Adaptive Reuse Minute

Einstein Bros Bagels

A former gas station on Colorado Avenue in Denver, Colorado that has been adaptively reused into a bagel shop.

Facadism

Facadism is the horrendous practice of keeping the front of a building and tacking it onto the structure of a new building.

At first glance, this would seem to be a perfect compromise. The preservationists get to keep the essence of the building while the developers get their sellable square footage.

In truth, the city becomes a series of false fronts. A Disneyland of real architecture but one that lacks a true heart.

This process does a disservice to both the architect of the original building and the architect of the new building. The facadism rips the heart out of the historic building and only acknowledges that the front is important while not giving the architect of the new building the chance to express their vision and become an integral part of the city’s fabric.

We may as well just tear it down.