Extracting Architecture: Mining as a process for reusing abandoned architectural relics

Abstract

The paper reflects on the concept of “mining” as a generative principle of construction, examining the role that abandoned architectural objects can play within a process of material resource reuse and recycling. The process of dismantling and extracting materials or components from an existing artifact to be reused in the construction of a new architectural object is deeply rooted in the history of building cultures. This is evident in the historical reuse of ashlar blocks and structural elements adapted for new constructions, as well as in the informal solutions typical of the rural world, where immediate needs are frequently addressed through “ready-made” operations.

This contribution analyzes the practice of mining through key virtuous architectural examples, bringing to light an essential and transferable principle: that the built environment, existing structures, and architectural relics scattered across the landscape can be considered, ar from being mere waste, as “anthropic quarries” from which architectural design can draw nourishment. Furthermore, the study highlights the indirect benefits that extracting salvaged materials from abandoned buildings (through their partial demolition or transformation) produces on the landscape, establishing new balances between what exists, what is needed, what is appropriate to remove, and what deserves to be preserved.