Sometimes the greenest way to build is to preserve and repair what we already have, and often, that will mean adapting an older building to serve a different purpose than it was originally intended for. This can actually be a quirky advantage of sorts, as we end up with former Walmarts turned into libraries, or gas stations readapted as intergenerational cultural centres.
In Brno, Czech design firm KOGAA Studio converted a four-storey building into a multipurpose complex that houses offices, co-working spaces, dining, and spaces for events. This building was the last one standing out of seven that were once part of a distillery founded by a local family more than two centuries ago, and every space in this new Social Reactor has been reconsidered for a new use: there's even a pop-up bar installed in a historic old elevator that opens out onto the main outdoor gathering space.
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