Reading a conversion
How to guess a building’s earlier use from its facade.
A casino rarely builds a new front. It moves into a house that already has one, and the house keeps its clues. Six clues cover most cases. The drawings are generic; they do not copy any real building.
Schematic, not to scale
Hotel
Rows of identical window axes and balconies, a central portal, often a mirrored wing on each side.
No hotel conversion in this selection.
Schematic, not to scale
Bank
Heavy rusticated walls, small deep-set windows on the ground floor, a strong arched portal.
No bank conversion in this selection.
Schematic, not to scale
Palace
A pediment, columns or pilasters and a ceremonial front court between wings.
Seen in the palaces of this selection, for example the Baroque front of the Kurhaus at Bad Ems and the castle at Nennig.
Schematic, not to scale
Theatre
A foyer with tall doors, niches for posters and a canopy or marquee over the entrance.
Seen at the spa theatre of Bad Ems (Römerstraße 8), part of the casino building.
Schematic, not to scale
Factory
Plain brick courses, repeated large windows and a tall chimney.
No factory conversion in this selection.
Schematic, not to scale
Lichthof
A courtyard enclosed by wings, often with a glass roof, that brings daylight into inner rooms. It gives this site its name.
Related: the Luitpoldbad at Bad Kissingen has an inner courtyard where the old pool was; it is open to the sky.