A building within a building: a design study for the place where King Street meets the waterfront in historic Alexandria

Abstract

Building no. 10 of the old Torpedo Factory complex occupies a pivotal position in the redevelopment of the Alexandria waterfront. This design study explored the critical issues surrounding the renovation and re-use of this now vacant warehouse- issues which involved the conceptualization of the waterfront itself as a place and its integration into the existing urban fabric.

An architecture of assimilation is proposed, rather than an architecture of contrast or duplication. Thus, the historic setting is neither ignored or duplicated. Instead it is viewed as a living context with living principles capable of generating new ideas of form and space without losing its essential character or identity.