Adaptive Architecture

Model projections show that over 2.5 billion people are expected to live in urban areas by 2050. Concerns over space scarcity, resource allocation, and climate resiliency push cities, architects, and urban planners to search for answers within an infrastructure that already exists. 

 

Adaptive reuse, put simply, is the repurposing of old, outdated, and abandoned structures and spaces for new use. Today, it is considered one of the best architectural strategies to promote social justice and address the climate crisis. It functions as a tool to realize urban regeneration, preserve cultural heritage, and reduce costs and environmental impacts from construction and new materials, all while creating prosperity and redistributing opportunity in condensed urban centers. Research shows that in most circumstances, adaptive reuse "better establishes or retains community identity and does more to foster local pride than new construction." However, this is only sometimes the case, and in-depth studies, engagement with the community, and obtaining buy-in from the members should occur before a project starts.

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Broadly, adaptive reuse hits the social, economic, and environmental dimensions outlined by the UN's sustainable development goals. Its position as a solution to resource and space scarcity issues is paramount in a time of growing populations and evermore prevalent environmental threats. As the Clean Energy Finance Corporation's Sara Thomas says, "The reason that adaptive reuse strategies are important to us is because most buildings in use today will still be operational in 2050 when we need to be at net zero." It negates a substantial portion of the footprint that development requires and pushes innovation to best optimize today's built environment to service the requirements of an ever-changing future.​