Work

Industrial Exaptation: Mono-Functional Industrial Relics and Their Capacity for Adaptive Multi-Performative Reinvention, a Case Study Analysis

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This paper examines the adaptive design potential and post-industrial transformation possibilities of decommissioned mono-functional infrastructures (built to serve a single-use purpose) as fertile grounds for industrial exaptation, rather than as obsolete structures from the 20th century industrial age. It develops a typological framework, organized by industrial process, to interrogate these structures and outlines a blueprint for their possible adaptive transformations. Through select global case studies, it proposes how industrial exaptation should move beyond just cultural spectacle to support multi-performative adaptive uses: from productive economies, new forms of industry, and domestic occupations, to ecological remediation strategies and climate-responsive adaptations. Rather than treating these forms as nostalgic artifacts, the paper argues for a paradigm shift: reclaiming industrial infrastructure under the domain of the design disciplines and reframing industrial exaptation as an urban, environmental, and civic project. Through this framework, these post-industrial forms are recast as evolutionary palimpsests—spatial templates for reimagining more sustainable futures in the age of the Anthropocene.

Source: Land

DOI: 10.3390/land14122316

Author: Evan Shieh

Institution: New York Institute of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation

Subfield: Archeology

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Industry, innovation and infrastructure, Responsible consumption and production, Sustainable cities and communities

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,137