Adaptive Reuse in Architecture – What it Is, How it Works, and Why it’s Important

What is Adaptive Reuse?

Adaptive reuse refers to the practice of repurposing a building so it serves a new function. This can range from making minor changes to complete renovations. You can think of it like recycling, but for buildings.

What are some Adaptive Reuse Examples?

Some examples of adaptive reuse architecture might include:

An old mill being turned into artist lofts
An old church becoming a community center
A historic residential property becoming a museum
A warehouse becoming a coworking space
A historic homestead becoming a restaurant
An old factory becoming a mixed-use property with luxury apartments on upper floors and retail storefronts on the ground floor
An old bank becoming a bookstore
A historic barn becoming a theatre

While a lot of adaptive reuse projects are focused on preserving historical properties or repurposing vacant or functionally obsolete structures, the concept can also apply to more modern structures and smaller projects such as converting a single family house into a multi-unit property or converting a residential property into a commercial one (and vice versa).

The possibilities are limitless when it comes to repurposing old, abandoned or historic buildings for a new use.

Why is Adaptive Reuse Important?

There are several reasons adaptive reuse architecture is important, both from an economical perspective and an environmental one. The buildings selected for adapted reuse are often old, unused, or underused and offer a lot of potential to their local communities and those who will be using them for their new purpose. Breathing new life into old, often deteriorating properties can use less resources than building new and can also allow for the preservation of historical structures.

How does Adaptive Reuse Work?

When adapting an existing structure for a new use, here are some general steps in the process:

Assessment

Just like a building is only as strong as its foundation, having a thorough and professional assessment of the existing structure is key to forming a successful adaptive reuse project plan. Work with architects and engineers to perform a thorough assessment so that you don’t run into surprise issues (and costs and delays) later! You will also want to assess the local area to ensure that the new use of the building suits a need or will be a viable asset to the community.
Planning

Plan how this new structure will fit in with the surrounding area from both an economic and logistical perspective. Will it interrupt traffic patterns? Is it accessible? Work with a contractor to establish a realistic budget for the project and adapt plans accordingly.
Coordination

Gather your team of trusted professionals that will be helping to make your adaptive reuse plans a reality. From legal experts to civil engineers, land planners, restoration specialists, and more, the skill of your team and the ease of communicating with them will have a big impact on the success of your process. Depending on the type of existing property and the changes required, you may also need to coordinate with specialists like historic conservationists.
Execution

This is the ‘build’ phase of the project! With proper planning and coordination, it helps minimize any unforeseen hiccups that may occur once building starts, but it’s important to continue to coordinate the team and take care at each step of the process to maintain the integrity of the structure and compliance with local laws.

What are the Benefits of Adaptive Reuse?

Adaptive reuse architecture offers several benefits beyond making money for a developer or beautifying an older property that may become an expensive eye sore:

Adaptive reuse can benefit the community

Buildings that are otherwise taking up space and going to waste can be repurposed to provide much-needed resources to their local communities such as housing, grocery stores, community gathering spaces, art and culture venues, and more.

Repurposing old or vacant structures into retail or professional spaces also helps to bolster the local economy by providing local business owners with a new location to set up shop, and options for community members to buy products or services locally. It can also help local economies by creating new tourist attractions.

More directly, adaptive reuse can help improve access to resources and promote community involvement through repurposing buildings into community resources like affordable housing, food pantries, social services centers, libraries, health clinics, and other support and enrichment centers.

Adaptive reuse can benefit the environment

As mentioned above, repurposing a property is often much more cost-effective (both financially and environmentally) compared to tear-downs and building something brand new. Renovating an existing structure helps to reduce the amount of energy used and the amount of pollution released into the environment compared to a tear-down/build from scratch, and it also helps reduce the amount of materials used, maximizing as much that can be salvaged from the original structure as possible.

Adaptive reuse helps preserve history

Often, but not always, adaptive reuse architecture makes new use of historical structures. This can help preserve aspects of cultural heritage, historical architectural design and historical significance at a location while offering versatility and innovation of the space. It also helps preserve historical structures that might otherwise be torn down and replaced by new construction, parking lots, or other developments.

Adaptive Reuse helps lower development costs and shorten construction timelines

Demolition costs are a major expense with construction projects. Opting for adaptive reuse instead of demolition saves significant budget, and there are often additional tax incentives and historic property tax credits in place to make adaptive reuse a more appealing option for builders.

Reusing existing structures also often significantly cuts back on the time required for a construction project. Depending on the project, it may even be partially usable while renovations are continuing in other areas of a structure, allowing for residences and businesses to get established before the project is complete.

Adaptive Reuse can improve property values

Historic buildings are often made with high-quality materials and offer aesthetic appeal in their architectural features. Unique features like ornate trim, high ceilings, brick walls, original hardwood floors, and other restored elements can increase market value when selling the property as a whole or partitioning it out into units like condos, apartments, or offices.

Are there any Drawbacks to Adaptive Reuse?

While the benefits of adaptive reuse generally outweigh the drawbacks, there are a few things to consider when approaching an adaptive reuse project that could be a challenge:

Navigating confusing or complicated construction red tape

When it comes to historic or broken down buildings, it’s not uncommon to encounter building code and use limitations. Changing the use of a structure requires compliance with local and state regulations surrounding building safety, use, zoning, accessibility, and more, so partnering with a civil engineering firm that can help navigate the entitlement and permitting process is important.

Potentially high renovation costs & difficulty securing funding

For structures that require significant overhaul to get up to code, labor costs for renovation can be high. The cost of preparing the building and anticipating repairs and upkeep could outweigh potential future gains, and the risk of undertaking a major renovation project can cause stakeholders to pull funding or hesitate to back a project before it gets off the ground.

Making your Adaptive Reuse Project a Success

When it comes to planning an adaptive reuse project, there are a lot of moving parts that need to be navigated in order to ensure the project can be funded and move forward. This requires excellent communication, and securing a team of professionals that have experience navigating complex zoning and permitting, planning, environmental and finance concerns.

At Eberly & Associates, our team of professional civil engineers, land planners, and landscape architects are used to even the most complex development projects and have been helping our clients plan and execute successful adaptive reuse projects in Atlanta and beyond for over 40 years. Our cross-functional team can navigate the complex permitting process and work with you to take the overwhelm out of this often confusing and overwhelming process.

Contact us today to learn more about our team and how we may be able to help with your next adaptive reuse project!

Some of our Featured Adaptive Reuse Projects

Below you’ll find just a few examples of recent adaptive reuse projects we’ve been a part of. Our recent adaptive reuse project 143 Alabama has been making headlines as an Atlanta historic revival project.

Adaptive Reuse in Architecture – What it Is, How it Works, and Why it’s Important

What is Adaptive Reuse?

What are some Adaptive Reuse Examples?

Why is Adaptive Reuse Important?

How does Adaptive Reuse Work?

Assessment

Planning

Coordination

Execution