Adaptive Reuse In The Contemporary World

By transforming a 60’s era pharmaceutical warehouse in the Okhla Industrial Area of New Delhi into a swanky, industrial chic office space for a creative agency, Studio Bipolar have not only created a shining example of how a design intervention can highlight the dormant beauty of our older buildings, but also made a compelling, aesthetic case for adaptive reuse of structures we would otherwise be tempted to demolish and rebuild upon.

- Sharmila Chakravorty

Often when older structures are past their moment in time, the dilemma is whether to refurbish and use, or demolish and start over. While the do-over approach might sound appealing on the surface, it discounts the cultural context or heritage value. However, the argument against refurbishing stands to reason that often times an arbitrary, and unnecessary, value is ascribed to older structures simply on the basis of their age. How do we then strike a balance? How do we, as objectively as possible, zero in on the best, most logical course of action?

Also, does all this hold true for buildings that probably do not have cultural or conservational value? For instance, a 60’s era pharmaceutical warehouse in the Okhla Industrial Area of New Delhi? How would we arrive at the value of nostalgia here, if at all? When Studio Bipolar set out to create a 6000 square feet office and film studio for WhiteBalance, a creative agency, they perhaps pondered over such questions. Their approach, however, was to highlight the hidden beauty of the structure and transform it into a space that resonates the bustling energy of the creative agency and its employees who would inhabit the space.