Adaptive Reuse of Historical

Buildings

A report by Marc Edgar F. Padilla

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 Hello! I’m...
Marc Edgar F. Padilla
a BS Archi student From 4A
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 Benefits of Adaptive Reuse
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 Adaptive Reuse
Adaptive reuse is a form of development that gives new life and purpose to old
buildings. Many cities have embraced the concept to turn around areas that once
suffered from abandonment and general decline. If a city is truly interested in
urban revitalization, adaptive reuse is a very important part of achieving that goal.
Here are 10 benefits of adaptive reuse that every municipality should consider.
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 1. Adaptive Reuse Is Sustainable
They say the greenest building is one that already exists. Adaptive reuse is itself
considered sustainable because of the reduction in building materials needed to transform
a space.

2. Environmental Sustainability
Finding new uses for old buildings significantly reduces the energy consumption
associated with demolishing a structure and building a new one to replace it. Mass
investment in adaptive reuse introduces the ability for a community to meet the needs of a
growing population while conserving land and reducing the expansion of unsustainable
urban sprawl and extensive daily commuting patterns.
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 3. Economic Sustainability

Potential cost benefits from adaptive reuse include the reduction of the hurdles generally
associated with greenfield sites, like legal issues, pressure from anti-development factions,
zoning problems, finance, design and construction costs and environmental impacts. These
savings can be the difference between an urban project having the feasibility to move
forward and a downtown site becoming a surface parking lot for the foreseeable future.

4. The Spaces Can Be Useful for Fledgling Businesses

The adaptive reuse of existing buildings in general can be 16 percent less costly than other
forms of construction. Many of these spaces also become ideal settings for start-up
businesses because cost efficient shell space can be made available at a lower leasing rate
than the market for new construction.
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 5. Hidden Density Areas largely developed
before 1950 tend to feature building stock that is designed to be smaller, denser, and
mixed-use around narrow streets that accommodate pedestrians over automobiles. This
clustering of complementing uses within a compact setting is a key ingredient of vibrancy
in cities of all sizes. When razed and replaced with structures designed to accommodate
today’s autocentric land use and zoning policies, urban density is typically reduced.

6. Saves time; faster than brand new construction There

is an old adage that says time is money. A huge economic advantage for private developers
and cities attempting to revitalize their aging urban cores is that a renovated existing
building becomes suitable for occupancy sooner rather than later. This allows developers
to have cash inflow and for cities to turn around desolate areas in a much shorter time
frame.
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 7. Cost Savings on Demolition

Typically, an overlooked expense, demolition costs can run as high as five to ten percent of
the total cost of new construction.

8. Preservation of Local Identity and Sense of Place

Older buildings not only add and establish the character and scale of our local built
environments, they also are a direct physical link to our past, cultural heritage and
identity. Cities across the country tend to embrace the concept of adaptive reuse because
no matter how one slices it, restoring a historic space goes a long way in preserving local
sense of place and authentic experiences that can’t be replicated elsewhere.
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 9. Takes Advantage Of Urban Revitalization Trends Across
the country there is great interest in authentic experiences associated with living and
working in unique cities with a special sense of place. A magnet for attracting educated
young professionals, adaptive reuse of existing buildings is a major characteristic of cities
where urban revitalization has been a success.

10. Decreased public and social costs In many older

cities across the country, the urban core population has declined by more than fifty percent
since 1950. Adaptive reuse of vacant structures and landmarks in neighborhoods designed
for twice as many people as live there today offers the opportunity to create new
affordable housing, start-up businesses and home ownership. In addition, adaptive reuse
can serve as a method to reverse the economic decline of inner cities communities while
reducing displacement associated with gentrification.
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 Limitations of Adaptive Reuse
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 Most times, the purpose a building serves is often outlived by the building
itself. The built usually survives the dwindling usage of the project –
architecture is enduring and many times ever-lasting. So, what happens
to a building after it outlives its original purpose – does it become a ruin
to slowly crumble and decay; or does it somehow get adapted into
something of value once again? These days, adaptive re-use is an often
accepted and employed practice to give a new purpose of usage to
structures that outlive their original use. It is a process of reusing an
existing building for a purpose other than which it was originally
designed for.

Adaptive re-use of a building can often be expensive, time-consuming,

and sometimes even affect the creativity of developing that project. Let’s
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look at multiple restrictions, challenges, and barriers that such a method

of conservation and re-use provides.
 Adaptive re-use of a building can often be expensive, time-consuming,
and sometimes even affect the creativity of developing that project. Let’s
look at multiple restrictions, challenges, and barriers that such a method
of conservation and re-use provides.
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 1. Physical restrictions

As is obvious when adaptively reusing an existing structure, there are many

physical restrictions that challenge effectively retrofitting the built with the new
intended use. Structural elements like columns, beams, floor layouts, and
structural grids often pose a problem to re-using the structure for various uses.

2. Economic Considerations

There are many economic considerations while conserving and reusing an

existing structure. There are potentially high costs of adapting the change of use,
and updating the infrastructure, and modernizing and refurbishing the electrical
systems and other services. Moreover, interior services may become more
expensive due to the repairing of various defects that building or structure might
have suffered through.
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 3. Deliberation over Social Impacts

Existing buildings usually have intangible aspects and attached sentiments in the
social sphere. Each structure has a notional value to the context and past users
and people. When conserving or adaptively reusing, the designer or architect
must consider these complex perspectives of history and value.

4. Material Incompatibility

Many times, while adapting or conserving an existing structure, there may be

inconsistencies and difficulties in finding suitable and compatible materials. This
may even extend to the non-availability of these materials or finding skilled
workers to achieve this compatibility and unity.
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 5. Complexity and technical difficulties

Due to the obvious complexity of retrofitting or reusing, there are many

technical difficulties that designers face. Often adapting or reusing requires
complex techniques of installations and needs innovative solutions to tackle
the many barriers that such a process invariably faces.

6. Inaccuracy of Information

As structures that are usually reused or conserved, one of the many issues
becomes about the inaccuracy of information available to the designer or
architect. Incomplete or missing drawings further add to their woes. There is
often a lack of accurate information and inconsistencies in materials usage in
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heritage buildings.
 7. Perceptions about Adaptive re-use

The process of conservation or adaptive reuse is many times perceived as

expensive, with many designers and developers choosing demolition as an easy
and simpler way out. There is a lack of awareness and many misconceptions
about the opportunities for adaptive reuse.

8. Barriers caused by redevelopment projects

Governments and urban planning authorities often pose barriers by creating

various impositions about urban regeneration and redevelopment criteria of
cities. There may also be inconsistencies or problems faced in the scope and
classification changes of buildings – since some may require updating and
compliance to newer building code and zoning classifications.
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 9. Maintenance Issues

There may be a lot of issues faced during the maintenance of the structure, since
there may have to be frequent repair due to physical deterioration and defects.
There may also be high re-mediation costs and construction delays caused by
contamination by hazardous materials, or precarious structural systems and
elements. The projects may also be lengthy leading to reduced profits.

10. Creative value

The creative value of demolition and building anew often supersedes the value of
adapting and conserving – due to the demand for adaptation of newer trends in
construction and current styles of building. Moreover, adaptive reuse is often seen
as a niche market for upscale and luxurious processes. Materials also play an
important role in creating this reduction in the value of an existing building, with
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newer materials being preferred.

 Yet, even though there may be many cons of adaptive reuse and conservation, the
advantages outweigh them tremendously. The overall economic and
environmental impacts are considerably larger than the shortcomings of such
processes, and the historical value to counterbalance the need to build anew.
Moreover, adaptive reuse projects and conservation projects might significantly
enhance neglected areas in and around the projects or even historically overlooked
urban spaces.
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THANK YOU!!
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