Renovation: The Latest Architecture and News

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• Architects

  SCOB

• Location

  Barcelona, Spain

• Category

  Renovation

• Architects in Charge

  Óscar Blasco, Sergi Carulla y Sergi Arenas

• Developer

  Barcelona City Council

• Area

  2239.0 m2

• Project Year

  2015

• Photographs

  Adrià Goula

Half a century after the new suburban tract home was the dream of many a young American family, refurbished properties are gaining in popularity. This trend extends beyond North America, with exciting renovations of existing structures popping up all over the world, from Belgium to Kenya to China. The attraction to this typology likely lies in its multiplicity; renovations are both new and old, historic and forward-looking, generative and sustainable. 

Nowhere is this trend more visible and popular than in housing, where the transformation is often led by the owners themselves. Loosely grouped under terms like “fixer-upper” and “adaptive reuse,” these projects begin with just the structural skeletons and the building’s history. At the personal scale, renovation/refurbishment is an opportunity to bring a part of yourself to your home - but do these small projects together have the potential to turn around a housing crisis?

MVRDV has released details of their proposed renovation of a 19th-century listed building on Slodowa Island in Wroclaw, Poland. The “Concordia Hub” will see the retention of the existing façade, with the addition of a contemporary rear extension to “create a focal point” for the general public and visitors.

The site’s former use as a German artillery base in 1945 means almost all of the island’s structures were destroyed in the closing months of World War II. The Concordia Hub scheme seeks to preserve one of the only surviving heritage structures on the island, while transitioning the building into the modern age.

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• Architects

  FESCH Beijing

• Location

  Beijing, China

• Category

  Renovation

• Lead Architects

  Daisuke Matsumoto

• Area

  36.7 m2

• Project Year

  2016

• Photographs

  Misae Hiromatsu, Beijing Ruijing Photo: Yuming Song, Daisuke Matsumoto

New images have been released of the $925million (£700million) redevelopment of west London’s Olympia Exhibition Centre, designed by Heatherwick Studio and SPPARC Architecture. The project will see an extensive renovation of the existing exhibition halls, and the addition of creative offices, studios, and co-working space.

The 130-year-old center will be transformed into a creative hub with 2.5 acres of public space, intended to “support ambitious enhancement to focus on creative industries, entrepreneurship, and new green space for community and visitors.”

Stefano Boeri Architetti has released images of their proposed renovation of Matera Central Station in Southern Italy. Matera Central FAL railway station will be structurally altered through an “aesthetic and functional redevelopment together with technological upgrading of the railway itself.”

The proposal seeks to alter the existing hierarchy of space in the city by making the transport hub a genuine and significant urban landmark, rather than simply an infrastructural node. The scheme is therefore designed to incorporate a recognizable, pedestrianized public square, forming connections with the nearby historic city center.

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London-based AL_A has been appointed for their first Scottish commission: the $55million (£42million) transformation of the Paisley Museum. The brief calls for the revitalization of the home of Paisley’s textile heritage, natural history and art and science collections.

The museum’s transformation is a flagship project for a $135million (£100million) investment in cultural venues by the council governing the city of Paisley, in preparation for a UK City of Culture 2021 bid legacy.

Construction on the transformation of Eero Saarinen’s iconic TWA Flight Center into the new TWA Hotel has hit major milestone, as the project has now topped out.

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After being saved from a major renovation that would have eliminated its iconic Postmodern facade, James Stirling’s No 1 Poultry building is now receiving a gentler retrofit that will upgrade its spaces to house 110,000-square-feet of contemporary office space.

Fitting right in with the update, coworking giant WeWork has now been announced as the building’s first tenant, and the company has revealed some details of how the building will work for its users.

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A Spanish tourist has been killed by a piece of falling masonry in the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, Italy. As reported by The Guardian, the 52-year old victim was hit by "a piece of decorative stone that fell from a height of 20 metres (66 ft) as he visited the religious building with his wife." Reports suggest that the fragment was around 15cm by 15cm (6 by 6 inches) in size; according to Yahoo, the fragment "had supported a beam in the right transept of the Basilica."

Following the incident, the attraction has been closed to visitors indefinitely.

The team of OMA and FABRICations in collaboration with LOLA landscape architects has been selected as the winners of a competition to transform a former prison complex in Amsterdam into a 135,000-square-meter mixed-use development. Located in southeastern Amsterdam, Bijlmerbajes has been seen as a distant landmark for the city since its construction in the 1970s. But with recent expansions, the once peripheral site has moved to the center of new urban development, making the property prime location for redevelopment.

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Elijah Equities, LLC has unveiled plans for the redevelopment of The Warehouse in New York City, a property currently occupied by car parking and art galleries, which will be transformed into 100,000 square feet of rentable office and retail space designed by Morris Adjmi.

Situated next to the High Line, the building currently at the site is a four-story, 65,000-square-foot former apparel-manufacturing warehouse. The redevelopment will add a three-story, steel-framed, cantilevered addition, resulting in a seven-story building with over 18,000 square feet of rooftop and outdoor amenity space.

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Adrenaline junkies rejoice: the Willis Tower has announced plans for $20 million dollars of improvements to their popular glass-bottom SkyDeck observation attractions. Among the additions will be a series of new all-glass protrusions from the building, as well as a chance to rappel down a glass shaft suspended from the building’s 103rd floor.

KAAN Architecten has been commissioned for the renovation and expansion of one of the Netherlands’ most renowned museums, the Paleis Het Loo. Responding to evolving purposes, the project scope involves the restoration and development of over 5,000 square meters of new space, including the House of Orange, the Junior Palace, and a temporary exhibition hall.

“The design, inspired by the layout and proportions of the Corps de Logis of Paleis Het Loo, incorporates all required facilities and spaces while expressing a grandeur fitting for one of the Netherlands’ most popular and visited museums,” announced the firm.

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One of the United States’ most recognizable skyscrapers, the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower), is set to receive a $500 million renovation designed by the Chicago office of Gensler. Announced by Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel with real estate holders Blackstone and Equity Office, the project will transform and reinvigorate the 43-year-old building, which held the title of world’s tallest building for nearly a quarter century.

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