Sustainable implications of building reuse and adaptation

Abstract

Built environment products and processes are now biased more towards profitable markets while giving sustainability the first priority in achieving the same. Consequently, value has become one of the main concerns while seeking various cost reduction methods through sustainable implications. Building reuse is one distinctive way that reflects the aforementioned sustainability in multiple ways. The existing building stock in the UK does not support sufficient flexibility that can be used for future adaption. Demolition of those buildings and construction of new builds does not seem to be an optimum solution, unless it helps increasing the building redundancy. Thus, an effective and achievable solution is required to address this problem. Apparently, design for adaption and application of adaptable features from the initial stage of every new build seem to be the most sustainable way that can be endorsed with sustainable, flexible buildings that last long and resist the future potential changes. The research has exploited qualitative methods to explore the aforementioned problem. The research itself is based on a case study of Liverpool City Centre. Ten Structured interviews were conducted to identify the sustainable implications of building reuse and adaptation while an Archival Analysis was undertaken to identify the patterns of building change of use and their ability to reuse. The findings illustrate that economic factors have immensely influenced towards building reuse and adaptation. The research findings would also help different stakeholders to make decisions on how reusable features could incorporate within the new building designs through sustainability.