The Architect Giving Industrial Buildings A Second Life

For Perth architect Mara Ellison, an old industrial building is never an empty shell waiting for a fashionable fit-out. It is a record of labour, production, movement and local material culture. Her practice works with warehouses, workshops, depots and former manufacturing spaces, retaining their character while adapting them for contemporary homes, studios, hospitality venues and workplaces.

This approach places adaptive reuse at the centre of a broader architectural conversation about embodied carbon, heritage and the changing Australian city. Rather than demolishing and rebuilding, Ellison looks for ways to extend the life of existing structures, often revealing qualities that were obscured by decades of alterations. Her work is especially relevant in Perth, where former industrial areas are being absorbed into a fast-growing urban fabric.

Reading The Existing Building

Ellison begins with a forensic survey rather than a moodboard. She studies the structure, traces old services, records changes in floor levels and looks for evidence of how the building once operated. A loading door might explain the most practical location for a new kitchen, while a row of high windows could determine the arrangement of desks or living spaces.

This process also requires an acceptance that not every surface needs to be perfected. Cracked concrete, patched brickwork and weathered steel can carry more meaning than newly applied finishes. The architect’s role is to distinguish between patina that should be preserved and deterioration that threatens the building’s performance.

In Perth’s former industrial precincts, this can mean working with buildings constructed for very different environmental conditions. Deep verandahs, operable windows and high ceilings may offer useful passive strategies, but they need to be assessed alongside current standards for insulation, ventilation, fire safety and accessibility.

From Factory Floor To Civic Asset

The most successful conversions do more than produce attractive interiors. They reconnect a building with its neighbourhood. A former workshop can become a place for local makers, a warehouse can support small businesses, and an obsolete commercial property can provide cultural or community space without erasing its history.

Ellison is particularly interested in the relationship between public and private use. A project might retain a generous forecourt for markets or events, while placing quieter rooms behind the original industrial envelope. This layered approach suits the social life of Australian cities, where hospitality, design studios and community activity often share relatively modest sites.

In Fremantle, where maritime and manufacturing histories remain visible in the urban fabric, adaptive reuse is closely tied to questions of identity. In Perth’s inner north and eastern suburbs, the challenge is often different: how to preserve useful traces of industry while accommodating apartments, creative workspaces and new transport connections.

Designing With Constraints

Old buildings rarely offer a clean brief. Existing columns interrupt ideal layouts, floor slabs may not meet contemporary tolerances, and heritage requirements can limit changes to façades or significant interiors. Ellison treats these constraints as a form of design intelligence rather than an obstacle to be hidden.

Her projects often use new insertions to clarify the difference between old and new. A finely detailed timber stair might sit against a rough masonry wall; a lightweight mezzanine can float within a tall shed; and a compact service core can gather bathrooms, kitchens and plant into one carefully resolved volume.

This strategy can also control costs. Reusing a sound structure avoids the financial and environmental burden of demolition, although the savings are never automatic. Remediation, structural strengthening, acoustic upgrades and new services can be substantial, particularly in buildings that have experienced decades of industrial use.

Material Memory And New Craft

Material selection is central to Ellison’s work because reclaimed and existing materials are treated as part of the building’s narrative. Bricks may be cleaned and reused, timber from removed partitions can become joinery, and salvaged steel may be incorporated into balustrades or furniture. The aim is not to create a nostalgic replica of the past, but to let material memory remain legible.

She also works closely with Australian craftspeople and manufacturers when a project needs new elements. Handmade tiles, locally fabricated lighting and custom metalwork can give a converted building a sense of specificity that catalogue products often fail to provide. This is where the boundary between architecture and interior design becomes deliberately porous.

The research behind these details extends beyond the building site. A recent Contemporary feature on vintage lighting sources demonstrates how older objects can be assessed for provenance, condition, rewiring and compatibility with a modern interior. That same care informs Ellison’s approach to reused architectural components.

Climate, Comfort And Performance

Adaptive reuse has a strong environmental argument, but an existing building is not automatically sustainable. Industrial structures can be thermally inefficient, with large unshaded windows, uninsulated roofs and hard surfaces that store heat. In Perth’s hot summers, comfort depends on more than preserving a beautiful shell.

Ellison’s upgrades may include external shading, ceiling insulation, improved glazing, cross-ventilation and carefully positioned planting. She favours systems that are easy to understand and maintain, especially for small businesses and homeowners who cannot support complex building management technology.

Water is another local consideration. Rainwater collection, drought-tolerant planting and reduced hardstand can make a meaningful difference, particularly in Western Australia’s drying climate. Projects in regional areas must also respond to their own conditions, from bushfire exposure in parts of the south-west to salt-laden air near the coast.

The broader material conversation is equally important. A Contemporary exploration of rammed-earth winery design shows how regional architecture can connect construction, climate and local character. For Ellison, such examples reinforce the value of materials that age visibly and belong to their setting.

Negotiating Heritage And The Market

Adaptive reuse sits within a complicated approval environment. A project may involve local heritage controls, planning overlays, building surveyors, fire engineers, access consultants and neighbours with legitimate concerns about noise, traffic or privacy. The architect must translate an ambitious design into a proposal that can survive this network of requirements.

Australia’s construction market adds pressure. Skilled labour, materials and finance remain costly, while clients are increasingly alert to carbon reporting and long-term operating expenses. Reuse can offer a compelling alternative to a new build, but its uncertainty needs to be explained early. Investigations undertaken before design work begins can prevent expensive surprises later.

Ellison’s practice therefore places value on staged decision-making. Early feasibility studies test structure, planning, services and budget before the client commits to a complete scheme. This is particularly useful for smaller Perth businesses and owner-occupiers who may have a strong emotional response to an industrial building but limited experience with complex renovations.

A Practice Built On Patience

The architect’s most distinctive quality may be patience. Industrial buildings are often altered incrementally, and their best future may only become apparent after careful observation. Ellison allows the design to emerge through conversations with owners, builders, consultants, neighbours and sometimes former users of the site.

This collaborative model is practical as well as philosophical. Builders can identify which existing elements are genuinely robust, while specialist trades can propose economical ways to repair rather than replace. The result is a project shaped by knowledge gathered on site, rather than imposed from a distance.

Her work suggests that adaptive reuse is not a style. It can be spare or richly layered, residential or commercial, highly polished or deliberately rough. What connects the projects is a willingness to work with what already exists and to make new interventions precise enough to support the building’s next chapter.

What To Look For In Industrial Reuse

The strongest projects tend to share a clear set of priorities:

For clients assessing a former warehouse, workshop or depot, early investigations are equally important:

Existing condition Design opportunity Typical consideration
High ceilings and exposed structure Mezzanine, gallery or studio space Fire separation, access and acoustic control
Large loading openings Flexible entry, shopfront or indoor-outdoor connection Weather protection, security and thermal performance
Weathered masonry Retained interior character Structural stability, salt damage and cleaning method
Concrete floor slab Durable public or workplace surface Level changes, moisture and underfloor services
Former service yard Courtyard, landscape or community use Stormwater, shade, planting and privacy

For Contemporary’s audience of designers, students and design-minded clients, Ellison’s work offers a useful reminder that architectural value is often hidden in plain sight. A building does not need to be pristine to be significant, and a new use does not require a complete erasure of the old one.

Her projects also point to a distinctly Australian opportunity. As Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne and regional centres continue to change, the next generation of architecture will be shaped partly by what can be retained. Industrial buildings provide generous volumes, robust materials and visible connections to local economies, but they require careful interpretation rather than superficial preservation.

The architect’s contribution is to make that interpretation precise. By combining measured conservation with climate-responsive upgrades, practical planning and a strong sense of material character, Mara Ellison turns obsolete infrastructure into places with renewed public and commercial value. Explore the industrial buildings around your city, support thoughtful reuse, and follow the practitioners showing how existing architecture can serve a more resilient future.