Green adaptive re-use of buildings in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Sustainability has emerged as a key component of the construction industry, and it is now incorporated into all aspects of building administration, construction, and design. In terms of sustainability, adaptive reuse of buildings and green building concepts can be considered superior alternatives to modern construction. Many past research studies have been carried out on the green building concept as well as the adaptive reuse of buildings in the construction industry. However, there is a lack of research related to the integration of green building concept with adaptive reuse of buildings. Thus, the aim of this research is to investigate the applicability of green building concepts to the adaptive reuse of buildings. Qualitative research approach was used to fulfil the objectives of this study. Semi-structured expert interviews were used to collect data and case studies were used to validate the findings which were obtained through expert interviews. To analysis the data, manual content analysis was used. During the expert interviews, factors considered in green adaptive reuse of buildings were identified. Through case studies, those findings were validated. Factors were categorised into nine (09) categories namely economic, environmental, social, functional, technological, legal, architectural, physical, and political. As there are less studies related to green adaptive reuse of buildings, the outcomes of the study can be used as a basis for future studies.