40 Times Architects Repurposed Old Buildings And Gave Them A New Life

Published 4 years ago

Like many other things, buildings also tend to wear down over time. But just because a building is old doesn’t necessarily mean it should be demolished. On the contrary – some architects and interior designers see old factories, churches, and even clock towers as perfect canvases for unique and non-traditional living spaces.

Today we have a collection of derelict old buildings that were given a second life by architects who were not afraid of a challenge. Churches turned into breweries, jails turned into hotels, and even malls turned into colleges – check out all the times people repurposed old buildings in the gallery below!

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#1 Old Clock Tower Transformed Into A Penthouse

Image source: boredpanda.com

#2 Architect Turns Old WWII Era Cement Factory Into His Home

Image source: boredpanda.com

#3 Hotel I Stayed At Was Formerly A Train Station And Had An Actual Train Inside It, With Rooms Inside Each Car

Image source: spongecandybandit

#4 The Building Used For The Swimming Events At The 2008 Summer Olympics In Beijing Was Transformed Into This Dope-Looking Waterpark

Image source: Arne Müseler

#5 My Friend’s Living Room In Brooklyn, NY. The Apartment Is Built Inside An Old Church

Image source: HyogaCygnus

#6 This Former Theatre In Buenos Aires Transformed Into A Bookstore

Image source: pikindaguy

#7 Church Repurposed Into Dominicanen Bookstore In Maastricht, Netherlands Is Now In The Top 10 Most Beautiful Bookstores Worldwide

Image source: thetatten

#8 A 100-Year-Old Church In Spain Converted Into A Skatepark

Image source: la_iglesiaskate

#9 The Liberty Hotel In Boston Which Was Formerly The Charles St Jail

Image source: Jones508

#10 Waterpark “Tropical Islands” In A Former Airship Hangar In Krausnick, Germany

Image source: tropicalislandsresort

#11 The Walgreens In My Neighborhood Used To Be A Bank And They Used Its Vault As Their Vitamin Section

Image source: jhal2

#12 The Tallest Indoor Climbing Wall Is Inside Of A Repurposed Grain Silo

Image source: sharingthoughtbubble

#13 Some Lucky Bastard Gets To Live In This Church

Image source: Linc Thelen

#14 My College Used To Be A Shopping Mall

Image source: Colecaliber

#15 Old Rusty Ship Turned Into Stunning Building With Trees And Plants

Image source: boredpanda.com

#16 My Apartment Building Used To Be A School

Image source: RTSantos4894

#17 Revitalized One Of The Last Remaining Art Nouveau Brewhouses As A Bar, In The Middle Of Fürth Südstadt

Image source: justincase96

#18 My House Used To Be A Police Station And My Bathroom Is An Old Jail Cell, The Original Window Is Still In Place

Image source: rebuffedchaff8

#19 Former Power Station Converted Into An Industrial Cafe And Restaurant With Exposed Brickwork And Abundant Planting In Melbourne, Australia

Image source: Design office

#20 This Hotel Used To Be A Brewery

Image source: kimberlymarie3786

#21 What Used To Be An Abandoned Church Is Now One Of The Most Powerful Supercomputing Centers In The World

Image source: bsc_cns

#22 Swimming Pool In Old Church: Netherne, Surrey

Image source: Guardian

#23 FBI Former NYC Headquarters Is Now A Target But They Kept This Safe

Image source: RutgersUnion

#24 My Hotel In Oxford, England Is A Former Prison

Image source: davekmv

#25 Court Room That’s Now A Cafe. Cells Are The Toilets. St. Albans, England

Image source: JohnnyBizzlesBallers

#26 This Starbucks Drive-Thru In An Old Car Wash

Image source: quiet_musings

#27 Jail Turned Into Events Space In Melbourne, Australia

Image source: Showtime Event Group

#28 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

Image source: freemasontomansion

#29 My School’s Library Used To Be A Bank

Image source: alisouks

#30 Ottawa’s Jail Hostel, Each Cell Converted To A Two-Person Hostel Room

Image source: HI Ottawa Jail Hostel

#31 Church Turned Into A Trampoline Park. The Hague, Netherlands

Image source: philipjanssen

#32 My Hotel Room Used To Be A Chapel

Image source: geekstudio

#33 This Thrift Store Used To Be A Bowling Alley

Image source: danielsenandrew

#34 My Apartment Is An Old Police Station And Still Has The Original But Painted Cell Doors

Image source: RubMyRing

#35 This Old Pool Converted Into Apartments

Image source: Mei architects

#36 Former Chruch, Now Home To The Dutch Brewer, Jopen

Image source: jopenkerk

#37 My Apartment Used To Be A YMCA

Image source: lilbass3

#38 This Satellite Lab Used To Be A McDonald’s

Image source: jonbruner

#39 This Grocery Store Used To Be A Hockey Stadium

Image source: steeemo

#40 My House Used To Be A Bank, So We Use The Old Safe/Vault As A Basement

Image source: Pscel

Aušrys Uptas

One day, this guy just kind of figured - "I spend most of my time on the internet anyway, why not turn it into a profession?" - and he did! Now he not only gets to browse the latest cat videos and fresh memes every day but also shares them with people all over the world, making sure they stay up to date with everything that's trending on the web. Some things that always pique his interest are old technologies, literature and all sorts of odd vintage goodness. So if you find something that's too bizarre not to share, make sure to hit him up!

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creative spaces, new purpose buldings, old building makeovers
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