Past and Future

Five time-honored spaces demonstrate that conversion is, indeed, a religious experience

Mark McMenamin -- Interior Design, 11/1/2007 12:00:00 AM

1881

Centro de Exposiciones Arte Canal, Madrid

DESIGN Carlos Ferrater Partnership.

STANDOUT Brick arches were temporarily trumped by high-contrast tableaux during "M.C. Escher: El Arte de lo Imposible," a five-month retrospective celebrating the Dutch graphic artist.

PHOTOGRAPHY Roland Halbe.

1920

BBH, Singapore

DESIGN Ministry of Design.

STANDOUT Original warehouse brick, timber, and steel remain at this ad agency, but mercantile notions fade with the flourishes of red throughout and the supersize logo letters in reception.

PHOTOGRAPHY Colin Seah/Ministry of Design.

1800

J.M. Weston, Paris

DESIGN François Céria Architecte.

STANDOUT Serge Mouille's chandelier descends through all three levels of a neo–Louis XIII mansion turned office, passing an original wrought-iron railing to terminate in a grand entry hall.

PHOTOGRAPHY Jean-François Jaussaud/Luxproductions.

1910

Blatz Condominiums, Milwaukee

DESIGN Johnsen Schmaling Architects.

STANDOUT What becomes a bygone brewery most? Not 99 bottles of beer on the wall but 6,369 empties, secured by neoprene rings in aluminum frames to form luminous pivoting partitions in the lower-level lounge.

PHOTOGRAPHY Kevin J. Miyazaki.

1890

New York University Department of Philosophy

DESIGN Steven Holl Architects.

STANDOUT The heart of this typical commercial building is now a six-story staircase wrapped with painted, laser-cut steel panels—and enlivened by daylight interacting with prismatic film strips.

PHOTOGRAPHY Andy Ryan.