Tag Archives: adaptive reuse

Old walls, new life? Britain’s builders embrace the retrofit revolution | Real estate | The Guardian

Photo of a nearly complete refurbished office building with a red brick facade

Holbein Gardens in London will feature green walls of plants and a car park converted into cycle spaces. Photograph: Antonio Olmos

“Your real estate is one of the easier ways to reduce emissions as a business,” says Bond. “Sustainability is becoming more important to occupiers, investors and employees.”

Source: Old walls, new life? Britain’s builders embrace the retrofit revolution | Real estate | The Guardian

MAN BUYS DERELICT SHOP FOR £26,000 IN BIRKENHEAD, U.K – TRANSFORMS INTO FOUR BED HOUSE (FULL BUILD) – YouTube

Hello my name is Stephen Taylor and in 2016 I bought a derelict shop in Birkenhead, U.K for £26,000 at auction. This building was in such a poor state that the guide price at auction was just £10,000 – £12,000. With a lot of hard work over the last five years I have now transformed it into a modern four bedroom home.

Orms reworks listed office building retaining 92% of original structure

Orms-16-Old-Bailey-Lobby-31_AU_reduced.jpg

Hand in hand with this change comes a glut of what might be termed ‘compromised buildings’ standing empty. In the context of the climate crisis, the tendency to replace these stranded assets with new-build is unattractive and wasteful – instead we need to look at options for skilful reworking that embraces their embedded character to create unique solutions that are ready for the new world of work.

Source: Orms reworks listed office building retaining 92% of original structure

Tehran’s Argo Factory complex reinvents brewery architecture for the arts

Argo Factory art museum and cultural centre in Tehran

Bricks from the original structure were recycled and reused where possible, although in places where the walls are entirely new, a different kind of mortar was used to subtly highlight the difference between time periods across the building’s skin. Inside, the exposed brick character of the structure continues in all its glory, providing a tactile, yet neutral enough and versatile backdrop for art display.

Source: Tehran’s Argo Factory complex reinvents brewery architecture for the arts

This disused grain silo that was converted into a micro-home is destined for the pages of Dr. Seuss – Yanko Design

Student designer Stella van Beers converted a disused grain silo into a two-story micro-home, fit for the pages of a Dr. Seuss adventure.

Plotted all over the Netherlands’ countryside, grain silos are largely going out of use due to a country-wide reduction of livestock, leading to lower demand for grain. Converting the disused silos into a functional and quirky place of respite, Stella van Beers renovated the cylindrical unit into a micro home.

Source: This disused grain silo that was converted into a micro-home is destined for the pages of Dr. Seuss – Yanko Design

Bowery Farming’s Bethlehem `vertical farm’ to start growing crops indoors in March on old Steel property | Lehigh Valley Regional News | wfmz.com

Bowery Farming

Former Bethlehem Steel Corp. land off Route 78 may be producing lettuce and herbs this spring, regardless of the weather.

Pennsylvania provided incentives to help bring Bowery to the old Steel property. When Bowery’s plans were announced in December 2020, state Sen. Lisa Boscola (D-Bethlehem) said the company would play a role in converting the former industrial site, or “brownfield,” into a modern business paying a living wage.

Source: Bowery Farming’s Bethlehem `vertical farm’ to start growing crops indoors in March on old Steel property | Lehigh Valley Regional News | wfmz.com

Castle nestled in Brogo countryside on Far South Coast NSW a unique project requiring passion and energy | Magnet | Eden, NSW

Gerry Theodorakis stands at the main entrance to the castle, where a Georgian-style columned portico will soon be built. Photo: Leah Szanto

Gerry Theodorakis stands at the main entrance to the castle, where a Georgian-style columned portico will soon be built. Photo: Leah Szanto

Gerry likes to use reclaimed materials wherever possible and has sourced many stunning additions to both the structure of the residence and the décor contained within, including tiles embedded with fossils, French period-style lighting and solid handcrafted antique timber furniture, most of which is very ornate. “I detest waste and always use as many recycled materials as I possibly can,” he said.

Source: Castle nestled in Brogo countryside on Far South Coast NSW a unique project requiring passion and energy | Magnet | Eden, NSW

14 Adaptive Reuse Projects from 2020 Show Great Design Doesn’t Mean New Construction – Metropolis

Tammany Hall

BKSK Architect’s Tammany Hall Restoration Draws on Lenape Symbolism. In one of 2020’s most striking adaptive reuse projects, the Manhattan-based architecture firm inserted a glass dome in the likeness of a tortoise on top of the Union Square building.

Courtesy Francis Dzikowski

All the emissions released in construction, the fossil fuels burned to create raw construction materials and move them to the site, the carbon released in making concrete, trees felled for timber, it’s all embodied in these structures.

Source: 14 Adaptive Reuse Projects from 2020 Show Great Design Doesn’t Mean New Construction – Metropolis

A belly-up North Carolina shopping mall will become Epic Games’s new corporate campus

The Cary Towne Center in Cary, North Carolina. (Courtesy Google Maps)

Despite plans to convert the site into a private corporate campus for a wildly successful interactive entertainment company, some of the property—exactly how much remains uncertain as of now—will be reserved for community use, an aspect that Epic is working alongside the City of Cary to realize.

Source: A belly-up North Carolina shopping mall will become Epic Games’s new corporate campus

Adaptive reuse means working with the building, not against it: Buildings Week speaker – constructconnect.com

Structural Glass display cases recessed into the floor slab provide a unique design feature to showcase original boiler plate doors that were reclaimed during the cSpace King Edward heritage renovation.

DAVID TROYER — Structural Glass display cases recessed into the floor slab provide a unique design feature to showcase original boiler plate doors that were reclaimed during the cSpace King Edward heritage renovation.

In demonstrating the principle of adaptive reuse, Prentice showed a number of pre-and post-construction photos. In the Simmons building the original main floor ceiling was partially removed to allow for an elevator, while the exposed structural elements including the brick walls and heavy timber beams were left untouched.

Source: Adaptive reuse means working with the building, not against it: Buildings Week speaker – constructconnect.com

Timber unlocks adaptive reuse options for new Melbourne hotel

The thing about constructing with timber, Bates Smart architectural firm director Julian Anderson says, is it’s “a very quiet process” compared to steel and concrete.  “Which means the impact on adjacent residents and then also the tenants within the commercial building was pretty minimal.”

Source: Timber unlocks adaptive reuse options for new Melbourne hotel

Hilco buys Potomac River Generating Station in Alexandria for mixed-use project – The Washington Post

The Potomac River Generating Station is a former coal-fired power plant that has been dormant since 2012. (Hilco Redevelopment Partners)

“We’re excited about the chance to reintegrate it into the surrounding urban fabric, open up that access to the waterfront and create a really dynamic district with world-class architecture,” said Melissa Schrock, the senior vice president of mixed-use development at Hilco. “We think the city of Alexandria deserves nothing less.”

Source: Hilco buys Potomac River Generating Station in Alexandria for mixed-use project – The Washington Post

How a drab office building was repurposed into gorgeous, affordable ap

[Photo: Studio One Eleven]

“Many times, for better or worse, these types of developments can help uplift an area and to some extent gentrify an area,” he says. “And I think the most economical way, if an area is going to gentrify, is to get the affordable housing in there first so that the affordable housing developers aren’t competing at higher land costs and there’s already an embedded affordable housing population there.”

Source: How a drab office building was repurposed into gorgeous, affordable ap

WEISS/MANFREDI selected to transform former jail as part of massive Dallas park project

A view of the skyline-marring old Dawson State Jail in Dallas from the Commerce Street bridge. Reunion Tower can be seen to the right of the building. (Courtesy Trinity Park Conservancy)

As for how exactly the old jail will be reused, that has yet to be determined although restaurants, retail, affordable housing, and administrative office space for the park have all been floated in local media as early speculative ideas.

Source: WEISS/MANFREDI selected to transform former jail as part of massive Dallas park project

Tulane researchers receive grant to repurpose abandoned “separate but equal” schools in Louisiana | News | Archinect

View of the gymnasium at the old Sabine High School in Many, Louisiana, one of several facilities that could be impacted by the study.Photo courtesy of Laura Blokker.

View of the gymnasium at the old Sabine High School in Many, Louisiana, one of several facilities that could be impacted by the study.Photo courtesy of Laura Blokker.

The schools, built as part a last-ditch attempt to establish “separate but equal” educational facilities in the state, were abandoned as racial integration began to take hold in 1970, and have sat empty for many years.

Source: Tulane researchers receive grant to repurpose abandoned “separate but equal” schools in Louisiana | News | Archinect

Weed Dispensary Planned For Old Bucktown Emissions Testing Site Aims To Put The ‘Park Back In Parking Lot’ – Block Club Chicago

Under plans, the existing Webster Street building will receive new cladding, windows and entranceway.

“The addition of many more trees and trying to remove as much asphalt as possible put an additional cost onto the development team, but these are improvements that will last for decades and has the support of the neighbors.”

Source: Weed Dispensary Planned For Old Bucktown Emissions Testing Site Aims To Put The ‘Park Back In Parking Lot’ – Block Club Chicago

Unused buildings will make good housing in the world of COVID-19 | Micky News

The building that formerly housed a telephone exchange and post office at 118 Russell Street, Melbourne, has been converted into apartments. Author provided

Buildings that are no longer fit for purpose, or not required in a new detached working environment, could be repurposed as housing. Empty office blocks, shops and stores and unused teaching facilities could all be recycled for social and community low-cost rental housing.

Source: Unused buildings will make good housing in the world of COVID-19 | Micky News

Adaptive reuse projects are happening across the country. Here are som

Oakland’s Creative Growth Art Center was converted from an auto shop into a studio for artists with disabilities; Buffalo’s Northland Workforce Training Center was a former factory that became a site for job training and education; and in Pittsburgh, a Masonic temple became a space for City of Asylum, a nonprofit that supports writers who are threatened in their own countries.

Source: Adaptive reuse projects are happening across the country. Here are som

Hyatt Hotels to Unveil Restoration of Historic Architectural Landmark, Cook County Hospital – Hospitality Net

Hyatt House and Hyatt Place Chicago Medical/University District

Drawing inspiration from the history of this remarkable piece of infrastructure, the project will restore and preserve the historical pieces that have been rooted there for over 160 years, which includes the original Beaux-Arts masonry detailing and terracotta ornamentation of the exterior, the wood-framed windows, interior decorative plaster work, the double height main lobby and 106-year old restored marble stone staircase, elevator cores, as well as the double loaded corridor and terrazzo flooring of the

Source: Hyatt Hotels to Unveil Restoration of Historic Architectural Landmark, Cook County Hospital – Hospitality Net

Sustainability: Net zero carbon | Features | Building

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Source: Timothy Soar

In reworking 160 Old Street, Islington, new brick and glass cladding was added but the essential structure was largely retained

To meet the UK’s net zero carbon targets, an increasing number of urban projects are likely to repurpose buildings that already exist rather than replace them with new ones.

Source: Sustainability: Net zero carbon | Features | Building

Redeveloping, Repositioning Existing Assets for a New Generation – Colorado Real Estate Journal

The Vault Office tenants enjoy ground-floor retail amenities.

The Brookings Institute forecasts that 82 billion square feet of existing space in the United States will be demolished and replaced between 2005 and 2030 – roughly one-quarter of today’s existing building stock. Further, as noted by the American Institute of Architects in its recent statement on climate action, in the U.S. alone nearly 40% of greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to carbon produced by buildings during construction and everyday operations. Embodied carbon from construction represents a

Source: Redeveloping, Repositioning Existing Assets for a New Generation – Colorado Real Estate Journal

Barn house for sale in Nebraska has horse stalls for bedrooms – Curbed

An open-concept kitchen with bar stools, shiplap, and gray counters.

The farmhouse-inspired kitchen employs tractor seats repurposed as bar stools, floating cabinets, and exposed brick.

Upstairs, the architectural salvage continues in the open-concept living areas, with repurposed light fixtures, a tin accent wall, and galvanized buckets for sinks. The farmhouse-inspired kitchen boasts tractor seats as bar stools.

Source: Barn house for sale in Nebraska has horse stalls for bedrooms – Curbed

Innovation and tech are transforming the buildings we learn in

H/O - Oslo school-c

An illustration of how the new school could look once finished.
Veidekke

“Whatever you are going to construct, from an environmental perspective, your number one priority is to ensure your designers are focused on enabling you to build something that is energy efficient, uses materials that have a low embodied carbon and can be easily maintained, re-purposed and ultimately, after a long and useful lifetime, be recycled,” Dominic Burbridge, associate director of the Carbon Trust, said in a statement sent to CNBC.com.

Source: Innovation and tech are transforming the buildings we learn in

A Historic Portland Building Turns Over a New Leaf—as a Stylish Hostel – Metropolis

Kex Portland Mikael Lundblad 3 Hires

Courtesy Mikael Lundblad

“I think this is one of the last buildings from that era,” says Sean O’Connor, the general manager and partner of KEX Portland. “So it’s nice to be able to preserve the original history and character of that Eastside industrial area.”

Source: A Historic Portland Building Turns Over a New Leaf—as a Stylish Hostel – Metropolis

Coal-fired power plants finding new uses as data centers, clean energy hubs | Energy News Network

The former Ottawa Street Power Station in Lansing, Michgian, stopped producing power in 1992 and finally reopened in 2011 as the headquarters for an insurance company, the Accident Fund, now called the AF Group.

“One of the really cool things about retired coal-fired plants is they have built-in infrastructure and components that can be repurposed for new industry,” said John Kowalik, director of marketing and public relations for Environmental Liability Transfer. “Like access to rail, ports and waterways … and good highway transportation. Typically the grids can be reused for another purpose too, like solar or wind. There’s a direct grid connection at the power plant.”

Source: Coal-fired power plants finding new uses as data centers, clean energy hubs | Energy News Network

Bob Verrier Champions Historic Renovation and Adaptive Reuse

Bob Verrier

Photo: The Architectural Team’s Bob Verrier has designed more than 50 award-winning historic buildings and preserved the architectural heritage of hundreds of historic structures across the country.

“The idea of restoring and bringing a building back to usefulness is very rewarding,” he says. “A new building is a new building, but restoring a historic building, it gives more energy. It’s like taking something that’s not being used, something that was very functional at one time, and now you bring it back to life. That’s what you’re doing: breathing new life into old bones.”

Source: Bob Verrier Champions Historic Renovation and Adaptive Reuse

Adaptive Reuse is the Future of Cannabis Retail | GlobeSt

Buildings that previously housed banks tend to be popular as they already have secure structures that comply with the cannabis industry’s unique security provisions – including vaults, safes, blocked-off areas and advanced security systems – in turn requiring less of an investment from the operator to implement these requirements.

Source: Adaptive Reuse is the Future of Cannabis Retail | GlobeSt

Tallest timber adaptive reuse building set to open | ArchitectureAU

55 Southbank Boulevard by Bates Smart.

55 Southbank Boulevard by Bates Smart. Image: Hume Partners Property

Bates Smart designed a 10 storey structure made from engineered timber that sits top of an existing office building in Melbourne’s Southbank. The Adina Apartment Hotel Melbourne Southbank is set to open later in 2020.

Source: Tallest timber adaptive reuse building set to open | ArchitectureAU

Couple creates stylish home from warehouse

The living room of Cathy Ehrler and Donald Thurman’s converted warehouse home is light and open, with high ceilings and windows lining the walls.

“I’m really into reuse and recycling — and I’ve been that way all my life — and one of the reasons that I loved this space is that we are reusing space in an old building,” said Cathy, “and we used as much as the original as possible.”

Source: Couple creates stylish home from warehouse

Meet the ‘Renovators’: These people are breathing new life into Buffalo’s past – The Buffalo News

PUSH Buffalo Executive Director Rahwa Ghirmatzion, center, with PUSH members and community advocates Luz Velez, left, and Providencia Carrion at the Wash Project. (Derek Gee/Buffalo News)

She now oversees the organization’s programs and operations, which include housing construction, solar installation, job training and a youth center, in addition to advocacy efforts. PUSH employs 40, and has renovated more than 100 homes in the past seven years.

Source: Meet the ‘Renovators’: These people are breathing new life into Buffalo’s past – The Buffalo News

Google, Spruce Goose | ZGF

ZGF partnered with Google to transform the landmark Spruce Goose Hangar in Playa Vista, California. A 450,000+ SF, four-level “building-within-a-building” was developed inside the seven-story, 750-foot-long historic wooden structure. Built by Howard Hughes in 1943 for the construction of the Hercules IV airplane (aka the “Spruce Goose”), the hangar now comprises office, meeting, food service and event spaces, and employee amenity spaces.

Source: Google, Spruce Goose | ZGF

The most exciting 2020 hotel openings – The Spaces

Courtesy Hotel Can Ferrereta

Found on Mallorca’s south-east coast, this 17th-century building will comprise 32 rooms, a spa with hammam and indoor pool. Can Ferrereta is inspired by the typical Spanish summer house: its light and airy design will champion original wooden beams, a cream palette and stone

Source: The most exciting 2020 hotel openings – The Spaces

The most innovative adaptive reuse projects of 2019 – The Spaces

 

Washington DC’s first public library is now an Apple store

Photography: Nigel Young

Apple took on yet another renovation of a historically significant building in 2019, converting Washington DC’s first public library into a new flagship store. The restoration of the 116-year-old Carnegie Library by Foster + Partners took two years and involved installing a new skylight above a central plaza used for hosting events.

Source: The most innovative adaptive reuse projects of 2019 – The Spaces

A New Idea in Architecture? No New Buildings – Metropolis

For the architecture firm Schaum/Shieh, reuse necessarily means embracing the “background buildings” found throughout American suburbs, like the strip mall. In Houston, Schaum/Shieh retrofitted a midcentury washateria into a series of storefronts, while taking pains to highlight the craftsmanship of the original build. Courtesy Peter Molick

The building sector accounts for about a third of global fuel consumption, but its systematic energetic impact may be still greater. Because we sense the glow and hum of the machines around us, because we are accustomed to paying monthly energy bills and encouraged by the idea that adjusting the thermostat saves money—and, somehow, the planet—we may be more sensitive to running costs than to embodied energy. But, as Moe puts it in that interview, “that’s not really dealing with energy, that’s dealing with the fuel efficiency of a building, which is important, but missing the big picture.”

Source: A New Idea in Architecture? No New Buildings – Metropolis

Balbek Bureau converts a San Francisco church into a startup incubator – Archpaper.com

While the main nave of the church serves as an impromptu auditorium, it’s ambulatory alcoves are fitted out as stationary lounges. (Slava Balbek)

Salvaging and restoring the historic features of the listed Our Lady of Guadalupe church, the firm implemented a scheme that makes good use of its dramatic nave and ambulatory alcoves. While the former plays host to a moveable seating and table system, the latter serves a series of stationary lounges. Together, they set the stage for anything from film-screenings to hackathons.

Source: Balbek Bureau converts a San Francisco church into a startup incubator – Archpaper.com

Century-old glove factory to anchor new, state-of-the-art centre – The Globe and Mail

Matt Bolen of Waterloo-based Edge Architects in front of the century-old Huck Glove factory before construction began.

PETER LEE

“Call it a new generation that doesn’t necessarily place the same value on suburban, shiny new things,” he says, explaining that younger employees want to live and work in communities with a history. “The great thing about these older buildings is they have a story that people can connect to.”

Source: Century-old glove factory to anchor new, state-of-the-art centre – The Globe and Mail

These adaptive reuse hotel suites in Amsterdam are built inside old bridge houses

white hotel structure above water

The project is an ode to the industrial and cultural heritage of Amsterdam and brings to light the importance of water to the area. The suites, spread all throughout the city, are a love letter to Amsterdam architecture, from Amsterdam School to Modernism.

Source: These adaptive reuse hotel suites in Amsterdam are built inside old bridge houses

Uptown office building reborn as midcentury-inspired apartments – Curbed Chicago

A lounge with a tropical theme including palm leaf patterned paper on the ceiling, wicker lamps, brown leather chairs, and game tables.

The tropical game room features shuffle board, bumper pool, and foosball. Images courtesy of Cedar Street

“Mid-century modernism was a no-brainer as the source of inspiration for design,” Fritz tells Curbed. “Tiki lounges and mid-century go hand in hand. There was a sort of obsession with tropical environments in Hollywood movies of the era, and Hawaii became a state at the end of the era, forever enmeshing American and Polynesian culture.”

Source: Uptown office building reborn as midcentury-inspired apartments – Curbed Chicago