# Building restorations that actually came out well



## ThatOneGuy (Jan 13, 2012)

I hope they will fix the outside.

Kuhlenwalle Square, Duisberg


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## FNNG (Jul 25, 2011)

ThatOneGuy said:


> Before:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


izzit only me that i don't see much difference between these two picture. They just remove the curtain in the office, paint the ground floor pillar into white colour, remove sign board + bicycle parking lane and put a parking sign on one of the pillar. :nuts:


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## ThatOneGuy (Jan 13, 2012)

That's the point - they didn't change the architect's original vision 

They repainted the black parts as well, and maybe refitted the interior.


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## JMGA196 (Jan 1, 2013)

It makes a big difference.


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## Dunzdeck (Apr 23, 2010)

ThatOneGuy said:


> 55 Baker Street, London
> <snip>


Imagine my surprise browsing this topic from this very building!
(don't tell my boss)


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## RegentHouse (Sep 2, 2012)

*Asakusa Station, Tokyo*

Before:









After:









Late 1920s:


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## ThatOneGuy (Jan 13, 2012)

Residential building in Tbilisi, Georgia




































[/QUOTE]


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## ThatOneGuy (Jan 13, 2012)

Potsdam, Germany:

Before:

















After:


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## Marco Bruno (Aug 29, 2003)

Lisbon, capitolio theatre (1931). 



















During decades the original project was transformed several times into this ugly beast...










Now the city council wants to recover the original building as it was in the 30's. Not finished yet, but it looks good already.


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## Even94 (Jun 19, 2014)

FokusBygget, Fredrikstad. Norway


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## Rago (Jun 19, 2007)

nice thread. very good examples


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## ThatOneGuy (Jan 13, 2012)

Marco Bruno said:


> Lisbon, capitolio theatre (1931).
> 
> 
> During decades the original project was transformed several times into this ugly beast...


Makes you wonder how many Early Modern beauties are hidden all around us under layers of careless renovations and filth


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

RegentHouse said:


> Asakusa Station, Tokyo Before: After: Late 1920s:


I'd never have guessed it was an old building, how does something as attractive as that gets turned into a carbuncle?


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## Marco Bruno (Aug 29, 2003)

ThatOneGuy said:


> Makes you wonder how many Early Modern beauties are hidden all around us under layers of careless renovations and filth


I see (using_ street view_) many examples in Bucharest. Unfortunately many people confuse "careless" with "ugly", and destroy those buildings. They can't see the hidden beauty and quality behind.


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## Marco Bruno (Aug 29, 2003)

A nice building hidden by decades of careless maintenance.


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## ThatOneGuy (Jan 13, 2012)

Many renovating architects like to preserve the old gritty patina of brick and stone ruins because taking it away would impact the character of the building. But this is the first time I've seen that done with a 1960s commieblock. Preserving the stained concrete shell while adding modern components. No repainting or anything


Before:









Now:









More photos:
http://www.designboom.com/architecture/o-office-youth-hotel-1-11-2015/


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## JMGA196 (Jan 1, 2013)

Looks trully beautiful :applause: :applause:


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## ThatOneGuy (Jan 13, 2012)

300 South Wacker Drive, Chicago
Before:








After:








That raised part on the Chicago map graphic is the location of the skyscraper.


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## Nodara95 (May 5, 2012)

Telavi,Georgia. Converting typical Soviet Commie block into nice apartament building.

*Before*



*After*


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## ST_dasa (Mar 31, 2010)

Here's one building from Split, Croatia, that will be finally restored to its former glory this very year :banana:

*Hrvatski dom (Croatian chamber building)* was one of the finest examples of lavishly decorated secession buildings in Dalmatia, if not whole Croatia. During the WWII, facade was stripped off by Italian fascists, as well as interior details and frescoes, leaving building plain and devastated for over half a century.

Current state:











1905.






































I really hope that I'll be able to post some pics of finished facade this time next year


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## ThatOneGuy (Jan 13, 2012)

Wroclaw:

Then









Now









Swidnica:
Then









Now


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## Marco Bruno (Aug 29, 2003)

I'm not sure if we can call the first one "restoration". Both are much better for sure, but the first one it's almost an entire new house, even if they had used the previous structure/walls. 

Anyway, I like the interventions. Keep them coming!


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## ThatOneGuy (Jan 13, 2012)

What it looks like is that they removed the illegal extensions, added an insulated facade, and replaced the windows. I know it looks so different though.


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## BenjaminEli (May 17, 2013)

ll


Lydon said:


> *Cape Town*
> 
> January 2010:
> 
> ...


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## BenjaminEli (May 17, 2013)

ll


Lydon said:


> This:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## ThatOneGuy (Jan 13, 2012)

TWA Headquarters, Kansas City, KS, USA (1956)
50s








Before








After


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## ThatOneGuy (Jan 13, 2012)

Corbin Building, NYC
Before:









After:


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## ThatOneGuy (Jan 13, 2012)

1960s building in Milan
Before:









After:


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## RegentHouse (Sep 2, 2012)

^^The roof looks better, but the sheet metal strewn all over the facade is horrendous.

Everything on this page except the TWA Headquarters and Corbin Building are renovations, not restorations.


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## Maksima (Apr 3, 2015)

Really like the Corbin Building. Kind of like the contrast between it and Fulton Center.


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## ThatOneGuy (Jan 13, 2012)

Corn Exchange Building, NYC
Before:
















After:


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## ThatOneGuy (Jan 13, 2012)

Metalexport Building, Warsaw, Poland
Before:

























After:

















The windows are the eyes of a building. If they are poorly designed, old or worn out, the building as a whole starts to fail.


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## Iluminat (Jan 16, 2008)

^^They changed the "copper" windows to boring modern ones. It's more of a "reconstruction" rather than "renovation" btw since they replaced most of the substance, only the concrete skeleton is original because the construction was protected:










it could be much worse of course but I don't consider it to be a good example even if it looks nice.


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## Simfan34 (Oct 9, 2009)

The old windows remind me of this fellow's glasses:










It looks better now.  Copper-coloured glass was very much an Eastern-bloc thing, actually...


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## ThatOneGuy (Jan 13, 2012)

More like a 1970s thing, there was tons of it in the west, too.


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## ThatOneGuy (Jan 13, 2012)

Tung Fat Building, Hong Kong




































They've turned something hideous into something beautiful by simply removing the clutter. The overall modernist form is the same, they've merely replastered the concrete and replaced the window frames in an almost Bauhaus style.


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## Tolbert (Jan 5, 2012)

Great, now do this with all the other buildings that look like this one before


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## EMArg (Aug 2, 2013)

The recent restoration of the *Embassy of France* (former Ortiz Basualdo Palace) in Buenos Aires:


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## EMArg (Aug 2, 2013)

^^


On video:


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## thatspecialtingle (Oct 14, 2015)

ThatOneGuy said:


> Tung Fat Building, Hong Kong
> 
> They've turned something hideous into something beautiful by simply removing the clutter. The overall modernist form is the same, they've merely replastered the concrete and replaced the window frames in an almost Bauhaus style.


Wow that is gorgeous. I'm imagining what the urban context would look like if that style was extrapolated to the rest of the buildings in HK - would look truly like something out of science fiction.


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