Gary Johnson

Lyricist Peter Allen coined the phrase “everything old is new again” for the 1979 movie “All That Jazz.” In today’s real estate environment this phrase has new meaning, especially here in Boston and beyond, as new trends in the re-purposing of older buildings emerge.

Historic restoration, adaptation or repositioning of older or abandoned buildings is not new. The preservation of our physical and cultural history through buildings is the very DNA of New England. It is why our cities and towns have such appeal. They are rooted in the rich tradition of an earlier time, where buildings are a touchpoint to the past. Think of the Old North Church, the Old State House or the many beautiful historic homes throughout the region.

Historic preservation is alive and well, but we are now seeing new trends for the repurposing of existing structures whether they are historic or not. Perhaps this is due to excessive land and construction costs, or the speed at which a reused building can be delivered to the market. There are environmental factors too: new buildings often require demolition of older ones, creating both a waste disposal problem as well as excessive energy necessary to rebuild. Regardless, using older buildings in new ways is both exciting and relevant.

Examples from my firm, CambridgeSeven, include the design and transformation of Boston’s Charles Street Jail into the Liberty Hotel, the conversion of the Ames Building, Boston’s oldest high-rise office building into the Ames Hotel and the reuse of the MBTA’s Conductor Building in Harvard Square into a new restaurant venue.

While not located in New England, an exciting project for us is the remaking of the World Trade Center in New Orleans. Here an abandoned 1963 office tower, directly adjacent to the Mississippi River, is being reborn as a new Four Seasons Hotel and Residences. This mid-century office tower is being preserved with historical accuracy but with a completely new purpose, one which will greatly contribute to the city’s economic and social vitality.

An Inviting Welcome Center at Harvard

There are numerous similar examples underway in Greater Boston; for instance, Harvard University recently completed renovations of the Richard A. & Susan F. Smith Campus Center in Harvard Square. This renovation altered the previous ground floor uses into a series of open, airy, multi-level student visitor galleries, study spaces and food venues.

While the repositioning aspect of this project was limited to the lower two floors, the outcome was tremendous with a vibrant welcome center for students, visitors and public alike. This project transformed how the building is used, perceived and experienced from street level and is now exciting and inviting.

A more radical example is The Lucas, a new condominium building on Shawmut Avenue in South Boston, previously a Catholic church, reimagined into a 5-story residential building. New steel and glass construction were married with the original Gothic stone architecture resulting in both a radical and dramatic adaptation.

In East Boston, a condemned waterfront industrial building located in the Boston Shipyard and Marina was reopened as the Institute of Contemporary Art “Watershed” gallery. The warehouse’s industrial heritage was paired with contemporary design to create a unique way to display and experience modern art in Boston.

Similarly, CambridgeSeven is designing a multi-use center for arts and culture for the city of Cambridge by reusing the former Foundry Building in East Cambridge. This building has twice before been repurposed, first from a foundry to an automobile facility, then into an office building with the insertion of new floors in the 1980s. Today’s vision will restore the building back to its original form, removing floors and exposing the lofted structure as it had once been.

Developers and owners are finding a host of new ways to repurpose and creatively use older buildings in new and interesting ways, with unique uses and exciting design – or as the song says, “everything old is new again.”

 Gary Johnson is president of CambridgeSeven architects.