As retail continues to move online and with COVID-19 changing where we work, many buildings in our communities are sitting empty, looking for new life. Making meaningful progress towards a sustainable future means we need to consider the three R’s – Reduce, Recycle, Reuse – when planning for new facilities. “Reduce” in the building environment focuses on right sizing of buildings, which emphasizes efficient space utilization and reduced energy consumption through smaller and more efficient mechanical systems and reduction of power demands. “Recycle” existing material to preserve virgin construction materials and diverting construction waste from the landfill is now standard practice in the construction industry. However, the most sustainable building is one that already exists, which is why we are advising our clients to consider “Reuse” through the adaptive reuse of existing facilities.

When considering your next project, make sure that adaptive reuse of existing buildings is part of your options analysis. While one’s immediate reaction may be that adaptive reuse is more expensive, when you consider a holistic set of variables, you may discover an existing building meets your needs. While some new buildings tout their sustainable features like “net zero”, there is still waste and energy use in the supply chain to build the project. That is why we recommend using data to make informed decisions, by conducting a facilities needs analysis, which often includes evaluating:

  • New ground up construction on existing, or a greenfield site;
  • Adaptive reuse of existing buildings; and
  • No action

When evaluating adaptive reuse or renovation of an existing asset, part of the qualitative analysis must include an evaluation and assessment of the existing systems. This includes consideration of roof replacements and envelope repairs, building code and accessibility compliance, requirements for seismic upgrades due to change of use, Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) life cycle replacements, addition of fire sprinklers, and other systems upgrades. Many of these upgrades also have the benefit of reducing operational and utility costs in addition to extending the useful life of the building. We have many lessons learned from applying “Reduce, Recycle, and Reuse” in options analyses from our wealth of predesign studies for numerous municipal clients.

While quantitative metrics like land acquisitions, construction costs, and life cycle costs are all factors in evaluating new ground up construction verses adaptive reuse of an existing facility; qualitative metrics like preserving a historical community asset, location for improved level of service to a community, and the optics of maximizing public funds are also important considerations. Many existing retail and commercial buildings are located within downtown civic cores, ideal locations for conversion into community-serving assets such as office buildings transforming into police stations and retail buildings converting into courthouses.

The same can be said of converting public buildings into other uses.  Due to the robust nature and high-quality materials used for civic facilities like courthouses and jails, most communities have outgrown these facilities long before the end of the building’s useful life.  In addition, communities have embraced siting justice and public safety facilities in the city center where the services are needed and more accessible due to transit and other infrastructure, which is a departure from previous thinking of the courthouse on the green or the jail on the edge of town. We have seen numerous recent examples of historic courthouses being converted into museums or administration buildings and jails being converted into office buildings and treatment centers.

It is my opinion we, as a society, need to approach our public buildings the same way we approach our water bottles. Buy new as a last resort, recycle to preserve our natural resources, and whenever you can, always reuse what is existing.

Contributed by: Bill Valdez | PE, LEED Green Associate, DBIA

Bill Valdez is a Partner and Justice and Public Safety Leader at KMB architects. Kmb-architects.com