Throughout the city's history, buildings have changed their use and function, which is inevitable, as each era presents unique issues and requirements. Factors such as housing types, population density in specific areas, and the emergence of new businesses and services reshape the cityscape, often outpacing the adaptability of existing structures. Therefore, revitalizing or rehabilitating buildings is logical but also necessary to meet the demands of a changing landscape.
As complete demolition of the city for reconstruction is impractical and environmentally damaging, new activities are accommodated within existing buildings through adaptations and renovations to address changing needs. This approach is a familiar one in urban history. However, more extensive and contemporary alterations—meaning solutions relevant to the present—provide more practical and creative responses tailored to each context.
Within the dynamics of urban life, certain areas may become neglected while others are appreciated. The creation of urban development plans can change the legal or primary use of specific areas, providing affected properties with new possibilities for occupancy. Sometimes, empty buildings remain unoccupied, with no plans for demolition, slowly deteriorating and posing safety risks to their surroundings and potential occupants due to worn-out structures and precarious facilities. In all these cases, rehabilitation emerges as a viable and generally beneficial solution for the city. After all, occupied buildings are the essence of architecture.
Housing is the most extensive and urgent scale in contemporary metropolises. The large number of residences, ranging from mansions to single-family homes, provides various sizes that can be repurposed for different objectives. There is the possibility of single or multi-family use, as well as accommodation for services and commerce. Especially in countries of the global north, where cities are already spatially "bounded" and experiencing significant migratory flows, the rehabilitation of existing buildings into collective housing, for instance, makes a lot of sense.
The ideal scenario would be global investment in social housing, extending beyond Europe as demonstrated by the examples gathered here. Rehabilitation breathes new life into urban spaces by repurposing old houses into shops, transforming mansions for collective housing, and converting warehouses into private residences.
Rehabilitation of a Granary / Maria José Pinto Leite
“Looking to give the building a new purpose while revealing its history, it was the customer's option to convert it into housing because its agricultural function of drying corn has long since ceased to exist. In addition to accommodation in the manor farmhouse, the granary will house guests or part of the large family that punctually moves simultaneously to the place.”
Trava & Quintero Houses / TACO taller de arquitectura contextual
“When the project began, both buildings had been operating as commercial spaces for several years and had undergone multiple interventions that responded to the immediate needs of the tenants at the time. The first step was to remove the added elements in order to understand the original structure of both buildings.”
La Centinela Refurbishment / FORarquitectura
“But the strong relationship of the architecture and the building's programme with the rural context, the appearance of a type of stone block popularly known as Cantilla among its load-bearing walls (used in the construction of the Cathedral naves in Malaga during the 18th century), the historical and landscape memory and the intention to conserve the rural heritage that is, unfortunately, being silenced, all these factors are driving and nourishing the concern for the preservation of the building.”
Public Housing Vilar 3 / Müller.Feijoo
“The building that we had to recover is located in one of the oldest and most degraded areas of the historic center of Ourense. It has two facades, the main one facing Rúa do Vilar and the back facing a courtyard. Before the intervention, the building had 3 floors, a ground floor for commercial use and a house on the two upper floors.”
Casa dos Pátios / PF Architecture Studio
“The building which had throughout its existence diverse uses, as services and housing, having even been used as a school, was abandoned and in pre-ruin state for decades. The proposal intended to create a set of apartments and shops, retaining all the structure and spatial concept of preexistence.”
Galeria Metara Porto Maravilha / Ateliê de Arquitetura
“The project preserved the original volume and facade of the property but completely transformed its interior to adapt it to the new use. Virtually all walls were demolished to create larger spaces that allow for various exhibition layouts.”
Coven Store / Play Arquitetura e Design
“[...] the ambiance of a home should permeate the new commercial space so that customers and visitors experience a sense of warmth and hospitality. This atmosphere was achieved by maintaining the residential typology of the property, characterized by volumes covered with ceramic roofs, and by preserving other elements of the original architecture, such as wooden floors, traditional tiles, and, most importantly, the kitchen as the central point of the house—now open with large sliding doors.”
Mãe Terra Office / Memola Estúdio + Vitor Penha
“Even though the property’s building area didn’t change, this is a renovation and expansion. There was a complete interior redesign: elimination of dividing walls, removal of coatings, rebuilding of vertical accesses, structural reinforcement, new infrastructure installations, and the rebuilding of the roof, which is now also occupied. ”
5um7 Neapolitan Pizza / Aalva arquitetos
“How many narratives can a building shelter? Originally built in 1925 in Jaú as a single-family residence, this building was elevated to a showroom in 2011 […]. A decade later, the building would be subject to a new function conversion. Curiously, its fully industrial materiality would accommodate another activity in which its protagonism settles down in the artisanal field while preserving its Italian heritage.”
