Interesting thread. In Vienna this past August I checked out the Gasometer project, a combination housing/retail/entertainment complex built into (or next to) the brick shells of early 20th century gas compression towers.

In case you want to look at these for yourselves, there is a website (just type in gasometer on Google) and in Vienna there is a Gasometer u-bahn stop.

Julie in Seattle

(where we have a Frank Gehry music museum/performance venue, and a new, almost complete, library by Rem Koolhaus.)