From former waters towers to refitted gas stations, we look at a dozen structures that got a new lease on life.
A clock tower.
A holdover from our roundup of amazing lofts homes, this three-story Brooklyn penthouse was built in a 99-year-old cardboard box factory and clock tower. It can be yours for just $18 million.
A water tower.
In 2008, Leigh Osbourne and Graham Voce bought a 99-foot tall water tower in London for $674,035, and then spent a lot more money converting it into the nine-story luxury home you see above.
Another water tower.
Located in the Netherlands, this water tower-to-residential conversion also has nine levels — as well as massive windows and a rooftop terrace. It was designed by Dutch firm Zecc Architecten.
A cement factory.
Ricardo Bofill’s The Factory serves as his home and the head office of his design firm Taller de Arquitectura. We previously featured the space’s library in our photos series of the best in-home book depositories.
A gas station.
This former gas station in New Orleans was available for rent through Airbnb for about $440 a night. Unfortunately, the listing seems to have disappeared.
A Nazi bunker.
This Berlin penthouse belongs to Christian Boros, the art collector whose private collection is stored and exhibited in the depths of the concrete building which was built in 1942 as a Nazi air raid shelter.
A garage.
Known as the Passage Buhan, this 441-square-foot loft in Volgograd, Russia used to be a single-car garage.
A water treatment plant.
Of course a home converted from an abandoned water treatment plant would look vaguely like a toilet. The six-bedroom residence is located on an eight-acre property in Kent, England and boasts two rooftop terraces, a heated pool, gym, sauna and cinema room. It can be yours for $3.4 million.
A grist mill.
The mill, which originally had a four-story waterwheel, is now a refurbished four-bedroom getaway on Timmerman Creek in upstate New York. Much of the original equipment is used as decoration throughout the home.
A work truck.
On his website, the owner and designer of this mobile home explains why he decided to live in a solar-powered truck: “Yes, I gave up a lot of stuff… But gained freedom. Real freedom. Freedom of movement that allows me to live near the beach, in the beautiful wooded area, or even in the city. Freedom from taxes, electricity, cable companies and corporations.”
A warehouse.
This London flat rents for about $740 per week, according to former tenant and Reddit user meeb.
The wing of a 747.
The aptly titled 747 Wing House is located in a remote section of the Malibu hills overlooking a nearby mountain range and the Pacific Ocean. The project was commissioned by a client who requested “curvy and feminine shapes,” according to architect David Hertz: ” It soon became apparent, that in fact, an airplane wing itself could work. In researching airplane wings and superimposing different airplane wing types on the site to scale, the wing of a 747, at over 2,500 square feet, became an ideal configuration to maximize the views and provide a self supporting roof with minimal additional structural support needed.”
Want more residential conversion projects? Take a look at our past collection of churches, barns and shipping containers that have been brilliantly transformed into comfortable homes.
