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When buildings age, they reveal what they’re made of. Layers peel back, materials shift and traces of history start to show. The ruin aesthetic takes this process as part of the design, working with what time has left instead of trying to erase it. Architects who adopt this approach use decay as a starting point, finding structure, texture and meaning in what remains.
These seven projects transform deterioration into design intent. Each one shows how restoration can be honest rather than idealized, preserving fragments of the past while creating space for the present. The result is architecture that feels grounded, layered and alive with memory.
Hacienda Wabi
By RA! Arquitectos, Tulum, Mexico
Popular Choice Winner, Multi-Unit Housing – Low Rise (1-4 Floors), 13th Architizer A+Awards
Hacienda Wabi rises quietly within the jungle, shaped by light, vegetation and the slow passage of time. Terraces and stairways unfold through layers of stone and chukum plaster, creating a structure that feels discovered rather than designed. Each surface absorbs the marks of its environment as plants take root and shadows shift across the walls. Courtyards and open corridors divide the plan into small, shaded spaces that connect the apartments with air and light. The architecture appears to grow from the earth while allowing nature to take it back. It is a calm composition of matter and decay, where age becomes a measure of beauty.
Golden Beach Hotel
By 314 architecture studio, Paros, Greece
Popular Choice Winner, Unbuilt Hospitality, 13th Architizer A+Awards
Paros Hotel draws from the eroded landscapes and ancient ruins of the Cyclades, translating their soft geometry into a contemporary resort. Its white curving walls rise like wind-sculpted dunes, forming a rhythm of light and shadow across the façade. Arched openings cut through the mass, framing views of sea and sky while revealing traces of the island’s vernacular past. The architecture feels shaped by time, as though carved by the same forces that defined the surrounding cliffs. Stone, wood and plaster form a restrained palette that allows the structure to age naturally within its setting.
Vistalcielo
By Veinte Diezz Arquitectos, Merida, Mexico
Popular Choice Winner, Architecture +Renovation, 13th Architizer A+Awards
Vistalcielo revives an abandoned house in Mérida’s historic center, turning decay into a framework for renewal. The design preserves the original layout of patios and passageways, creating a sequence of open and covered spaces where light and air move freely. Soft curves replace rigid walls, allowing the structure to feel shaped by its surroundings. Layers of grey cement, regional stone and striated concrete record the textures of time, while sky-blue window grilles recall the house’s past. Each module opens to a garden, pool or terrace, forming a continuous dialogue between interior and exterior. The result is an architecture that honors what was left behind while celebrating life’s quiet return to the ruins.
Porcelain Factory Plugin Revival
By People’s Architecture Office, Jingdezhen, China
People’s Architecture Office transforms a former porcelain factory using their Plugin Architecture approach, inserting modular structures into the existing fabric to extend its life and use. A glass pavilion with a tiled roof anchors the site, mirroring the geometry of traditional kilns while introducing new public functions. Around it, restored brick workshops are adapted with steel and glass elements that bring light and circulation into the historic framework. The project preserves the marks of time instead of erasing them, turning weathered walls and traces of production into active components of the design.
Los Pacheco
By Taller Ezequiel Aguilar Martínez, Puebla, Mexico
This project restores a 17th-century manor house in Puebla’s historic center, turning centuries of decay into a framework for new life. The intervention began by stripping away later additions, exposing the original bays, arches and courtyards. What remained guided the design of seven apartments organized through vertical movement, using double and triple-height spaces to draw light through thick stone walls. Skylights and voids create visual connections between levels while preserving the integrity of the historic shell. Layers of paint were removed to reveal the natural patina of time, allowing traces of wear to remain visible. Steel panels and patterned tiles introduce a contemporary counterpoint, grounding the renovation in both memory and use.
Can Santacilia
By OHLAB / oliver hernaiz architecture lab, Palma, Spain
Can Santacilia revives two interconnected buildings in Palma’s old town, tracing over eight centuries of architectural history. The project restores lost courtyards, arches and façades while preserving the marks of transformation left by successive eras. Instead of seeking an idealized past, the renovation values each layer of intervention, allowing time to remain visible in surfaces and structure. Local materials such as stone, bronze and linen define a quiet material palette that connects old and new. Patina, texture and proportion guide the atmosphere, where courtyards once again anchor the plan as social and spatial centers. The result is a living restoration that acknowledges history as something continuous rather than complete.
Casa Lohr
By Veinte Diezz Arquitectos, Mérida, Mexico
Jury Winner, Residential Renovations & Additions, 12th Architizer A+Awards
Popular Choice Winner, Residential Renovations & Additions, 12th Architizer A+Awards
Casa Lohr stands on the remains of a 19th-century colonial house, where restoration and decay exist side by side. The project preserves fragments of the original structure, using them as anchors for a new architectural rhythm. Walls in ruin define views toward the central patio and pool, turning the marks of erosion into focal points. Materials such as stone from the site, burnished white cement and exposed joists reveal the building’s layered construction. Light filters through arches and voids, tracing the passage of time across surfaces. Rather than hiding deterioration, the house builds upon it, allowing history to guide the design and shape a renewed sense of permanence.
Architects: Want to have your project featured? Showcase your work by uploading projects to Architizer and sign up for our inspirational newsletters.