It is divided into two sections. One of these, the working area, is dominated by its single central desk, which is 12,5 metres long, without any divisions or boundaries. This desk is shared by graphic designers, architects, data visualisation experts, video artists and anyone who the team can share experiences and collaborate with. — domusweb.it

At one time, the dorm housed as many as 40 or 50 prisoners packed together like sardines, according to Caperton. The plan is to convert the space into two or three one-bedroom apartments, which is a considerably more comfortable arrangement than the last residents of the building had. Caperton says that in the 1980s and '90s Lorton Prison had a reputation for being dangerously overcrowded. — wamu.org

... they started opening up in abandoned (but interesting) buildings where nobody wanted to spend the money to restore them to their former glory. Some didn’t have a roof (and still don’t), while others had a big courtyard offering ample space for revelers. Set up a bar, get the toilets working, and you’re set. Eventually some expanded to take over several adjoining buildings. The first ones were a success, others followed, and now they’re a fixture on the nightlife circuit... — travel.usatoday.com

We're trying to raise money to buy back Nikola Tesla's old laboratory, known as the Wardenclyffe Tower, and eventually turn it into a museum. — indiegogo.com

When Mr. Archer, 62, finds something intriguing (and it’s usually a very large something), he often builds a new wing around it.

His house, which he bought 30 years ago for $135,000, was once a 3,000-square-foot, two-story box. Now it is somewhere between 11,000 and 13,000 square feet, with wings flying every which way, a pterodactyl of architectural detritus. — nytimes.com

Sydney spent three times its original $2 billion Games budget—its Olympics facilities still operate at a loss. Most of Athens’ stadia remain empty, some in graffiti-covered disrepair. — thedailybeast.com

Rotterdam's MVRDV has completed the transformation of a disused mustard laboratory in Dijon, France (previously on Bustler) into an innovative call center with an education center, incubator and social program. — bustler.net

This is an abandoned farm house that artist Heather Benning turned into a human-sized dollhouse (provided a human-sized dollhouse is just a regular house with no wall on one side). — geekologie.com

When architects and designers are called in to redesign a space that already exists for a specific reason and their goal is to reinvent that space for an entirely different use, professionals are faced with a duality of responsibility and potential. In order to respect what once was and bring truth and beauty to the space that is without time or purpose, the task at hand becomes visceral. Questions arise as to how we want people to feel in this space. — yatzer.com

During the age of foolishness, when congregations moved on, the last visitor to these sacred spaces was usually a wrecker’s ball. Now, it seems as though a spring of hope is upon us, as more and more churches become homes. — theglobeandmail.com

Without access to the grid, the Alonsos added photovoltaics and hydro power and worked to ensure the home wouldn't use much energy. The original position of the stable worked to their favor. The southern exposure allows for the sun to be the main source of heat during the winter.

The Alonsos also added large wooden shutters that slide closed like a second skin, covering the large windows at night to trap in most of the home's daily solar heat gain. — http://faircompanies.com

Designers in Buffalo have proposed stripping down a mall to its foundation and reinventing it as housing, while an aspiring architect in Detroit has proposed turning a mall’s parking lot there into a community farm. Columbus, Ohio, arguing that it was too expensive to maintain an empty mall on prime real estate, dismantled its City Center mall and replaced it with a park. — nytimes.com

Built from a decommissioned Boeing 747, the home features a floating roof made out of the plane's wings that results in a curvilinear home with large floor-to-ceiling windows to take in the sights of the Malibu mountains and Pacific Ocean below. — Inhabitat

This retired Soviet Iluyshin IL-14 plane has found new life as an incredible restaurant and bar in Zurich, Switzerland. The vintage plane and its hangar, located across from the Zurich International Airport, have been converted into a unique dining experience, called Runway 34. The aviation-themed restaurant offers visitors the opportunity to enjoy meals, stiff cocktails, cappuccino and cigars inside the renovated aircraft and its environs. — http://www.inhabitat.com