An 18-century courthouse has been adapted and, now, as Sessions Arts Club, is a Michelin-recommended restaurant in London, England.Courtesy Sessions Arts Club
Even today, postpandemic-related restrictions, it can take a lot to get people to leave the house – especially where you’re surrounded by all the comforts of home. Not to mention, the convenience of having anything and everything delivered to your door. One major draw luring us back out into the world is the emotional connection that comes with experiences held in one-of-a-kind environments. Historic buildings that have been reimagined for a contemporary purpose are particular draws, like a courthouse turned restaurant, a boutique hotel in what was once a Brutalist office building, or a nightclub with a dance floor tucked away in a bank vault. Known as adaptive reuse architecture, where an existing building is used for a purpose other than which it was originally designed for, it’s a practice that’s bringing renewed excitement to downtown and suburban areas alike.
In Europe and Asia, where architecture dates back further than it does in North America, exploring the adaptive reuse movement is particularly exciting. In London, you can sip a pint at bars stationed everywhere from a former power station’s control room to one-time public toilets, which boast cheeky names like Attendant, Ladies & Gentlemen and Wine & Charcuterie (WC for short). For a more historically minded experience, Sessions Arts Club serves Michelin-recommended meals in a Palladian-style courthouse dating back to 1782 that served as inspiration for Dickens’ Oliver Twist.
Hong Kong’s On the Hill Coffee Bar operates out of a former jail cell in the decommissioned Victoria Prison, where latte lovers are free to wander and admire the architecture. Or, for a more immersive cell-block experience, Berlin’s Hotel Wilmina transformed a former women’s prison from 1896 into a boutique hotel (windows have been enlarged but retain their bars).
North America’s industrial heritage offers its own enticing take on the movement. In Brooklyn, New York, the Domino Sugar Factory has reshaped the Williamsburg waterfront with a mixed-use space housing everything from offices to Hermès fashion shows. The Gaslight District of Cambridge, Ont. is a one-acre public square surrounded by century-old limestone foundry buildings where visitors can visit restaurants, attend concerts and experience artwork, like the permanent installation Meander by architect Philip Beesley.
Crew Collective and Café, in Old Montreal, uses former bank employees' offices as co-working spaces.Courtesy Crew Collective
Old Montreal is beloved for its heritage buildings and European vibes, something Crew Collective and Café aims to make a part of the everyday and special occasions alike. Located in a former Royal Bank of Canada branch that was completed in 1926, Crew combines a coffee shop with co-working and meeting rooms and an events space. Architect Henri Cleinge preserved many of the original bank branch details, including vaulted ceilings, teller windows and sandstone columns. Modern, minimalist fixtures were then integrated in such a way that Christina Nordquist, manager of communications and rentals, says is bringing guests in for everything from coffee to weddings.
In Toronto, this June will see the opening of an upscale food hall called Waterworks in a historic industrial building in the city’s King West neighbourhood. Vendors include Aburi Sushi, Harry’s Charbroiled, and SOBR Market, the city’s first non-alcoholic bottle shop. Several other historic buildings have been reanimated to great success by Giannone Petricone Associates. The firm is behind many culinary hotspots in the city, including Stock T.C, a restaurant and grocer in an old post office, Sud Forno Temperance, an Italian eatery in what once housed a Holt Renfrew store, and The Carbon Bar, a buzzy restaurant in a 19th-century warehouse. These heritage projects, where the state of the building is not always completely clear from the outset, is a welcome challenge that principal Ralph Giannone, who runs the firm alongside Pina Petricone, describes as wrestling a gorilla.
“Most of the spaces that we navigate are at different positions in their lives. Of course, they started as something, went through that life and are in states of transformation. And it’s at that point that we get involved,” Giannone says.
Evolving existing buildings also has the functional benefit of putting vacant real estate to use. In Calgary, for example, it’s part of solving the housing crisis. The downtown office conversion programs aim to revitalize the city’s core by converting more than a dozen office buildings into some 2,300 homes. Or take the shopping mall. As department stores like Eatons, Sears and Nordstrom have shuttered their Canadian stores over the years, that real estate has opened up a large footprint for new experiences at the mall.
At one former Target store in Etobicoke, Ont., racquet sports club Fairgrounds has installed pickleball courts through a relationship with QuadReal Property Group. Fairgrounds co-founder Drummond Munro says that malls are the perfect places to meet the growing demand for racquet sports and the broader trend toward more wellness-focused amenities. “By bringing Fairgrounds to places like these, QuadReal transforms traditional retail spaces into community hubs,” he says.
What’s old is new again.