Welcome to CONVERTED, The 9th International Architectural Design & Visualization Challenge I’m running in partnership with Substance by ADOBE as the Material Category Marquee Sponsor and ASUS as our Hardware sponsor.

Converted entry by J C

I’ve started to identify specific repeating elements throughout exterior and interior as I begin blocking out the building. Starting with the exterior façade; roof and interior will soon follow. I intend to bring them into the engine for assessment once the building itself is set.

Converted entry by J C

Category: Realtime
Building: Charles Street Jail, a.k.a Suffolk County Jail
Location: Boston, MA
Architect: Gridley James Fox Bryant
Time Period: 1850s – 1940s
Current Conversion State: The Liberty Hotel
Alternate Conversion Ideas: Still up in the air, but potentially a library or indoor botanic garden

Converted entry by Eliseo Prado

Living in Miami, I was shocked by the disuse that port cranes had for many months. Before the pandemic hit us, there was a great port and cruise ships activity, and after everything was completely paralyzed.
Born in Cuba, a country where objects always have a second life, it’s part of my creative process to reuse and rehabilitate objects and spaces.

The project aims to convert disused port cranes by granting these megastructures with new functions and uses.
What? A new concept of a Hotel with capsule rooms.
Why? Bring to life abandoned port cranes and their surroundings.
How? Landscape, reuse of containers such as capsule rooms, glass, metal, wood, and many views to enjoy colorful sunsets.

Converted entry by tparra

The power of a historic project is incredible, all the memories lived for years are on walls that today seem to have no purpose.
This is an old project in a historic city São Francisco do Sul, the idea for this building is to keep the essence of the project, preserving the memory but with a new purpose.

Converted entry by fairuz h

Mahoosive:
*mahoosive: /məˈhuːsɪv/ adjective, Informal-British. Exceptionally big; huge.

Rapid development around middle east region faces the needs of construction supply of sand and other construction materials- but these were halted due to recent economic downturns, pandemic and human displacements resulted in project abandonment, + Industrial machinery sitting on site or warehouse not being utilized or reaching end of life with high cost to move these machinery/huge machinery…. “Mahoosive” machinery*.

Apart from issues such as climate change and habitat destruction due to this technicalities and huge apparatus, it can feel insurmountably large and shifting upon how we approach new creative ways of exacting change or a new design.
Conversions, revitalizations of this structures and abandoned site is one such method of these conversions & intervention.

There is somewhat a poetic essence about huge grounded machines & defunct technologies assembled at great human and financial cost that was left off the map, especially in a natural environment.
Abandonment and derelict, it separates emotion and a sense of genius loci (sense of belonging) towards the place, hence the proposal seeks to redefine, and regenerate the nature-semi built environment for a more sustainable design.

The low footprint from vertical architecture allows the remaining areas to be left into green space and dedicated activities. Recycle or Scrap-conversion is a way for a low carbon footprint.

The site:
Misfat Al Abriyeeni is a tiny hill village, high in the Mafjar Mountains, which is located in Wilayt Al Mamra in A’Dakhiliyah Region Oman, surrounded by granite & limestone mountains and river wadi’s , its highly exploited for their earth minerals and building construction materials. (note: generic imaginary site)

Summary of Proposal:
Issues:
-Abandoned & sterile site/Quarry
-Aging , idled machinery and equipment
-under utilized or damaged machines
-It’s challenging to relocate, remove, or dispose the machinery

Solutions:
-Conversions of existing quarry apparatus and huge machinery + intervention of landscape to revitalize the genius loci of that particular area. e.g. Hotels, Public Parks, Landscape areas.
-Large Machinery: architectural components (revitalized)
-Medium to small machinery: architectural follies
-Restoration of local ruins and architecture: proposed visitor centre, etc.
-dedicated landscape/parks