MSR Design creates a technology campus within the skeleton of the Pittsburgh steel mill

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Minneapolis-based architecture firm MSR Design has installed a technology campus inside a 70-year-old abandoned steel mill in Pennsylvania, adding three colorful buildings and a huge solar panel on the roof.

The adaptive reuse project is located on a former brownfield site a few miles from downtown Pittsburgh in the city’s Hazelwood neighborhood. It overlooks the Monongahela River.

The adaptive reuse project is located on a former brownfield site

MSR Design has inserted three buildings within the massive envelope of the historic mill, bringing the total area to 263,200 (24,452 square meters).

The campus was designed for tenants in the high-tech and manufacturing sectors.

MSR Design created the technology campus inside an old steel mill

The steel mill, known as Mill 19, was built in 1953. It operated until 1997, making it the last steel mill to operate within Pittsburgh, a city that played a central role in the American steel industry now in decline.

“Mill 19 is a living emblem of Pittsburgh’s transformation from its past of industrial steelmaking to a future of advanced, sustainable manufacturing,” said Minneapolis-based architecture firm MSR Design.

It was designed for tenants in the high-tech and manufacturing sectors

Preserving the site’s history has been a guiding concern for the architectural firm, leading it to preserve the 1,360-foot (415-meter) long, 100-foot (30-meter) high skeleton of the old mill. The frame has been power washed and tested to ensure no contaminants remain.

“The design team took a unique approach to adaptive reuse by peeling off the existing plant’s deteriorated sheet metal skin, exposing its dramatic steel skeleton, and installing a sequence of speculative, high-tech offices, laboratories and manufacturing facilities within of the looms in disrepair,” the studio said.

Overhead, suspension bridges span the interstitial space and connect to glowing yellow staircases

The trio of steel-framed buildings set within the mill’s skeleton have different types of metal cladding.

An external corridor runs along the southwest elevation, between the new buildings and the old skeleton. Overhead, suspension bridges span the interstitial space and connect to glowing yellow staircases.

The interior design has prioritized openness and adaptability

For the interior, the team prioritized openness and adaptability. Large tracts of glass usher in natural light.

“The building’s interior layouts promote flexibility, open space, and daylighting to meet the needs of high-tech tenants,” said the team.

A series of gardens, terraces and squares characterize the entire campus

Throughout the campus, a series of gardens, terraces and plazas allow for “a range of experiences, from individual contemplation to large-scale community gatherings”. Minneapolis-based TEN x TEN was the landscape architect on the project.

A number of sustainable elements have been incorporated into the campus, enabling the project to win a 2023 AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) award.

A solar panel is present on the roof of the structure

Of particular note is the two megawatt rooftop solar array, which is among the largest single slope arrays in America. Generates enough power to meet much of the site’s energy needs.

Other sustainable features include an extensive rain garden system, canals and cisterns for rainwater management and reuse.

MSR Design and JRA Architects hide Kentucky library in grove of trees

In addition, the site features material salvaged from the steel mill. For example, the site’s original concrete slab was torn apart and incorporated into the landscape.

Mill 19 is the first portion of a 170-acre (69 ha) redevelopment project called Hazelwood Green, which is being built on the riverfront site that once belonged to Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation.

The site features material recovered from the steel mill

“Mill 19 serves as the catalyst and sets the tone for the redevelopment of all 170 acres into a sustainable, mixed-use, high-tech innovative district that reconnects surrounding neighborhoods to the river’s edge,” the team said.

Current occupants include Motional, an autonomous vehicle company, and Carnegie Mellon University’s Manufacturing Futures Institute, along with a public-private consortium called the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute.

The site has attracted both local and national attention. In 2022, US President Joe Biden visited Plant 19 and gave a speech on American manufacturing and innovation.

Other adaptive reuse projects in Pittsburgh include a children’s museum housed in a lightning-damaged historic library and the transformation of a Ford Motor Company factory into a biomedical research laboratory.

Photography is by Gaffer Photography.

Project credits:

Lead Architect & Interior Designer: MSR Design Associate Architect for Phases A & B: R3AL Landscape Architect: TEN x TEN General Contractor: Turner Construction Co. Client: Regional Industrial Development Corp.

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