The REORDER unit investigates the compositional order of places, spaces, buildings and materials through adaptive reuse.

Through an in-depth understanding of the material, social and historical contexts involved we identify strategies for creatively transforming existing buildings and elements which are grounded in an empathy for the context. The theme of order is employed in a diverse way as a means to understand and appraise the relationship between things old and new. 

Edinburgh’s Summerhall Arts Complex offers up three buildings which are suitable for reuse. We are tasked with disentangling these structures from the existing maze and complex of interlinked buildings and reconfiguring them to provide new facilities for the University of Edinburgh that engage more generously with the city. 

Our process starts with a precedent study, chosen at random from a list of ten options. This study offers an influence, often a trajectory, on decisions such as the selection of the found frame, the building program, the resources to be used, and the methodology for reassembly. It also influences the qualitative spatial outcomes for both interior and exterior spaces.