This unit draws parallels between human aging and the weathering of buildings.

As we look to re-use existing buildings more, and to build for longevity and future adaptive re-use, the durability and maintenance of buildings becomes more significant. Our tectonic agenda focusses on threading a new structure and programme within and around an existing building. The project invites students to develop a position in relation to the retention/ alteration/ remaking/ repair/ adaption of the existing structure and fabric. The aim is to find an equilibrium between an expression and healthy acceptance of aging well and the need for preservation and durability to reduce maintenance and repair.  

The site focussed on the town of Grangemouth in central Scotland and on the redundant and neglected ‘La Scala’ cinema building, completed in 1913, originally known as the Empire Electric Theatre. Our theme is also relevant at the scale of the town that has suffered from radical change and seismic shifts in fortune including the demolition of the historic port area to the west and the growth of the vast petrochemical site to the east of the town, now facing an uncertain future. The town can be seen in these three distinct zones, Port, Town Centre, Refinery. These sit in a symbiotic relationship yet there are tensions, akin to tectonic plates that rub against each other on their fault lines.