The objective of this project was to allow visitors to enjoy the industrial heritage while providing a magnet program that gives them a reason to visit the site. This objectice was accomplished through the occupation of the vertical space within the central grain silos. The use of vertical room within these silos allowed for over 60% of the naturally beautiful silo floor area to remain untouched, ensuring a minimal impact on the site. The larger building program, a cereal museum, ties the visitor to the site by use of olfactory sensory factors.

The visitor’s choice of restroom was the catalyst in the organization of the visitor’s circulation, and lead to the ‘techno ritual’. The visitor can select what type of restroom is desirable and is directed to an elevator that leads him to an individual/private restroom. In this sense, repetition of the same choice of restroom does not necessarily lead to the same path and location, but it leads to the same accommodation.

The design utilized the adaptation of the building’s historic circulation system to create a memorable experience for the event space and bathrooms. Researching the circulation that was specific to the Marine A Elevator was the driving force behind the development of the project. Utilizing this research inspired the concept of a marine training center and the extensive use of water circulation throughout the project. The project included some unconventional bathroom aspects including a communal washing and waiting area and the blending of private and semi-private spaces using waterwalls as the only partition element.

PARA | site was conceived in the regeneration of the industrial character of the now static Buffalo Grain Elevators. The shipping container was chosen for its inherent structural integrity, its transportability and its industrial connotation similar to that of the majestic urban jungle that the silos have become. The project manifested as a separate, unique entity echoing the very soul of a bygone era, devoid of distraction from the monolithic structures standing on the river’s edge. Through the extraction of design techniques and actual artifacts from the Grain Elevators, PARA | site breathes life into the postindustrial architecture present at Silo City.

Transforming the Marine A Grain Elevator into an outdoor music venue, the driving force of the project was to maintain the continuity of the performance, including when using the restroom is needed during the show. Bathrooms are broken down into individual units, each of them oriented towards the scene. Through a glazed wall, the user is able to watch the performance and use the toilet at the same time. In order to maintain this continuity throughout the project, the strategy was to manipulate light and sound.