Renovation

An overview of projects, products and exclusive articles about renovation

Project • By Pac Studio • Private Houses

Mt Eden Garden House

Our studio loves heritage renovation projects. This project even more special in that it was for one of our own team. When they were searching for a new family home, Pac Studio director Aaron and wife Kate were looking for a housing type rather than a suburb. A villa built close to the ground, with wide hallways and generous doorways would provide Kate, a wheelchair user, with better flow and manoeuvrability. The search led them to Maungawhau Mount Eden, a 1910 transitional villa on a flat site, with a large verandah and elegant proportions. The downsides, while few, included a small kitchen in the middle of the house and a complicated arrangement of doors, the result of the house being split into flats at some stage in its past. Captio... More

Project • By Monoarchi • Private Houses

Q House II

This is an old alleyway house in the old Shanghai area. The owner Mr. Qiu plans to use it for future retirement life. The house was narrow and dim with complex elevation difference, but it has a view to the golden spire of Jing'an Temple through the dormer in the attic. Mr. Qiu likes Shanghai-retro style, so we tried to draw inspiration from history. The nearby neighbourhood has buildings of diverse styles from abroad, such as the Spanish-style villa on Wukang Road, which has a street-facing‘one-step balcony’,which writer Chen Danyan calls "Romeo's Balcony". It have an ambiguous quality that is both dignified and wants to blend into the surrounding urban life. This pursuit of a refined quality of life within a high-density cont... More

Project • By ROOVICE • Private Houses

Minamichō House

The house had remained within the same family for generations, quietly carrying layers of everyday life and memory. Although the new owner lives abroad, he chose not to part with it, feeling a strong attachment to the place he had inherited. Rather than selling, the decision was made to bring the house back into use through ROOVICE’s Kariage framework—a system that renovates vacant homes and subleases them, allowing owners to preserve their properties without the burden of managing them. This approach made it possible for the house to be lived in once again, while retaining its identity and history. The project began with a careful reading of what was already there. Instead of redefining the house entirely, the intervention fo... More

Project • By ROOVICE • Private Houses

Kajiwara House

Kajiwara House: A Home that Grows with Its OwnersLocated in Kajiwara, a residential area surrounded by the soft hills of Kamakura and just a short distance from the sea, this two-story wooden house from the 1960s has been carefully renovated for a couple of creatives and their two cats. The city’s landscape — where mountains meet ocean and time moves at its own pace — reflects the spirit of the project: calm, layered, and deeply tied to everyday life. When the owners contacted us, they had just purchased the property and were looking for a way to restore its quiet charm — not by transforming it completely, but by bringing back what was already there. The design approach was simple: preserve what could be saved, and... More

Project • By Lupettatelier • Private Houses

Wagner

This four-storey residence is a terraced house in the heart of Milan. It has a red façade and a secret green garden, hidden within the block. A lung of air and tranquillity that fills the living room on the ground floor with light and colour.To enhance this natural pocket, a large panoramic window has been opened, which acts as a frame for the living room.  Ph. Beppe Brancato - Styling Giulia Taglialatela Grace and ambition make this house a journey to be discovered, dotted with precious memorabilia from the masters of 20th-century design and amazing works of art collected over time. The British taste that envelops the rooms is recognisable in the dusty colours and impeccable taste of the homeowners.  Oriental text... More

Project • By 1100 Architect • Auditoriums

Princeton University McCosh 50

1100 Architect designed the complete renovation of McCosh 50, Princeton’s largest, most prominent lecture hall, upgrading the 444-seat auditorium to meet modern performance standards. Originally built over a century ago, the soaring multi-story Gothic space presented significant acoustic and systems challenges. Peter Arron Peter Arron Peter Arron The design enhances the room’s historic character while integrating new lighting, AV, and mechanical systems with minimal visual impact. Custom seating—crafted to recall the room’s pre-existing style of seats —offers improved comfort with upholstered, ergonomic cushions. The upgrade celebrates McCosh 50’s traditional character while transforming i... More

Project • By 1100 Architect • Sports Centres

Böllenfalltorhalle

1100 Architect completed a landmark-sensitive renovation of the Böllenfalltor Sports Hall, one of Darmstadt’s key public venues. Built in 1964, the hall includes a dramatic vaulted wood-paneled ceiling that was meticulously preserved and integrated with a new lighting system. The renovation replaced outdated systems with high-performance lighting and ventilation to meet current athletic and safety standards. Jean-Luc Valentin Jean-Luc Valentin Jean-Luc Valentin Seating and circulation were improved to support large regional and international competitions. As one of the city’s largest sports and event spaces, the 33.820-square-foot hall now meets fire and emergency service requirements, including a backup pow... More

Project • By Alumil S.A • Private Houses

Cedrus

A 1970s detached house in a suburb of Thessaloniki has been transformed thanks to the vision and design of OpsisArchitects, who have transformed it into a contemporary residence that meets today's needs. Cedrus exudes a sense of peacefulness and harmony. Caption Caption Caption Caption As noted by the architectural firm, "the main aspects on which the design was based were the recovery of the building's relationship with its environment and its bioclimatic, aesthetic, and functional upgrade as a whole of closed, transitional, and open-air spaces." Caption Caption Caption Through significant interventions, such as the reinstatement of the height difference between the ground floor and the garden and the i... More

Project • By ROOVICE • Private Houses

Itabashi House

Light and Layers: Transformatio In the quiet streets of Itabashi, Tokyo, a modest two-storey house from 1976 has been given a new lease on life through a renovation carried out by Roovice. Through their Kariage Project, they renovate and reuse akiya (vacant houses) at no cost to the owners, transforming them into rental properties. The house had originally suffered from a fragmented layout and dim interiors that no longer suited contemporary living. Akira Nakamura A key challenge lay on the ground floor, where the former kitchen was positioned between two tatami rooms, effectively dividing the house into front and back zones and making the space complicated to use. To address this, the kitchen was relocated into what had been the re... More

Project • By POLO • Offices

Polytoren

The industrial site in Zwijnaarde near Ghent can be considered the birth place and physical home of the DOMO holding (now Dovesco). Here Domo Chemicals built its first and oldest factory: the poly tower. We propose to largely preserve it as a built testimony to the company’s history and achievements, yet we also want to update it to embody the ongoing transformation of a forwardlooking enterprise. Stijn Bollaert Caption As such the old structure becomes the springboard for a completely reimagined building. This includes a thorough overhaul of the exterior and a sensitive insertion of new functions into the characteristic industrial spaces. Our design reflects the ambitions of a company that is forever evolving and adapting,... More

Project • By GV+Arquitectos • Hotels

1904 Benfica Hotel

Spread over six floors, the project aims to rehabilitate the historic building of the former Bristol Club, respecting its memory and heritage value. GV+A GV+A GV+A On the ground floor, the lobby, bar, restaurant, and multipurpose room reinterpret the original atmosphere, with wood, marble, boiseries, and crafted ceilings, evoking the sophistication of the old Gentleman's Clubs. GV+A GV+A GV+A GV+A The bar recreates an intimate and classic atmosphere, while the restaurant is organized around a central core with curved benches, preserving original sculptures by Leopoldo de Almeida. GV+A GV+A GV+A GV+A The upper floors accommodate the rooms, which are in light tones, with custom-designe... More

Project • By ROOVICE • Offices

Oimachi House

Located just five minutes from Oimachi Station, this 73-year-old wooden house has been transformed into a contemporary workspace through a renovation that balances clarity, preservation, and adaptability. The building is part of a dense cluster of postwar wooden structures situated behind the area's more prominent commercial and mid-rise office developments. This house, once a typical home in that quieter layer of the city, now takes on a new role as a functional and character-rich office. Akira Nakamura Akira Nakamura Akira Nakamura The entrance was redesigned with a new door and exterior wall finish, offering a clean surface where signage can be installed—making its commercial use immediately legible from the outside... More

Project • By LIAG architects • Secondary Schools

Bonhoeffer College, Enschede

The Bonhoeffer College in Enschede is undergoing a transformative renovation that preserves its historic façade while creating a modern, 21st-century learning environment. This transformation honors the past while embracing the future. The sustainable renovation is essential, as the current building is both technically and functionally outdated. The proposal aligns with the school’s mission: "Give attention, grow into who you are, and enjoy the expedition."Modernizing for future needsThe renovation strengthens the connection between the building's different sections by removing inefficient spaces and adding new ones that better align with current educational requirements. The original design, which alternates large brick volume... More

Project • By IFUB* • Apartments

Wohnung O

Optimizing existing homes is one of our passions. It brings us great joy to help families stay in their traditional living spaces while significantly improving their living conditions through targeted interventions. A particularly good example of this is Apartment O, where we once again demonstrated that generous living doesn’t require a lot of square meters. Optimizing old apartments to be family-friendly has become a specialty of IFUB*. In the case of apartment O, a number of conversions were possible in consultation with the listed building authorities. The space-saving redesign of the kitchen, living room and bathroom made it possible to create a much-needed additional room. At the same time, storage space was optimized, enabling... More

Project • By Cubo Arkitekter A/S • Universities

Designskolen Kolding

Founded in 1967, Kolding School of Design was established as part of Kolding Municipality’s ambition to strengthen creativity and artistic innovation in Denmark. Originally named the Kolding School of Arts & Crafts, it focused on craftsmanship, particularly within textile and graphic design, closely tied to the Danish design tradition. Throughout the 1990s, the school expanded its academic scope to include industrial design, communication design, and design management. In 2010, the school achieved university status, marking a significant milestone that reinforced the importance of both practical and theoretical design education, with research becoming a central component. Helene Høyer Mikkelsen Today, Kolding School o... More