Open for conversion

Conversion is a long-established construction task. But when you convert a building, you don’t just change the physical structure. Conversion also has a social dimension and raises questions about the reasoning, and who the winners and losers of the transformation are. ARCH+ has dedicated a double issue to the subject of conversion. Stan Hema developed the editorial design and visually integrated the guiding principle.

ARCH+ is the leading discursive magazine for architecture and urban development. The quarterly editions provide detailed insight into a specific topic and touch on current discussions from other disciplines and their relation to architectural and urban discourse. Founded in 1967 in the spirit of emancipatory self-enlightenment, ARCH+ focuses on critical reflection of the societal demands of the built environment.

The Conversion special edition, ARCH+ no. 256, presented projects from six architecture firms in six European countries. The practical perspectives were supplemented by essays and interviews with political figures. We integrated the theme of conversion into the editorial design through alternating fonts within the headlines. To provide structure to the different sections of content, we allocated colours to the six architectural projects. They showcase the introductory statements, project overviews and the individual image pages, and highlight their connection.

Our editorial design supports the thesis of the magazine, that the future of design does not depend on developments yet to be invented and ‘for which we will one day have to discard our current habits. Change is in the building stock; it can already be implemented in the here and now with contemporary materials.’ It is that ambiguity that makes conversion a feasible path for transformation beyond the formal rhetoric of patina.