A shortlist of 15 exciting and creative projects that give buildings a new lease of life across the world have been selected by our judging panel
We are delighted to reveal the 15 projects shortlisted for the AR New into Old awards. The shortlist was selected by our panel of judges, which includes Eva Prats, co-founder of Flores & Prats, John Lin, director of Rural Urban Framework, and Gert Wingårdh, founder of Wingårdhs.
Flores & Prats’ Sala Beckett theatre in Barcelona was celebrated as the winner of the 2019 AR New into Old awards, while Rural Urban Framework and the University of Hong Kong were highly commended the same year for their Tulou tower and plug-in in Lantian Village, China. Wingårdhs’ conversion and extension of a train depot in Malmö, Sweden was highly commended in the awards’ previous iteration, back in 2017.
As the need for sustainable alternatives to building anew becomes increasingly urgent, the AR New into Old awards celebrate the creative ways buildings are adapted and remodelled to welcome new contemporary uses. Launched in 2017, the awards recognise the imaginative appropriation of existing structures, from innovative insertions to ambitious adaptations, that offer buildings a new lease of life.
This year’s shortlist includes projects all around the world, from Thailand to Ireland, to France and China. Projects vary in scale, from cultural institutions in Belgium, Iran and the United States, to single residences, while the buildings’ former lives vary from the industrial to the infrastructural to the vernacular to the banal.
The winning building along with highly commended and commended projects will be announced online towards the end of June and published in the AR July/August issue.
AR New into Old awards shortlist

Silo Erlenmatt in Basel, Switzerland, by Harry Gugger Studio
Credit:Lukas Schwabenbauer

Samsen Street Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, by CHAT Architects
Credit:W Workspace

The party and public service center of Yuanheguan Village in Hubei Province, China, by LUO Studio
Credit:Jin Weiqi

Baltrasna House in Dublin, Ireland by Ryan W Kennihan Architects
Credit:Aisling McCoy

House in Nara City, Japan, by Tadashi Yoshimura Architects
Credit:Yohei Sasakura

Water Tower in Castle Acre, UK by Tonkin Liu
Credit:Dennis Pederson

Dexamenes in Kourouta, Peloponnese, Greece by K-Studio
Credit:Reiner Baumann

Museum of Modern Art renovation and expansion in New York City, USA by Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with Gensler
Credit:Brett Beyer

Makers Square at Fort Worden in Port Townsend, USA by Signal Architecture + Research
Credit:Arthur Ross

University of Law-Paris I, modernisation of the Lourcine Barracks in Paris, France by ChartierDalix
Credit:Camille Gharbi

Farsh Film Studio in Tehran, Iran by ZAV Architects
Credit:Behnam Sedighi

BAAN 38 in Bangkok, Thailand by Junsekino Architect and Design
Credit:Spaceshift Studio

Together Apart in Buffalo, USA by Davidson Rafailidis
Credit:Florian Holzherr

Concert Hall, Muziekcentrum de Bijloke in Ghent, Belgium by DRDH Architects
Credit:Karin Borghouts

Bath School of Art and Design in Bath, UK, by Grimshaw
Credit:Paul Raftery