Refurbishment

Taking its name from Schlump, the Hamburg underground station where the building stands, Schlump ONE is a 1950s administration block that has been transformed into a modern office thanks to a dramatic facelift conceived by the architects at J. Mayer H.  Read More

Architects, it seems, are increasingly interested in transforming a building's use without making permanent changes to the fabric itself. If the BEEBOX we covered in January (a sort of drop-in, self-contained office desk) is exhibit A, then B is an altogether grander intervention. A design team led by Tokyo's Masatomo Kojima has cooked up ROKU Edogawa, a flexible aluminum structure designed to transform any interior space into a cafeteria.  Read More

Maybe its their height. Maybe it's because they're round. But clearly there's something about abandoned water towers that makes people want to transform them into residential accommodation. Tower House in West London's desirable North Kensington neighborhood (though admittedly, not the plushest part) appears to be the latest addition to an ever-growing set; a set that includes the converted World War II tower, Chateau D'eau.  Read More

That EXIT Architects describes the redeveloped Palencia Civic Center as a rehabilitation rather than a refurbishment is apt considering the 19th century building was originally a prison. Somehow, refurbishment is too small a word for such a radical change of use, implying a mere lick of paint here and a scrubbed-down banister or two. No. EXIT quite literally tore the roof off the place.  Read More