This thesis project is a study of a complex of historic, railway-goods warehouses in Nottingham (UK) that were internally destroyed by a fire two decades ago. The site has has become an erstwhile symbol of the city, a stark reminder of both a past age of prosperity and the century of post-industrial decline that ultimately followed.Now facing the threat of demolition, it is questioned whether it is possible to rescue the intrinsic potential of these ruins to radically transport us beyond the experience of the everyday city, to a unique and inhabitable space of transition between past and present. This thesis also examins the changing role of the library in the 21st century and the future for this public institution as a vestibule for the transmission of local culture and history. This leads to the central question of the thesis project; is it possible - through the appropriate treatment of an industrial ruin - to begin a process of reconciliation with the past, one that can provide some kind closure to the cognitive dissidence caused by language and tone of this kind of architectural heritage and the limited prospects that city like Nottingham faces today. / Detta examensarbete är en undersökning av ett komplex av historiska, järnvägsgodslager i Nottingham (Storbritannien) som internt förstördes av en brand två decennier sedan. Webbplatsen har blivit en dåvarande symbol för staden, en skarp påminnelse om både en tidigare ålder av välstånd och århundrade postindustriella nedgång som slutligen followed.Now inför hotet om rivning, är det ifrågasättas om det är möjligt att rädda inneboende potentialen hos dessa ruiner att radikalt transportera oss bortom upplevelsen av vardagliga staden, till en unik och beboelig utrymme för övergång mellan dåtid och nutid. Avhandlingen examins också förändrade roll biblioteket i det 21 century.This leder till den centrala frågan om examensarbetet; är det möjligt - genom lämplig behandling av en industriell ruin - att inleda en försoningsprocess med det förflutna, en som kan ge någon form stängning till den kognitiva oliktänkande på grund av språket och tonen i den här typen av arkitektoniska arvet och de begränsade möjligheterna att stad som Nottingham står inför i dag.

There are contradictory thoughts associated with ruins. Mainly when we hear the word ruin, it reminds us of glorious ancient structures that evoked an aesthetic pleasure and inspired artists and philosophers throughout the history. But it also has a negative feeling, it means to destroy to turn into decay. The former is the way that we feel about ancient ruins but our way of thinking about the ruins of modern times is different. There are different reasons for this duality and this thesis firstly attempts to explore the reasons behind this ambivalent attitude. Secondly to answer why ruins of our own time are considered invaluable, why they deserve our attention, how their qualities can offer different ways of remembrance and challenge the common perception of history and how their existence can arouse the topic of otherness in the urban context and provide a physical space for alternative cultural activities. The design project focuses on an early twentieth century ruin in Baltimore, Maryland. The former theater building had a relatively short period of splendor followed by several alterations and decades of abandonment and decay. Through an architectural intervention, the project aims to understand and appreciate the history and qualities of the ruined theater and integrate these qualities into the atmosphere of the new space, binding the old and the new together and at the same time, retaining the incomplete character of the ruin. / Master of Architecture / Mainly when we hear the word ruin, we think of famous ancient ruin sites like the Colosseum, Acropolis or Angkor Wat. It reminds us of glorious ancient structures that evoked an aesthetic pleasure and inspired artists. But the word ruin is also associated with negative feelings. It means to disintegrate, to reduce to a state of decay, to collapse. The way we feel about the ruins of our own time is mostly associated with the latter. Modern ruins are mostly seen as unpleasant. Places that provide a space for undesirable activities and are linked to crime and, thus, threatening the safety of the residents in that area. As a result of this attitude, they become an ignored and marginalized part of the cities. Although ruins have some of the mentioned negative possibilities, they also contain positive qualities and potentials that I explore in this thesis. There are different reasons for these ambivalent feelings about ancient and modern ruins and this thesis studies the reasons behind it. This thesis provides answers to questions of why ruins of our own time are considered invaluable, why they deserve our attention and how their existence can arouse the topic of otherness in the urban context and provide a physical space for alternative cultural activities. The design project focuses on an early twentieth century ruin in Baltimore, Maryland. The former theater building had a relatively short period of splendor followed by several alterations and decades of abandonment and decay. Through an architectural intervention, the project aims to understand and appreciate the history and qualities of the ruined theater and integrate these qualities into the atmosphere of the new space, binding the old and the new together and at the same time, retaining the incomplete character of the ruin.