Obsolescence - affordable adaptive reuse

This thesis departures from the urgency to reinterpret the role of the architect. Our job’s main mission can no longer be to supply ideas for cradle to grave type of production. The only way to harmonize our needs with the planetary limits is through a paradigm shift towards reshaping existing materials, infrastructure, and constructions. How could architects better inform and convey their expertise regarding construction, material qualities, and cultural values, in a constructive, forward-looking way? By working hands-on with preexisting contexts and buildings we want to learn the craft of adaptive reuse. This thesis has resulted in a case study of a former hardware store, called Järnbolaget, in the small urban outpost Torsby in the north of Värmland