Proposal to turn warehouse into recycling hub takes second place in Radical Renewal Competition

Render of Raymond Lapiejko's reimagined Hoosac Stores warehouse

Designer Raymond Lapiejko's vision to transform the Hoosac Stores warehouse in Boston into a recycling hub has been awarded second place in Dezeen and Bentley's Radical Renewal Competition.

Lapiejko's proposal focused on the Hoosac Stores building in Boston, Massachusetts, a wool storage facility built in 1895 within the Charlestown Navy Yard – an area historically dedicated to shipbuilding, production and material exchange.

His concept transforms the warehouse into a recycling and repair centre within the Navy Yard, which would house an architectural salvage store, repair workshops, DIY facilities and artist spaces.

The original Hoosac Stores warehouse in Boston — Lapiejko's proposal revives the Hoosac Stores warehouse in Boston

The warehouse, which is undergoing demolition, was chosen as an opportunity to challenge conventional demolition practices and demonstrate how existing structures can be continuously reinvented through self-spoliation.

This is a process that involves taking apart pieces of a building and then reusing those same materials to rebuild or transform it.

At its core, the proposal imagines a regenerative alternative to the cycle of demolition and new construction, aligning architectural renewal with community use and long-term adaptability.

Lapiejko envisions cast iron columns, steel I-beams, timber joists and brick walls would be catalogued and repurposed within a flexible framework that could support changing programmes over time.

Some materials would retain their original structural roles, while others would be reconfigured into new systems such as responsive facades or modular interior frameworks.

Render of Raymond Lapiejko's reimagined interiors of the Hoosac Stores warehouse — The proposal transforms the warehouse into a recycling and repair centre

The Radical Renewal Competition invited architects and designers to select a building of historical significance – whether an iconic landmark, a celebrated local structure or an overlooked building in need of revival – and propose a forward-thinking design transformation to rejuvenate it.

The contest coincided with the unveiling of Bentley's new Design Centre, which opened in July this year in an art deco building originally constructed in 1938 as a reception hub for Bentley's factory in Crewe, United Kingdom.

Read more about the proposal below:

Diagram depicting the self-spoliation process for Raymond Lapiejko's proposal — The wool storage facility was built in 1895

Hoosac Stores Recycling and Repair Center by Raymond Lapiejko
Boston, USA
Second place

"The Hoosac Stores building at the Charlestown Navy Yard is relevant now, as both Charlestown and the Navy Yard are subject to redevelopment aimed at improving community and visitor experiences at the waterfront.

"Built in 1895 as a wool storage facility, the Hoosac Stores building supported early industrial activity at the Navy Yard.

"Architecturally, it features a hybrid structure: cast iron and timber columns, steel I-beams, timber floor joists and brick load-bearing walls, reflecting a period when industrial function and material durability were tightly related. These materials, still viable, make the building an ideal case.

"Once a hub for production, exchange and public gathering, the Navy Yard transformed raw materials into ships and tools. This legacy of material circulation, both physical and social, remains embedded in the site.

"This proposal reimagines the Hoosac Stores building as a recycling and repair centre through a design methodology rooted in self-spoliation: the selective deconstruction and reintegration of the building's own materials as new architectural assemblies.

"This process challenges conventional demolition practices, which discard up to 90 per cent of building material into landfills, by embedding architectural persistence and material circularity into the core of the intervention.

"Innovation emerges not only through the concept of self-spoliation, but in the hands-on development of a component-based system that can adapt at multiple scales.

"Some materials, like steel and timber, retain their structural roles, while others, such as brick, are reimagined as responsive facade systems.

"These systems are designed to remain flexible, serving evolving programmatic functions while demonstrating how reclaimed materials can acknowledge the remnants of the original structure.

"As new programmes are introduced, from an architectural salvage store and repair workshops to DIY and artist spaces, they are supported by reworked structures that align with contemporary needs while enabling future change.

"Rather than treating the Hoosac Stores building as a frozen heritage object, the project proposes a model of architectural persistence, where meaning is carried through transformation.

"By minimising the use of new materials, reducing waste and localising material sourcing, it provides a grounded but speculative model for how existing buildings can be continuously renewed."

Radical Renewal Competition graphics

Dezeen and Bentley's Radical Renewal Competition is a global contest seeking bold architectural proposals to modernise historic buildings while preserving their heritage.

The contest received entries from more than 27 countries around the world.

A selection of 15 innovative proposals were shortlisted by the judges and published on Dezeen earlier this month.