Photograph by Aaron Colussi
Working with architect Collin Kemberlin, the couple transformed the silo—part of a Temple Buell–designed World War II medical supply depot built in 1942—into two living spaces that adjoin their main residence, a former boiler house.
The shelves, installed on a rail system, can be moved when more space is needed for large event or to create private areas for smaller conferences or meetings.
The alderpersons write, “Reusing the existing building is the most sustainable option,” adding, “Reuse also will be the least disruptive to the surrounding neighbors, including several historic properties that could be impacted negatively by pile driving.”
via Common Council Weighs in on Old Library – Ithaca Times : News.
UK-based architects John McAslan + Partners just finished converting a 1929 stone barn into a contemporary library and student center at the University of Cumbria’s Ambleside campus.
Mexican firm Taller 6A has renovated a library inside an eighteenth-century building in Mexico City, adding a bookshop with hundreds of wooden boxes on its walls, its ceilings, and under its glass floor.
via Mexican library renovation by Taller 6A with bookshop covered in boxes.
“The first time I walked into this space, I knew right away,” Brazee recalls with a faraway look in his eyes. “The layout, all the things we could do. When you walk into a house, you know whether it’s your house or not. When I walked in here, I just knew.”
Brazee and Huff are partners in life and in business, running a successful real estate agency. So when the couple started exploring the old Kirkwood Library in east Atlanta, they saw past the commercial aspects of the 1942 building and the 1976 addition added to the back. They ignored the men’s and women’s restrooms, the exit signs, the 12-car parking lot.
Instead, they saw the bones of what would become their showcase house.
Mom was a librarian with a ton of silverware – how could I resist? Via Apartment Therapy
Low on drawer space in your kitchen? Repurpose a vintage card catalog into a handy kitchen storage piece! The drawers are perfectly sized for flatware and other cooking utensils, and you can even label them so you remember what goes where. Love this idea!
via Look! A Card Catalog Used To Store Flatware & Utensils Kitchen Inspiration | The Kitchn.
Don’t miss this great article on TreeHugger!
Dave notes that it is also successful; “Within the first month following the opening, new user registration increased by 23%” Everyone thinks it is a wonderful example of adaptive reuse. But one of the problems in reusing big box stores is that they are usually in lousy locations for uses like libraries; they are in places for cars, not kids and seniors who often depend on public libraries. And indeed, the new main library gets a car-dependent walkscore of 49.
via