Architecture firm Arcgency has turned an industrial coal crane in a Copenhagen harbour into a luxury two-person retreat. More about Arcgency transforms former Copenhagen coal crane into private retreat
American firm Un.Box Studio has transformed historic structures in Austin into a high-design hostel that is meant to serve as an alternative to pricey boutique hotels. More about Un.Box Studio converts neglected stone building into progressive Austin hostel
A single-room hotel, a public greenhouse and a set of polling booths are just some of the unusual functions assigned to a set of train carriages designed by Danish studio AART for an old industrial area of Aarhus. More about AART designs pop-up train carriages to rejuvenate an old railway in Aarhus
Mexican architects Estudio Atemporal has paired concrete columns and cinder-block walls with black metal and glass partitions when transforming a former industrial factory in Mexico City into a co-working space. More about Estudio Atemporal converts old factory in Mexico City into co-working offices
A former sailor's lodge was overhauled to create this boutique hotel in downtown Portland, Oregon, which includes hostel-style bunkbeds and compact rooms, aimed at design-conscious travellers on a budget. More about The Society Hotel offers affordable boutique accommodation in downtown Portland
Persimmon Hills Architects has transformed an illegal sex shop into a dramatic wedge-shaped micro-studio and gallery space in Japan's Kanagawa Prefecture. More about Sex shop converted into tiny Japanese art gallery by Persimmon Hills Architects
The creators of New York's High Line have launched a platform to advise similar infrastructure reuse projects in the USA. We've rounded up the 18 other schemes in the works, including an OMA-designed bridge with ramps and waterfalls, and an underground park. More about 18 "rail-to-trail" projects following in the High Line's footsteps
American architect Brett Farrow has used cedar, steel and large expanses of glass to transform a shabby car repair facility into a lively venue for working, dining and sipping cocktails. More about Brett Farrow converts auto body shop into restaurant complex in Southern California
Swiss architect Max Dudler used a simple palette of cherry wood, stone and terrazzo when converting this former saddle room into a restaurant at Germany's Heidelberg Castle. More about Max Dudler creates restaurant inside Heidelberg Castle's sandstone-walled saddle room
A display system made of stacked and suspended wooden boxes forms a signature feature in this new Blue Bottle Coffee cafe, which occupies part of a 1920s brick building in downtown San Francisco. More about Bohlin Cywinski Jackson creates Blue Bottle Coffee cafe within historic San Francisco building
Snøhetta has unveiled its plans to transform an abandoned paper mill blocking a view of Oregon City's Willamette Falls and waterfront into a cultural complex looped by an elevated pathway. More about Snøhetta set to overhaul former paper mill to offer views of Oregon waterfall
Southwark Town Hall in south London has been renovated and repurposed to accommodate student housing and a mixed-use arts hub, including a theatre contained in a folded tile-clad extension. More about Jestico + Whiles converts town hall into student halls with iridescent tile-covered theatre
Dutch studio MVRDV has converted a former overpass into a plant-covered walkway in Seoul, which follows a kilometre-long route above the traffic. More about MVRDV transforms 1970s highway into "plant village" in Seoul
The curving corrugated-metal exterior of this house in Melbourne by local studio Tandem forms a continuous surface that encloses small pocket gardens. More about Tandem's Melbourne house features folded cladding interrupted by rusty steel window frames
The first part of Heatherwick Studio's renovation of a former grain silo building in Cape Town's harbour has been completed, with the opening of a hotel featuring bulging windows. More about Luxury hotel opens inside Heatherwick's converted grain silo in Cape Town
Brightly coloured niches define living spaces inside these three compact studio apartments, which Portuguese practice Waataa has created inside a former office building in Lisbon. More about Waataa transforms Lisbon offices into compact studio apartments with fold-out furniture
A skinny townhouse in the Taiwanese port city of Kaohsiung has been transformed into a brightly lit cafe and furniture store by local studio HAO Design. More about HAO Design converts 1980s townhouse into furniture shop and cafe in Taiwan
Australian architecture studio Carr has transformed an old cottage on the Mornington Peninsula into a hotel, featuring a charred wood exterior and dark interiors intended to recreate the atmosphere of an alchemist's workshop. More about Carr creates dark and moody interiors for art-filled hotel in Australia's wine region
UK architect Simon Astridge has used shipping containers, exposed plasterwork and clay lighting to create the offices and showroom for a London tile manufacturer. More about Simon Astridge stacks shipping containers to create backyard London office
Hundreds of used black plastic chairs cover the facade of this furniture shop, which architecture studio Chybik + Kristof has created inside a former car showroom in the Czech city of Brno. More about Chybik + Kristof uses 900 plastic chairs to clad Czech furniture showroom