#adaptive-reuse

#adaptive-reuse

THISS Studio and Tom Svilans repurpose an ancient barn for the Inaugural 2025 Copenhagen Architecture Biennale.

The Blessed Sacrament Church in Boston, empty for 20 years, will be converted into affordable housing, offering discounted rents for those earning less than the area's median income. The redevelopment project includes 55 apartments catering to different income brackets, with a focus on preserving the historical architecture of the church. The conversion will feature a community space for Afro-Latin arts and culture events, with units reserved for people experiencing homelessness.

The initial situation before the conversion was a historic farmstead in the area north of the Danube. The existing ensemble is characterized by two separate building parts: a courtyard area, which was formerly used as living space, and an inn in the house floor (now disused), and an old barn, which had initially served as a pigsty since the 1970s and later as a partially rented area.

In the heart of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, a 19th-century carriage house and stable have been given a second life-one that blends history, design, and a little bit of magic. Once rundown and divided into four apartments, this 4,000-square-foot live/work compound was transformed over 18 months by its architect owners, Colin Faber and Leni Niemegeers-Faber, into a family home that feels both modern and timeless.

The ZKU, Center for Art and Urbanistics, was established in 2012 with the conversion of a former freight station in Berlin Moabit. Its highly diverse program includes not only art, urban research, and various music events but also urban strategies, lectures, cinema, neighborhood markets, and much more. The available space soon became insufficient for the growing range of activities.

The current plans, which were submitted by Hadley Property Group to Hounslow Council in August, are centred around the renovation of 980 Great West Road, a disused office block once home to pharmaceutical company GSK. The building, which has been empty for a few years now, is only part of Hadley's vision which also includes a public plaza. Its overall goal is to 'create a new neighbourhood that is both future-facing and rooted in Brentford's character'.

Over a period of 43 years, Watergarden operated as a private men's health club. It closed in 2020. It is with the deepest regret that we must announce our permanent closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Watergarden posted on Facebook in July 2020. Due to the ongoing closures of businesses and unknown dates for a possible return to normal, we are not able to reopen.

Marginalized in architectural discourse and often dismissed as purely functional, parking garages remain among the most ubiquitous structures in the urban landscape. Designed to accommodate the needs of private vehicles, they occupy central locations, shape skylines, and consume considerable resources, yet rarely receive the same attention - or architectural care - as cultural institutions, schools, or housing. Despite their prevalence, these buildings tend to fade into the background of daily life, treated as infrastructural necessities rather than as design opportunities.

that of Italian Renaissance sacred architecture and that of marble, the ancient material by excellence, reinterpreted here in a contemporary key. In this dialogue between eras, Lithos Design presents Quinte, a double-sided partition wall that transforms marble into a design tool: not just a surface, but a rhythmic and modular element that defines and enhances spaces. An idea designed for interior architects looking for solutions that are both functional and decorative, capable of shaping interiors with precision, elegance, and personality.

Alameda's already vibrant beer scene just got a little merrier with the addition of a new beer garden that recently debuted on Park Street. Called Park Station, the craft beer emporium is housed in the former Big O Tires shop at Park Street and San Jose Avenue and features plentiful outdoor seating, fire pits, heaters and even a stage. There's also a cavernous main indoor tap room and a side room for private events.

Six new residential buildings, alongside two restored historic structures, will accommodate athletes during the Games. Following the event, these residences will be converted into student housing with 1,700 beds, exceeding the originally planned 1,400, while nearby structures will be adapted for affordable housing. The Olympic Village Plaza, designed as a central public space, will host commercial programs, hospitality venues, outdoor markets, and community events.

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.

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.