning system. the cultural circle in the project unites the many disparate programmatic elements as well as it generates the high social and cultural voltage for a successful community.

belt exterior wall

serpentine belt car engine system  

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designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.