40 Buildings That Got Repurposed For Something Their Architects Probably Didn’t Even Dream Of
It’s not a secret that humans are creative animals. They always find new ways to reuse old stuff, come up with clever solutions to live comfortably in tiny places, or decide to use their unique DIY powers and save the world altogether.
This time we are stepping into the old spaces that look nothing like their previous selves after having had an inventive makeover, from a grocery store which used to be a hockey stadium to a Brooklyn apartment built in an old church. Call it an architectural wonderland because there’s nothing impossible for these incredible minds. We invite all the fellow Pandas to share your ideas for repurposing old spaces in the comments!
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Old Clock Tower Transformed Into A Penthouse
This is my dream house. Except I would rather be it light house with the view of raging sea. And it will be heaven
Me too! Actually I finally found the house in my head, the key house in Locke and key on netflix
Load More Replies...At one point it was $25 million. I used to real estate stalk it. I think the price was reduced to around $15 million last time I checked. I read that Jay Z and Beyonce were looking into buying it at some point but they changed their minds.
Load More Replies...This Former Theatre In Buenos Aires Transformed Into A Bookstore
i would spend hour there, perfect combination of books and architecture
It's not far from home. You could borrow a book and sit on very comfortable armchairs to read it. There's also a coffee shop and a wonderful section for children. I used to go to that cinema when I was a kid and it was also beautiful.
Awesome. My local Barnes & Noble used to be a theater, unfortunately it doesn't look like it used to be a theater.
This retired librarian would have loved this as a library, esp. the decor, plus escalators!
Hotel I Stayed At Was Formerly A Train Station And Had An Actual Train Inside It, With Rooms Inside Each Car
Thank for telling what and where it is. Going to be in that area next year. Now I know where to stay!
Load More Replies...https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g37209-d88164-Reviews-Crowne_Plaza_Indianapolis_Downtown_Union_Station-Indianapolis_Indiana.html
Load More Replies...I've stayed there! It's odd how normal it seemed, as they've taken the theme deep enough so it somehow makes sense. It's not just "oh, this hotel has a train in it!"
My Friend’s Living Room In Brooklyn, NY. The Apartment Is Built Inside An Old Church
Oh my god that is beautiful! I love the roof and wall’s decoration
buildings like that should be used for the public, not for some rich person.
The Building Used For The Swimming Events At The 2008 Summer Olympics In Beijing Was Transformed Into This Dope-Looking Waterpark
I love the idea of "recycling" of Olympic buildings. Many of them being abandoned after games is finished - such a waste of money and resources
Not like in Greece where all the Olympic buildings had been abandoned in a short time. What a shame in the birth place of the Olympic Games!
Load More Replies...I've seen so many pictures of dilapidated former Olympic buildings and thought, "What a waste!"
....gloomy, is the word that comes to my mind.
Load More Replies...Oh my god they actually reused one of the buildings? They’re usually left empty
Architect Turns Old WWII Era Cement Factory Into His Home
The outside give it more of a castle feel than a factory, looks very open inside. I really like an open floor plan and natural lighting.
I doubt that whoever is rich enough to do this worry about utility bills!
Load More Replies...Yes OK good work here, very good. Mind you I wouldnt like to sit under that hopper at meal times.
I just saw that building and interiors in Westworld III season trailer!
In my opinion, this is one of the very few decent looking things Ricardo Bofill has ever done. Have you seen his other stuff? Bleh. https://www.archdaily.com/795215/ricardo-bofill-why-are-historical-towns-more-beautiful-than-modern-cities/57d7fe98e58ece897b000295-ricardo-bofill-why-are-historical-towns-more-beautiful-than-modern-cities-image
I like it! Not sure how functional some of it would be without exploring the spaces myself. But it gives me M.C. Escher vibes and Escher happens to be my favorite artist... so maybe I am a tad biased lol.
Load More Replies...Interesting, but not practical. How much is costs to heat up this place?
Church Repurposed Into Dominicanen Bookstore In Maastricht, Netherlands Is Now In The Top 10 Most Beautiful Bookstores Worldwide
For some reason I thought you said *clears throat* as part of your comment! Class username bro
Load More Replies...In my hometown (Caen), there is several buildings which were reused. Like this church in the "abbaye d'Ardenne" who is now the libray of a research institute. Not the best picture, but it is from wikimedia commons. I love to visit this library when it is open to public (the sunday). 450px-Abba...b5af94.jpg
I'm blessed.... I often visit and have a splendid coffee on the former altar.....
And good too : they have books of every style and even some ('non-commercial') music and dvds on the 1st floor <3
Been there recently. There's a cafe at the back. And the black shelves on the right are a three-level structure you can climb. The view from the top is quite nice.
The Liberty Hotel In Boston Which Was Formerly The Charles St Jail
I would book a night there just to experience how it looks and feels.
Probably different from being an inmate lux3646gr.188300.jpg
Imagine someone who was detained there after being arrested back in the day staying there as a guest now. Would they think it was cool, or would it totally do their head in?
Hopefully the people who died there don't decide to haunt us but you know. Looks good.
Find a nice cozy corner to read and watch a jail ghost float by. Perfect day!
Load More Replies...A 100-Year-Old Church In Spain Converted Into A Skatepark
If it keeps teens from the street and give them a place to be, I think it's very appropriate!
I like the modern frescoes but I wonder what may have been covered?
Very interesting having something like a church combined with abstract art and given a new, modern use and design
Waterpark "Tropical Islands" In A Former Airship Hangar In Krausnick, Germany
This water park has a natural look to it, as oppose to the Chinese one.
Old Rusty Ship Turned Into Stunning Building With Trees And Plants
This is so confusing. In the first picture, the things we see through the arch match with the background, making the ship look flat, but then in the other pictures... what?
if you ignore that the trees will die because they cannot grow any taller, the thinking here is so short sighted.
South Korean studio Shinslab Architecture sliced off one end of a rusty old ship and turned it upside down to form this installation for the Seoul edition of MoMA's Young Architects Program. Read the full story on Dezeen: http://www.dezeen.com/?p=939461
Read the full story on Dezeen: http://www.dezeen.com/?p=939461
Load More Replies...The Walgreens In My Neighborhood Used To Be A Bank And They Used Its Vault As Their Vitamin Section
The parisian branch of the First citybank of New York, on the avenue des Champs-Élysées, became a Virgin Megastore in the 80s. There was the same kind of vault in the basement, used as a book-store (wikimedia common pic). It is now the Galeries Lafayette Champs-Élysées, but I don't know if the vault is still accessible by public. 771px-Coff...04e9f1.jpg
In Preston, England, their JD Wetherspoons (pub for those who aren't familiar with the name), "The Twelve Tellers", is an imposing grade II listed Baroque-style building, which was purpose built as a bank and opened in July 1907. It had a grandiose banking hall, a 65-feet long counter and 12 tellers in place.
Some Lucky Bastard Gets To Live In This Church
The Tallest Indoor Climbing Wall Is Inside Of A Repurposed Grain Silo
This is brilliant, but ... I fear heights and this makes my bum squeak with the fear.
This makes so much more sense than the giant climbing warehouses they keep building in my city
My College Used To Be A Shopping Mall
Austin Community College: Highland Campus! This is actually a terrible picture, there are waaaay cooler ones, look it up!
Load More Replies...That would be the Highland, Texas campus of Austin Community College: https://www.austincc.edu/campuses/highland-campus
I was about to ask. I thought it looked like Highland Mall. I grew up living in that place.
Load More Replies...Great idea! Especially as more and more shopping malls are struggling to stay in business
My Apartment Building Used To Be A School
Oof that's got to be a weird vibe if you live there and you still go to school...
The oldest high school in my city has also been turned into apartments, unless this is in New Mexico?
I've only seen lockers like this in movies / shows. Do they have embedded locks or should you bring your own ?
You can practically open them with a can opener; and the master key for them is very generally available so it's all insecure --- it's good enough for a supervised environment like a school and putting in basically unsellable items like school bags. Now replacing them with an "Amazon Hub Locker" set would be practical it seems, no more missed deliveries...
Load More Replies...The old high school building in my hometown was made into apartments, a tech school and a county health department office. They took out the lockers but kept all the beautiful old wood, the marble flooring around the auditorium and the wonderful hallway flooring. I don’t know what it’s called, but it’s some sort of polished stone aggregate. We toured the building as part of our 50 year reunion.
My middle school was converted to to apartments for the elderly. They’ve removed the lockers and you can’t tell it use to be a school except for the exterior.
Revitalized One Of The Last Remaining Art Nouveau Brewhouses As A Bar, In The Middle Of Fürth Südstadt
It's located in southern Germany. It has a very unique ambiance and it's not only a bar but a first class restaurant.
What Used To Be An Abandoned Church Is Now One Of The Most Powerful Supercomputing Centers In The World
Maybe when they do not dream about electric sheep.
Load More Replies...Combining a house of faith AND a super computer is the birth of out of control AI.
This is soulless and devoid of character or charm. It's like I imagine hell would be.
My House Used To Be A Police Station And My Bathroom Is An Old Jail Cell, The Original Window Is Still In Place
Whereas the window is interesting, it now makes the whole bathroom look like it's unfinished and low quality.
Well aren't you an a**e. Didn't you read the heading of the article, sourpuss?
Load More Replies...Former Power Station Converted Into An Industrial Cafe And Restaurant With Exposed Brickwork And Abundant Planting In Melbourne, Australia
Swimming Pool In Old Church: Netherne, Surrey
Perfect for mass christenings...if the church wants his building back :-)
This Hotel Used To Be A Brewery
Why can't it be both? I think it would be awesome to stay at the brewery hotel.
i think the smell would be too much for a comfortable stay.
Load More Replies...We have one remaining brewery like that. Actually some years ago it's most known beer won the World's best beer award (Golden Carolus Classic). The brewery already had a restaurant and since 8 years also an hotel, but next to the actual brewery.
It USED to be a brewery! Naahhhh! How could you tell? I think the huge copper pots might be a giveaway!
That's the Pabst Hotel in MKE, WI. Stayed there, it's amazing! Pabst available down the hill from there in the hospitality house
I've stayed there. It's in Milwaukee and is the old Pabst brewery. It's called the Brewhouse Inn I believe.
Different but in a good way. Shame about the carpets they are a bit middle range hotel rather than boutique.
My Hotel In Oxford, England Is A Former Prison
I don't really care for that particular charm.
Load More Replies...It's not called Hotel California is it? where you can never check out.
Jail Turned Into Events Space In Melbourne, Australia
With all the jails I have seen made into hotel's, where are all the bad guys going?
"So the good news is we found a place that was open for our wedding date..."
Court Room That’s Now A Cafe. Cells Are The Toilets. St. Albans, England
They use it for events as well so I think they dont want to busy it too much
Load More Replies...FBI Former NYC Headquarters Is Now A Target But They Kept This Safe
Given the premium instrumentation companies pay for pre 1945 steel, how is the vault still there?
Not really. Low-background metal (steel, lead, ... ) is very expensive after a lot of expensive tests. So yes this piece is big enough to afford the required tests and certification and still turn a profit, but just. Normally you're thinking of quantities like a large ship (lead ballast, steel hull) for producing such steel.
Load More Replies...Right ... "keeping" the safe. Bet THAT decision took a long time, eh?
What the hell did the FBI store in it? I’ve seen smaller vault doors in banks.
Ha! They should just admit that no one left them with the code, and nobody at Target can figure it out!
This Starbucks Drive-Thru In An Old Car Wash
I Googled it and found it is a Starbucks in Dearborn, Michigan. I cannot seem to find the specific address.
Load More Replies...Would be cool to order your coffee, drive through a car wash, retrieve your coffee at the other end. Killing 2 birds w/1 stone
They should keep the car wash to the starbucks drive thru so you can get your car washed while ordering lol. the drying section can be where you pick up and pay for your coffee.
Actually the car wash is still in that location just behind the building that starbucks are in.
Load More Replies...My House Is A 20,000 Sq Ft 1926 Former Freemason Temple That We Have Been Renovating By Ourselves While Living Inside For The Past 2.5 Years
With that much space, you can up do room by room and not be cramped for living space during the remodel!
You don't want to live in an old building while rehabbing.
Load More Replies...This was my first thought also. That's a whole lotta nopes.
Load More Replies...I LOVE that children's bedroom at the end! Hammock, elevated bed; beautiful and fun!
If you do it right, you could convert part of the space into apartments and use part of the rent revenue to fund more renovations (the other part, of course, would be reserved for apartment upkeep, etc—-you know, like a good landlord should).
Church Turned Into A Trampoline Park. The Hague, Netherlands
Much better use than a church lol. Never too old to trampoline.
Ottawa's Jail Hostel, Each Cell Converted To A Two-Person Hostel Room
There was one in Switzerland but seems to be closed now. Pity I think it's an interesting idea
You can come to Stockholm Sweden and stay at Långholmen Hostel that used to be a prison on a little island close to the south part of Stockholm city. The prison was built around 1840 and closed 1975 as a prison!
There are single rooms and dorm style rooms too I live in Ottawa and have toured it, the back entrance is right under the old gallows (which are still there, unused obv). It is reportedly very haunted. It's a very cool place!
Came here with my school! Went on the ghost tours and everything! We got to walk through the holding cells, the death row, the gallows area, etc, and we got to stand underneath the gallows where the blood would drip down and all which is crazy. During the tour our guide said one person always gets a nose bleed while walking over the gallows stone, and sure enough the kid behind me got one lmao
My School’s Library Used To Be A Bank
Well I was looking for a quiet meeting room- Yup, the vault sounds quiet.
My Hotel Room Used To Be A Chapel
We have a 4 star hotel here in town that was a church. A nephew of me stayed in it. Some rooms have still the church windows.
What does god charge for a night,s stay just a little closer to heaven??
My Apartment Is An Old Police Station And Still Has The Original But Painted Cell Doors
Well at least you know no one is gonna break in with those doors in place!
Former Chruch, Now Home To The Dutch Brewer, Jopen
The founders of the churches and chapels probably wouldn't approve of what they are now.
I used to go to a church called "Church in a bar"- It was actually really nice. Now it's called "MetaChurch"
A lot of church's being shut down , arnt people giving enough offerings ?
This Old Pool Converted Into Apartments
If they had some way to leave the pool still usable it might have been even cooler 😎
I don't think inhaling chlorine all day would be much fun.
Load More Replies...Imagine scooting/skating down that :D also it would have been amazing if it was still a usable pool.
In Fullerton, California (USA), there is a theater that used to be the indoor pool of a small hotel. The seating is inside the pool and you can still see the numbered tiles showing the depth. There is also seating on the "deck" When my dad was 11, he lived in that hotel for six months and swam in that pool.
Yep next to a hotel that ones was a church our town also has a hotel that ones was the swimming pool where basic school children (me included) went swimming...and also other people of course. In our case the pool is still in use but as a pond. The reason ours (not this one) isn't used as a swimming pool any more is that the filter installation is no longer useable.
This Thrift Store Used To Be A Bowling Alley
A friend of mine used our bowling alleys floors when the bowling alley remodeled. His hallway is a bowling lane. I think he bought them.
There's an antique shop in my town that used to be a bowling alley.
Lots of good stuff on those shelves. My local thrift store sells crappy dirty items that need scrubbing and bleaching.
My Apartment Used To Be A YMCA
And the basketball hoop. Hopefully there are quiet hours!
Load More Replies...What's a YMCA outside of the UK? Cos here it stands for Young Man's Christian Association... And it's predominantly a male hostel.
Okay I am confused google is telling me that YMCA a Switzerland Non-profit organization what do they mean by YMCA
This Satellite Lab Used To Be A McDonald's
Just wondering what government this actually is? Might be other than the USA?
Just confirming the lengths NASA? and/or the government will go to save money - yet claim it cost them millions of dollars giving the excess amount of money paid by the taxpayer's $$ to the greedy politicians, and secured s**t hidden 99.9% of us have no clue or access, or anything??? Just sayin
My House Used To Be A Bank, So We Use The Old Safe/Vault As A Basement
I worked in a bank over 40 years ago. Vaults had an opening that a pipe could be inserted into from the inside. When it was turned on, it would draw air into the vault, so there was no risk of suffocating. It had its own power supply, so there was no risk of it being affected if power was turned off from the outside. It also had a phone to make emergency calls. I have no idea what they're like today, but I'm sure there'd be more safety features
There is a movie in where the power was cut and the cell phones also didn't had reception LOL dont risc it.
Load More Replies...This Grocery Store Used To Be A Hockey Stadium
Sorry for being morbid, but I really hope the grocery store keeps tabs on the stability of that sign thingy...it would be horrible if it fell
Yup. They often fall on players in the middle of games. Tragic, really.
Load More Replies...This isn't the old Maple Leaf Gardens. It's actually Memorial Stadium in St. John's, NL. It's now a Dominion grocery store.
This is the old Maple Leaf Gardens. BTW, that clock has been up there for 45 years! Sad! Many a Stanley Cup hockey game was played here!!
The Gym I Go To Used To Be A Bank
A Church In St. Louis, Missouri That Became An Indoor Skatepark
The Subway I Went To Today Used To Be A Bank. Instead Of Removing The Vault They Just Added More Seating Inside
Detroit's Michigan Theatre Repurposed As A Parking Garage
All the restoration of magnificent Art Deco buildings in Detroit happening now, and this is the Michigan Theater's fate?! So very sad.
Supermarket In Venice Used To Be A Theatre
Another Church Turned Into A Climbing Gym
Church Repurposed Into A Climbing Gym
Why are people downvoting you ? You are just making an observation !
Load More Replies...We've had a former church turned into a Brewery and Restaurant. And a bank nearby us has been converted into an Island's Taco Bar.
There's an old stone church near me that was converted to a club for 10-20 years but recently was converted back to a church.
There were so many churches changed into something else. Well, my daughter's church used to be a legion hall, then a strip club. When they bought it for a church, the poles for pole dancing were still in the building. Now it's a open-style church, with a full kitchen in the basement, dining rooms, and side rooms that are used for college students to study, relax and have bible classes. Wish I had the photos, as they are quite interesting.
It's shocking about the number of "used to be churches, Temple or chapels"! Where do people go for church nowadays?
Around the world churches are closing for want of members. As a society we are getting less religious - but not less charitable, fortunately.
Load More Replies...Growing up we had a church move into a department store in our mall. The youth loved the still-operational movie theater And my current town has an Ace Hardware in the old skating rink--I like how they kept the original wooden skate floor.
These are incredible, however I would be nervous sitting at the table (with the humongous, heavy "spout" over it) in the converted cement factory.
We've had a former church turned into a Brewery and Restaurant. And a bank nearby us has been converted into an Island's Taco Bar.
There's an old stone church near me that was converted to a club for 10-20 years but recently was converted back to a church.
There were so many churches changed into something else. Well, my daughter's church used to be a legion hall, then a strip club. When they bought it for a church, the poles for pole dancing were still in the building. Now it's a open-style church, with a full kitchen in the basement, dining rooms, and side rooms that are used for college students to study, relax and have bible classes. Wish I had the photos, as they are quite interesting.
It's shocking about the number of "used to be churches, Temple or chapels"! Where do people go for church nowadays?
Around the world churches are closing for want of members. As a society we are getting less religious - but not less charitable, fortunately.
Load More Replies...Growing up we had a church move into a department store in our mall. The youth loved the still-operational movie theater And my current town has an Ace Hardware in the old skating rink--I like how they kept the original wooden skate floor.
These are incredible, however I would be nervous sitting at the table (with the humongous, heavy "spout" over it) in the converted cement factory.
