In the UK and in many other parts of the developed world, the majority of existing buildings will still be standing in 2050, and with new stock generally adding only 1-2 per cent to total stock annually, there is strong focus on adapting our existing built environment. This new book, in the RICS Innovation in the Built Environment series, aims to make a significant contribution to understanding best practice in sustainable adaptations in existing commercial buildings by offering new knowledge-based theoretical and practical insights.
But when we talk about “adaptation”, what does that mean? This is tackled early on in the book, where Sara Wilkinson's chapter defines the term (based on Douglas, 2006) as:
[…] any work to a building over and above maintenance to change its capacity, function or performance, in other words, “any intervention to adjust, reuse, or upgrade a building to suit new conditions or requirements”.
This excludes minor day-to-day repair works. Building adaptation can occur within use and across uses (e.g. an office to another type of office or a change in use to residential). For Wilkinson et al. the term adaptation is often also synonymous with other terms such as renovation, retrofitting and refurbishment, although it is recognised in the same chapter different countries may use different terminology, and that these are perhaps best considered as terms on a spectrum of adaptation.
The book is divided into three parts. Part I, authored by Sara Wilkinson, builds on the definition of adaptation and includes a useful synthesis of relevant literature to explore the relationship between building life cycles and adaptation. This part of the book also explores the drivers and barriers for adaptation, around social, environmental and economic. This has a strong focus on Australia, with useful case studies emerging, before the author presents a conceptual model to provide a framework for a variety of adaptation levels. This model, known as Preliminary Adaptation Assessment Model (PAAM), allows an assessment of adaptation to occur early on and conducted by non-professionals. PAAM is based on a principal components analysis approach, and the model is tested in a commercial property in Melbourne. Finally, Part I uses a range of excellent case studies, again based in Melbourne (as part of the 1200 Buildings Program), to explore sustainable building adaptation processes and to identify typical sustainable building adaptations, including energy, water and waste measures
Part II of the book by Hilde Remoy deals with adaptive reuse, which is defined as a major change of a building not only in terms of the building itself but also in terms of the function it has. Drawing on international examples from around the world, the author sets these case studies in the context of adaptive reuse theory, and places a strong emphasis on functional or building obsolescence. During this part of the book Remoy places adaptive reuse in the context of other strategies which include, consolidation (within use), adaptation, demolish/new build. Again there is an excellent set of case studies from the Netherlands which examine the transformation of buildings into housing. This section of the book concludes with a chapter that examines the adaptation of cultural heritage, and the transformation of urban areas through different types of value (including social value and aesthetic value).
Part III, the final part of the book is authored by Craig Langston and deals with the problem of making the right decisions on adaptation, taking into account economic value, but also recognising the social and environmental objectives of projects as well. This involves assessing the trade-offs between multiple criteria in a cogent and robust way, so Langston's work in this book focuses on developing a framework (Adaptive Reuse Potential (ARP)) to describe an asset's propensity to be recycled to perform a different function. Drawing on further case study material form Melbourne and elsewhere, this part of the book also focuses on the use of multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA) to evaluate sustainable development. This advocates the use of a technique which can be used to evaluate all building adaptation measures in terms of their value for money and quality of life. Langston also covers the use of a 3D spatial model called iconCUR and how this may be used to determine which type of adaptation measure to use and how this may be represented not only at any point in the lifecycle but also spatially. The final chapter in this section and the book reflects on how buildings can be designed to maximise successful adaptation later on in their lifecycle. The AdaptSTAR framework is described as a way of rating new building design for future adaptivity, and the chapter draws on international case studies, from Europe, the Americas, Asia and Australia to illustrate the points.
This book makes an excellent contribution to the continuing debate over adaptation vs new build and sets out a number of differing models and frameworks which increase our understanding and knowledge of this important practical area. The focus on international case studies is laudable and the focus on the commercial sector (with some emphasis on “public” buildings), which is generally an under-researched area, are real strengths. However, the book does not attempt to draw the three parts together with a final synthesising chapter, which makes it difficult to see the bigger picture being drawn, or indeed the difference in approaches internationally in a consolidated and integrated way. Leaving that criticism, and the rather sparse index aside, the book does offer a fascinating insight into sustainable building adaptation in the commercial sector and will be essential reading for students, academics and practitioners.
