#adaptive-reuse

#adaptive-reuse

As cities and communities adapt to new cultural, environmental, and social realities, architecture is taking on an expanded role in shaping spaces of resilience, gathering, and imagination. This edition of Architecture Now highlights six recent projects that span continents and typologies, from the redevelopment of post-industrial landscapes to sacred architecture, cultural pavilions, and civic hubs. Whether through mass timber innovation in Vancouver and Julich, adaptive reuse in Ostrava,

In an era marked by rapid urbanisation and greenfield development, India's cities are grappling with the challenge of vehicle-centric planning and a critical scarcity of genuine communal spaces. Against this backdrop, a cluster of defunct cotton mills has been given new life-and a new purpose. Formerly home to Lakshmi Mills, one of India's oldest yarn and fabric manufacturing companies, the iconic site at a major urban node is now the focal point of a massive redevelopment initiative.

At the core of Amsterdam's 25,000-square-meter redevelopment of the Van Gendt Hallen stands the DRIFT Museum - a purpose-built cultural space dedicated to the Dutch art duo DRIFT. Designed by architecture firm zU-studio, the project transforms five monumental 19th-century factory halls into a dynamic destination where art, architecture, and sustainability converge. This extensive adaptive reuse initiative not only preserves a significant piece of Dutch industrial heritage but reimagines it as a future-proof, energy-neutral landmark for contemporary culture.

The Rebuild Foundation, the non-profit led by the artist, professor and urban planner Theaster Gates, will launch its newest initiative in Chicago this month. The , described as a "radical model of land stewardship", is situated inside the former St Laurence Catholic Elementary School in the Hyde Park neighbourhood on Chicago's South Side. Gates, who was the recipient of a 2025 Guggenheim Fellowship and the 2018 Nasher Prize, purchased the building in 2014 for $500,000.

Coordination: Antonio Pedro Coutinho Doca, Adriano Carneiro de Mendonca Project Team: Joao Victor Assad, Cristiana Villela Engineering & Consulting > Lighting: Carolina Sahione General Construction: Ecogreen Engenharia Engineering & Consulting > Others: Alfatec More SpecsLess Specs Text description provided by the architects. The project for the third SOLO brand cafe in Copacabana, RJ, which stands for Sustainable, Organic, and Local, originated from a space consisting of two adjacent street stores in the block by Copacabana beach.

In contemporary architecture, hotel design is no longer defined solely by luxury and accommodation. Instead, it is becoming a platform to explore questions of identity, ecology, and cultural meaning. Beyond providing rooms and amenities, hotels today aim to create immersive experiences that connect travelers to local traditions, landscapes, and communities. In this curated selection of unbuilt hospitality projects, submitted by the ArchDaily community, speculative and competition-winning proposals offer a glimpse into the future of hospitality,

When we apply that lens to the current proposals for casinos across New York City, one approach stands out above the others. Nearly every project would require demolishing existing buildings to construct new ones a process that generates enormous amounts of construction waste and debris while disrupting established ecosystems. In fact, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, more than 90% of all construction debris is produced by the demolition of existing buildings.

Once the largest coal mine in Europe, the Zollverein complex in Essen, Germany, has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past twenty-five years. What was once a landscape of abandoned industrial facilities is now a laboratory of contemporary architecture, featuring works by Rem Koolhaas, Norman Foster, and SANAA. Their interventions bridge the site's industrial past with its imagined future. Spanning 100 hectares, the UNESCO World Heritage site has become a global model of adaptive reuse, redefining what it means to preserve industrial heritage.

In the Foshan Guanyao Cultural and Art Center (Guanyao Sanbao) project, the architects adopted an approach of comprehensive restoration to its original state, combined with localized micro-renovations, in order to preserve the character of the original street block. At the same time, they incorporated spatial cues themed around "ceramics" to provide a spatial foundation for curators, artists, and operators, ultimately realizing the vision of development of related business format and revitalizing the district through ceramic art.

We were spread out across different buildings. Now it's all under one house, which is so nice,

LOCAL transforms a historic building in Bergen into a vibrant cultural house with mini-golf, food, and performing arts - Architecture studio LOCAL has breathed new life into a historic concrete building in the heart of Bergen by creating Bergen Camping, a dynamic new venue where mini-golf, culinary experiences, and performing arts merge in a rich and layered interior.

CO-MILIEU and Deep Origin Lab transformed the historic Zhou Residence in Taizhou, China, into Tai-Silk Courtyard, a vibrant venue focused on embroidery and craft.

More than 15 million square feet of aging office space across New York City could be flipped into nearly 17,400 apartments. This represents a pivotal shift in the fight against the housing crisis.