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

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!

#1 Old Clock Tower Transformed Into A Penthouse

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#13 Some Lucky Bastard Gets To Live In This Church

#14 My College Used To Be A Shopping Mall

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

#16 My Apartment Building Used To Be A School

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

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

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

#20 This Hotel Used To Be A Brewery

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

#22 Swimming Pool In Old Church: Netherne, Surrey

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

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

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

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

#27 Jail Turned Into Events Space In Melbourne, Australia

#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

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

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

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

#32 My Hotel Room Used To Be A Chapel

#33 This Thrift Store Used To Be A Bowling Alley

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

#35 This Old Pool Converted Into Apartments

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

#37 My Apartment Used To Be A YMCA

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

#39 This Grocery Store Used To Be A Hockey Stadium

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

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!