Photographer: Hong Seokgyu | ArchDaily

From Homes to Coffee Shops: Adaptive Reuse Projects Transforming Domestic History

Agustina Iñiguez — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 07:30:00 +0000

In the twenty-first century agenda, adaptive reuse is understood as a creative and meaningful approach to the development of the built environment. In the face of an era marked by adaptation and transformation, the shaping of human experiences aligns with the principle of "reuse, reduce, recycle." From the authenticity of place to the inherent value of materials, working in dialogue with the past makes it possible to envision new futures that engage with the uses, traditions, and beliefs of earlier eras. By considering each building as a collection of tangible and intangible elements that shape its identity, adaptive reuse interventions require a deep understanding not only of construction methods, structural systems, and spatial rhythms, but also of the cultures that built, inhabited, and will one day occupy these places.

Reinterpreting a 50-Year-Old Building in Myeongnyun-dong / sukchulmok + BRBB Architects

Miwa Negoro — Tue, 05 May 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Located in Myeongnyun-dong, Jongno-gu, an area densely lined with red brick buildings, this structure was originally built in 1974. On this site, where layers of time have accumulated, we mark a new beginning through renovation. While respecting the existing traces as much as possible, we sought to boldly express a spirit of curiosity and experimentation. The building serves as a hybrid ground, functioning as both a studio and a residence for sukchulmok and BRBB.

Monologue Café / SOSOKKI ANAC

Miwa Negoro — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 07:00:00 +0000

Monologue – A Walker in Time's Soliloquy originates from a speculative narrative imagining that the Earth has undergone a reset. The project begins with a simple question: if an ancient civilization once existed before this reset, and a monastery had been built within that forgotten world, what architectural form might it have taken?

Modern Spolia: Harvesting Building Materials from Demolition Sites

Mohieldin Gamal — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 05:00:00 +0000

The circular economy, including the reuse of building materials, is fast becoming a key component in the fight against carbon emissions. This involves designing to minimize waste and utilize materials that can be reused at the end of the building's life. On the opposing side, the reuse of materials from partially or wholly demolished buildings can also reduce waste and carbon emissions that would have resulted from using virgin materials. Sustainability purposes aside, the reuse of building materials has a centuries-old history, both for symbolic reasons and simply out of necessity.

Green Interiors Trends From Around The World

Hana Abdel — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 07:30:00 +0000

There is not enough that can be said about the benefits of incorporating plants in interiors or Plantscaping. Integrating vegetation indoors serves many purposes, whether practical, aesthetic, or psychological. Although there are basic requirements for incorporating greenery into Homes, well-thought-out plant selections and placements are characteristically different across the world. By going over recent interior works, a few recurrent plantscaping design patterns arose, each reflective of distinctive climates, building styles, and traditional building techniques.

Design Ethos of Subtraction and Addition: 10 Adaptive Reuse Projects for Commercial and Social Spaces in Asia

Miwa Negoro — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 07:30:00 +0000

While adaptive reuse has been increasingly acknowledged as a vital architectural strategy worldwide, its discourse and implementation in Asia are still expanding—driven by growing ecological awareness and a shifting understanding of architectural knowledge. Rather than accelerating a developmentalist model centered on demolition and new construction, architects today are confronted with a different approach to the built environment: treating the existing structure as a resource—an archive of materials, spatial organizations, and informal histories.

Interiors of Pastry Shops and Bakeries: Design Strategies that Integrate Functions, Users, and Materials

Agustina Iñiguez — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 04:00:00 +0000

What is the link between architecture and pastry? What design strategies are applied in the contemporary interiors of bakeries and pastry shops? While architecture can serve as inspiration for the design of forms and configurations of edible elements, it also contributes the techniques of descriptive drawing, architectural composition, and staged planning to the culinary language. Focusing their thinking on people and their needs, both disciplines strive for precision, with interior design being a broad field where the use of figures, colors, materials, and various equipment can be explored to enhance user experiences.

A House that Embraces Its Vegetable Garden / sukchulmok + BRBB Architects

Miwa Negoro — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 02:00:00 +0000

Situated with a view of the vegetable garden, this house is composed of intersecting volumes made from different materials. These overlapping forms define the outer shell, ensuring privacy while creating a sense of depth and warmth within. Its appearance, embracing the field like a protective gesture, inspired the name Pojeon-jip (抱田), meaning "a house that embraces the field."

Sharing the Table: 9 Projects Showcasing Innovative Communal Table Designs

Susanna Moreira — Fri, 03 May 2024 07:30:00 +0000

Humans are social beings.The interaction between individuals is an essential part of the human experience and helps improve society as a whole. While architecture plays an important role in promoting spaces for people to meet, exchange and socialize, furniture can be a strategic tool for achieving this goal.

A Layered Architecture: Adaptive Reuse Projects That Reframe the Past Through Bold Material Contrasts

Carla Bonilla Huaroc — Sun, 25 Feb 2024 08:30:00 +0000

In recent decades, the term "adaptive reuse" has gained tremendous popularity as an eco-friendly construction approach. But what if there was something more poetic about reframing a space and its stories for new users? These architects show that once-deemed disposable facades, walls, and textures can obtain new meaning through bold and clever juxtapositions. These adaptations proudly display their conversions and layers of historical patina under them as a batch of honor and speak to the permanence of buildings and their impermanence in use and interpretation. Through subtle formal moves and daring material choices, they transformed structures that would have been otherwise demolished and reimagined them in new and intriguing ways.

8323. layers of space / sukchulmok Bakery and Café

Hana Abdel — Tue, 05 Dec 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Sukchulmok studio defines a formative vocabulary by adding a modern gesture to the old building built in 1983. The project space, located in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, is a common detached house in Korea in the 1980s and has a brick skin that is used less today. Everywhere, you can see traces of expanding the space or supplementing the damaged area, suggesting that the time has been spent according to the purpose and user. Sukchulmok preserves the previous traces of old buildings that have been added as needed and induce projects to have aesthetic harmony.

Curving Block Studio / sukchulmok

Hana Abdel — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 07:00:00 +0000

A giant toy "Curving Block" in Anyeong-dong, Daejeon - SukChulMok Studio designs huge block-shaped buildings for employee welfare spaces of baby products companies. The building with PTFE tents on the concrete walls maintains the unique flexibility of the tent and exhibits geometric shapes in exquisite combination with concrete. The space is used for relaxation and filming purposes.

Parconido Bakery Cafe / sukchulmok

Valeria Silva — Thu, 06 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Parconido is a bakery cafe located in northern Gyeonggi-do that resembles a square seen in Europe. Created with basic materials and in simple shapes, the cafe presents a consistent space in which the space, furniture, and lighting are designed to create an unified atmosphere.

Growing Space / STARSIS

Hana Abdel — Sun, 10 Oct 2021 23:00:00 +0000

This company makes baby goods out of bamboo fiber. It became a great company after several trials and errors, and they wanted to work in a place better than a prefab building where the company had started its business. Around the company’s prefab, used since 2013, there are many similar prefabs as every company here do similar businesses like manufacturing, distributing, and packing goods.

The 646m/s Stay / STARSIS

Hana Abdel — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 20:00:00 +0000

At Jeju-si Hangyoung-myeon, which is called the home of wind, a remodeling project will be conducted for 6 months. The building, which was built in 2013, was operated as a lodging business for three years, and after the business was terminated, it was left in the sea breeze for three years.

Malocclusion Dental Clinic / STARSIS

Daniel Tapia — Wed, 20 Nov 2019 22:00:00 +0000

The user of this space is an orthodontist who has been researching malocclusion for a long time. Located at Dongtansunhwan-daero 127-5, this place is naturally designed according to her background and characteristics. We have 16 upper and lower teeth in our lives, so in total 32 teeth. There is a common rule in the order when teeth grow which has an interesting part.

Suwŏlok / STARSIS

Daniel Tapia — Thu, 19 Jul 2018 20:00:00 +0000

”Suwŏlok”, a place with 60 years of history.
Two houses, located at Subuk-ro, Gyuam-myeon, Buyeo-gun, were built in 1955 and 1962. These houses have been undergoing constant changes with their space design as different needs had arisen. Finally stabilized only after everyone has vacated them, these two houses have been rebuilt by two groups – Segan, a group of traditional crafters, and Starsis, a group of designers.

Cafe that Resembles Jeju Island / STARSIS

Pilar Caballero — Mon, 25 Jun 2018 19:00:00 +0000

The project started with the intention to fill the space not with ordinary objects but with ones that have the scent and vibe of Jeju Island.