Lindsey Scannapieco is obsessed with unearthing the “dirty workspaces” hidden within Philly’s historical architecture.

Her requirements: Good bones for artists and makers to grow while making a few messes, and built-in meaning. Bonus points if it just so happens to be a school.

“I’m really interested in how you respect history without being bound by it,” Scannapieco told the Inquirer. “You can’t allow these places to be museums. They were living, breathing buildings.”

Scannapieco and her design firm, Scout, are best known for transforming South Philly’s Edward W. Bok Technical High School at 9th and Mifflin St, shuttered and sold off by the school district in 2015, into the Bok Building, a thriving makerspace with over 220 tenants and a rooftop bar that’s become a Philly destination.

The redevelopment was initially controversial. But more than a decade later, Bok has become something of a model for breathing new life into the city’s old buildings, with occupants ranging from artists and designers to a James Beard Award-nominated bakery, a ballet studio, and a health clinic.

Now, Scannapieco is bringing a similar vision to South Broad Street.

Earlier this year, Scout opened the Village of Industry and Arts (VIA) inside Hamilton Hall, the former home of the University of the Arts. Scout acquired the building and the adjoining Furness Hall in a dramatic bankruptcy auction, beating out a New York-based real estate firm. Furness Hall, once a UArts dormitory, is currently being transformed into 45 units of affordable housing for local artists. Set to be complete next summer, Scannapieco called it the “largest affordable housing [development] for artists ever done” in Philly.

“It’s not a copy-and-paste of Bok,” Scannapieco said. “The buildings are different. The location is different. The tenants will be a bit different ... I feel very indebted to the history and legacy of the artists who came through this space before us.”

In an ideal world, Scannapieco’s next project would be revitalizing the abandoned bathhouses in the southeast corner of FDR Park, where Scannapieco — who grew up in New Hope — said her grandparents went swimming as teens.

Admittedly, Scannapieco wasn’t always sold on building a life in Philly. After attending college at the University of Southern California, Scannapieco moved to London, where she worked on the Summer 2012 Olympics and fashioned an outdoor movie theater from a pile of discarded fridges.

It took years of convincing from Scannapieco’s father, also a real estate developer, to see Philly in a new light. On trips home, he’d show Scannapieco places like Global Dye Works as proof that Philly has its own brand of cool.

Now 40, Scannapieco can’t imagine having settled anywhere else.

“You can take a risk here,” she said. “And everyone participates. There’s a lot of passion for shaping our future here.”

Here’s how Scannapieco gets the most out of a perfect Saturday off in Philly — which, naturally, involves a Bok Bar sunset.

I wake up early to get in some snuggles with my 11-month-old, baby George. One of my favorite parts of the morning is just hanging out in bed with him. He’s always so smiley and happy.

Then, I try to get in at least 15 minutes of movement and 15 minutes of reading before the day really starts. Right now, I’m making my way through Don’t Build, Rebuild by Aaron Betsky — an adaptive reuse expert who just so happens to live in Philly — and The Twilight of Bohemia, about an affordable housing project for artists in NYC.

When it comes to movement, I’m lucky to get through a YouTube workout during the week, so I like to indulge on the weekend with a cardio box class at Together Athletics with [owner] Kate Connelly or a pilates private at The Balance Room in Queen Village. Both places are just bundles of wonderful energy.

I love an aimless wander, so my dream weekend involves traipsing around Queen Village without a destination.

First, I pop into Ace Outpost for an oat milk cappuccino. I am “hot drinks, always” person, regardless of the weather, which I’ve been told is a little crazy. Then, I’ll probably head over to this children’s boutique called Nesting House to shop for George. Right now, I’m on the hunt for rompers and overalls.

After, it’s time to shop for myself. I love to peruse the selection at Brickbat Books, but that’s really the warm-up for the main event: Second Street Thrift.

I love the search, so I prefer to thrift at places that require you to really dig for gems. I actually picked up the find of my life at Second Street: A pair black Christian Louboutin leather ballet flats. They had never been worn before, too. When I saw them, I gasped.

My husband, Sandy, and I are going to go on a bike ride with baby George to the Southeast Asian Market at FDR Park. Biking around Philly is probably my favorite thing in the world — you’re kind of just breezing through the city. It’s freeing.

The Southeast Asian Market is one of those places where you have to go with a whole group to divide and conquer. There’s just too many things to try, but our non-negotiables are the beef skewers, the salted lemonade, and the [khao lam], or sticky rice in bamboo that you crack open.

Afterward, we’ll probably meander around the park. It’s such a special place for me. Sandy and I got married there. It was during COVID, so we had a picnic in the meadows. It was lovely.

On the way home from the park, we stop at Sao, which I think is the best restaurant in Philadelphia. I wish I could just go there casually because it takes quite a bit of hustle to get a reservation. I could eat the oysters with the fish sauce mignonette endlessly. Same with the chirashi bowls.

I know it’s corny, but I would go to Bok Bar to see the sunset. It still brings me so much joy. I love the feeling I get when I’m in the elevator and I overhear people say, ‘Did you know this used to be a school?’, or “Wow,” when they see the view for the first time. There’s just a magic in the air.

The best Bok Bar sunsets are always the day after it rains. I used to say that Bok Bar was like a kid for me because I’d just flip through my camera roll like a proud mom, pointing at indistinguishable sunset photos and saying each was more amazing than the next.

Bok is just this space where you see people from all over. Old people. Young people. People from South Jersey. I really want to see more places like that.

We end the night with ice cream at Milk Jawn on Passyunk Avenue. I love the fact that their vegan ice cream is just as good as their regular ice cream, if not better.

Not that I’m a vegan though — I just like knowing I have the option. I tend to go for the Earl Grey ice cream with honeycomb, and my husband gets the Tahini Fudge Swirl flavor.

We are cup people. I want to be cone person so bad, but I like to spend time with my ice cream. You can’t rush ice cream.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.