Adaptive reuse

Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an old site or building for a purpose other than which it was built or designed for. Along with brownfield reclamation, adaptive reuse is seen by many as a key factor in land conservation and the reduction of urban sprawl. However adaptive reuse can become controversial as there is sometimes a blurred line between renovation, facadism and adaptive reuse. It can be regarded as a compromise between historic preservation and demolition.

Adaptive reuse deals with the issues of conservation and heritage policies. Whilst old buildings become unsuitable for their programmatic requirements, as progress in technology, politics and economics moves faster than the built environment, adaptive reuse comes in as a sustainable option for the reclamation of sites. In many situations, the types of buildings most likely to become subjects of adaptive reuse include: industrial buildings, as cities become gentrified and the process of manufacture moves away from city; political buildings, such as palaces and buildings which cannot support current and future visitors of the site; and community buildings such as churches or schools where the use has changed over time.

Adaptive reuse is seen as an effective way of reducing urban sprawl and environmental impact. By reusing an existing structure within a site, the energy required to create these spaces is lessened, as is the material waste that comes from destroying old sites and rebuilding using new materials. Through adaptive reuse old, unoccupied buildings can become suitable sites for many different types of use.

While the process of adaptive reuse is a decision often made purely by companies establishing a particular brand or presence, there are often criteria for deciding whether a building should be conserved and reused or just demolished for the area of land it occupies. Some of these determining criteria include:

There has been much debate on the economic possibilities and viability of adaptive reuse as different corporations and companies seek to find sustainable ways to approach their corporate or retail sites. There are many outcomes that affect the economic return of adaptive reuse as an avenue to reuse of a given site. Factors such as the reuse of materials and resources as well as a lesser need to involve energy, both in terms of labor and machine powered, can effectively decrease the monetary funds needed for companies to establish sites. However, there can be hidden costs in reusing old buildings such as the unknown contamination of older sites, decay and disuse affecting the usability of a building, and the possible need for modification of an older building to fit current and future building codes.

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