12 Cultural Spaces That Owe Their Power to Adaptive Reuse

Written by Claire Brodka
Published on April 05, 2023

When approaching the design of cultural spaces such as museums, performance venues, or places of research and study, architecture and design professionals often have to assemble pieces of a uniquely challenging puzzle in order to make the structure resonate with a variety of visitors and occupants. Hitting the right chord can be difficult, especially when trying to combine forms into a whole that pays respect to a building's intended use while being timeless in its universality.

One way of making sure a sense of culture is omnipresent: adaptive reuse. The practice of breathing life into historic structures has been on the rise in recent years and is particularly well-suited to creating spaces that address and embody contemporary issues while connecting their inhabitants to the past. But it's not just a sense of updated heritage that makes them stand out; adaptive reuse buildings can fight urban sprawl and unsustainable building practices simply by way of existing.

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Not only do these projects use fewer materials than conventional construction, they also speed up the building timeline and lower overall costs – making them an attractive option for communities in need of reinvigoration. CARE, a new digital tool that lets designers and architects calculate the precise carbon benefit of building adaptively rather than new, is proof that the method continues its meteoric rise throughout our urban centers.

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While all building typologies can benefit from adaptive reuse, cultural spaces that extend or modify historic spaces can be particularly powerful. Below, we take a look at different ways cultural projects can enhance their intended effect by leaning on the past to propel themselves into the future.

Restoration of Neighborhood Landmarks

One way of ensuring a positive reception when adapting a historic building is to refurbish a neighborhood landmark. Examples such as the reinvigoration of an old working-class cooperative or a beloved social club in Spain as well as the transformation of an old sporting facility in Portugal into new cultural hubs are proof that built-in communities follow collective memory. Often shepherded by neighborhood organizations, as was the case with the over 100-year-old Civic Centre in Barcelona's Sants district, these restorations come with their own challenges and added amount of discussion, but the results are worthy of the extra effort. Original details are kept intact but make space for new purpose and experiences that allow celebrated places to add many more years to their already substantial life.

Civic Centre Lleialtat Santsenca 1214 / HARQUITECTES

Sala Beckett / Flores & Prats

Rehabilitation Atlético Sporting Club / Estudio ODS

Rethinking Culture Critically

Rather than leaning on a positive reputation within the local community, the three projects below demonstrate an effort by architects and designers to rethink culture and apply a critical lens to established historic structures. Whether it be the transformation of a church into a place for performance that subverts the existing secular elements or even converting a former prison into a conglomerate of social and cultural services – redefining a cultural building against its past can lead to powerful architectural effects that play on our emotional connection and reaction to space. As with QARTA architektura's addition to a college campus in Jihalva, Czech Republic (previously the site of a controversial communist party show trial and subsequent executions), structures appropriated in this way can themselves can be active participants 'in the rediscovery of ... political, social, and cultural identity.'

Transformation of Saint Rocco's Church into a Theater / Luigi Valente + Mauro Di Bona

New Lecture Center VŠPJ / QARTA architektura

El Roser Social Center / Josep Ferrando Architecture + Gallego ArquitecturaE

12 Cultural Spaces That Owe Their Power to Adaptive Reuse - Image 7 of 15 — © Adrià Goula

Historic Preservation

Maybe the most common – and obvious – reason for adaptive reuse is historic preservation. When buildings are protected due to their architectural or historical importance, any alteration is limited by a strict set of guidelines that determine details such as building height, volume, form, and landscaping. In these cases, structures are often adapted as close to the original use as possible, leading to projects like the transformation of a poet's 18th-century birthplace in Germany into a museum or the restoration of Beaux-Arts style French theatre to its former glory. In other cases, notably the reimagining of a former Diesel engine factory in China, more liberties can be taken within the set parameters; what the projects below have in common, however, is that they are examples of the strongest palpable historic presence. By altering as little as possible about original structures, and in some cases exposing previously unseen facets, these buildings are the most direct connection to our past and reverberate with cultural significance.

Pingyao Diesel Engine Factory Renovation / Architectural Design and Research Institute of Tsinghua University

Legendre Theater / Opus 5 architectes

Hölderlinhaus / VON M

Extensions

On the other end of the spectrum are extensions to historic buildings. While they may only lean on preexisting structures for support (often quite literally), the three projects below immediately create a powerful visual connection between past and present, often by reappropriating facade materials or colors in a way that echoes the older counterpart in the new. Incorporating complete building parts or individual walls and other structures aids in deepening this dialogue both for exterior and interior spaces, as seen in FABG's addition to an auditorium in Montréal, the development of a library in Czech Republic, or the expansion of a dance performance space in Helsinki. By adding modern extensions to historical buildings and actively juxtaposing old and new, architects can create added complexity for the viewer and drive cultural dialogue between generations.