This paper is a humanities thesis on the reuse of non-monumental industrial buildings.

Industrial derelicts are the modern-day sandbox for architectural reuse and are celebrated for their hybrid assemblage. This was not always the case in the twentieth century and the early 2000s. The thesis aims to theorize on mass reuse to investigate the meanings these industrial structures acquire through time and obsolescence, as well as the role of the urban context in this paradigm shift in reuse.

Based on a comprehensive review of literature on the buildings and theories of the post-industrial city, tectonic culture, and obsolescence, an analysis of three case studies was carried out involving steps of examining the context and the existing structures, then interpreting its meaning: SESC Pompeía in São Paulo, International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam, and Caixa Forum in Madrid. An archive study, a site visit, and an interview with the architect were carried out for the second case. The three cases were eventually compared to one another to gain a panoramic view of mass reuse.

Three case studies analyzed and compared showed that a reconceived industrial building, representative of obsolescence and disposability, can also evoke acknowledgment, resistance, or even denial. Acknowledging the unique urban context of each case study, the paper closes with some insights: mass accumulates its meaning by circumstances, and these meanings are malleable through time. The findings reveal some insights on obsolescence and shed light on the debate of whether an existing mass inherits a disposability quality that justifies its demolition or not.