24 buildings rehabilitated in an incredible way

Why destroy when we can transform emblematic places in our society like churches? Today, more and more unusual places are given a second life thanks to the repurposing of their buildings. This solution allows them to find a new function mixing the past and the present instead of being razed and replaced.

A real alternative to reconstruction

In this selection of images that you are going to discover, there are, for example, churches which have given life to a swimming pool and a skate parkbut that’s not all! A former cement factory has been transformed into premises to accommodate offices. Afterwards there is also an old bridge which has become a real basketball courtor even a power station which gave birth to a bookstore and several restaurants. When it comes to transform an old buildingideas flow from architects. But in general, town halls prefer to demolish and raze to rebuild something new, leaving behind the past and the history of the city or neighborhood.

However, the rehabilitation of these buildings also allows us to have a sustainable approach that enhances our heritage while meeting current needs, thus mixing the past with the present.

1/ An abandoned church transformed into a skate park in Saint Louis in the United States

An abandoned church transformed into a skate park in Saint Louis in the United States

2/ The chapel at Claybury psychiatric hospital has become a swimming pool

The chapel of the

3/ A piece of bridge in the Philippines transformed into a basketball court

A piece of bridge in the Philippines made into a basketball court

4/ A former McDonald’s station in Gennevilliers in France

An old McDonald's station

5/ A swimming pool which becomes a Museum in Roubaix in France

A swimming pool which becomes a Museum in Roubaix in France

6/ A former boarding school that became a KFC in Indonesia

A former boarding school turned KFC in Indonesia

7/ A former bank transformed into McDonald’s in Kristiansand, Norway

A former bank transformed into McDonald's

8/ An old church as a concert hall in Manchester, England

An old church concert hall in Manchester, England

9/ Apartments in a church in Philadelphia in the United States

Apartments in a church in Philadelphia in the United States

10/ A former bank that became a Dunkin’ Donuts in Quincy in the United States

A former bank that became a Dunkin

11/ A restaurant in a church in Cheltenham in England

A restaurant in a church in Cheltenham, England

12/ A bookstore in a Walmart in Texas, United States

A bookstore in a Walmart in Texas in the United States

13/ A former KFC theater in Russia in Petrozavodsk

A former KFC theater in Russia in Petrozavodsk

14/ A water tower transformed into a climbing wall in Lithuania

A castle of

15/ An old bank in a bookstore in Romania in Bucharest

An old bank bookstore in Romania in Bucharest

16/ A cement factory hosts offices in Sant Just Desvern, Spain

Cement factory hosts offices in Sant Just Desvern Sant Just Desvern in Spain

17/ A bookstore in a former theater in Bonn, Germany

A bookstore in a former theater in Bonn, Germany

18/ A former bank has become a café in Greer in the United States

A former bank became a café in Greer, USA

19/ A former shopping center turned into a campus in Austin in the United States

A former shopping center turned campus in Austin, United States

20/ A power station which hosts a bookstore and restaurants in Baltimore in the United States

A power station that houses a bookstore and restaurants in Baltimore in the United States

21/ A discotheque in a cereal factory in the Netherlands

A nightclub in a grain factory in the Netherlands

22/ A Dunkin’ Donuts in a car wash in the United States

A Dunkin' Donuts in a car wash

23/ A McDonald’s in an old barn in Maine in the United States

Un McDonald

24/ A house in a Pizza Hut in Germany

A house in a Pizza Hut in Germany

It is quite a shame to see that the repurposing of buildings is not always considered a real solution before demolition. Rather than razing to rebuild, why not imagine new functions for old buildings instead of letting them disintegrate and then remove them?

Source: hitek.fr