6 Projects That Made the Netherlands a World Capital of Adaptive Reuse
A recent wave of large-scale projects is transforming five Dutch cities and encouraging creative reuse of derelict industrial sites around the world.
Six recent and ongoing adaptive reuse projects in the Netherlands. Clockwise from top left: Ru Paré, Amsterdam; Blue City, Rotterdam; LocHal Tilburg; De Ceuvel, Amsterdam; Werkspoorfabriek, Utrecht; KB Building, Arnhem
Transforming existing buildings for different purposes than their original intentions is as old as architecture itself. But recently it seems a new breeze is blowing into this ancient topic, and much of it is coming from the Netherlands, where there has been a wave of affectionate and generous reuse projects, breathing new life into formerly industrial areas all over the country. Some of these interventions are so sensitive and surgical that they might be seen as prototypes for similar spaces all over the world, making a case for reusing structures