Adaptive reuse requires architects to get "hands on" say experts

Adaptive reuse is becoming an increasingly valued approach to architecture, but can be tricky to pull off. Dezeen spoke to specialists about the skills architects need to tackle projects successfully.

Adaptive reuse refers to the repurposing of existing buildings for new functions.

It involves reusing most of what exists in the hope of reducing waste, preserving embodied carbon and keeping the social and historical significance of buildings.

Done right, it maintains a window to the past, preserving a building's heritage and character, while potentially saving time, carbon and money as materials are retained and reused.

Dezeen spoke to experts from MVRDV, Solon Studio, GRT Architects, Purcell, Rhode Island School of Design and The Assembly House about the skills needed to develop successful projects.

"Get on site, often and early"

According to Purcell design partner Alasdair Travers, the first step to engaging with older buildings is seeking out projects that allow for working directly with historic fabric.

Developing technical knowledge around materials and conservation techniques is key, he says, as is gaining an understanding of how to reconcile old structures with modern performance standards.

"Get on site, often and early," said Travers, who is known for delivering sensitive masterplans, including the National Maritime Museum. "You learn more by walking through a site than by staring at a model."

"See how buildings are put together and how they deteriorate," he added. "Learn to read plans of old buildings, understand their logic and appreciate their limitations."

"This is a field where theory only takes you so far – learning through doing is key."

Similarly, Stolon Studio director Jessica Barker said that reading old construction manuals is beneficial as they're filled with empirical knowledge and are often based on centuries of practice.

She points to examining traditional materials and techniques, such as lime plaster, timber joinery and damp proofing.

"Volunteering with conservation organisations or observing refurbishment works to understand the impacts and mitigation of moisture, settlement and decay are crucial," said Barker, who worked on The Parks, a housing complex transformed from a group of neglected farm buildings in Herefordshire.

The importance of investing in technical skills and observation is reiterated by Eudardo Benamor Duarte, head of interior architecture at Rhode Island School of Design.

He explained that architects need a holistic understanding of context and how a building can evolve.

"Pay attention to context," said Duarte. "Become an active participant in modulating space with resources already built rather than extracted and assembled from disparate contexts."

"Every practitioner ought to understand specific values that reflect social, cultural and material parameters of a given context."

"Respecting history does not mean being beholden to it"

Architect and artist Dennis Maher is the founder of The Assembly House, an experimental project transforming a historic former church in New York.

He added that due to our increasingly digital world, there is a disconnection from physical and material realities, and that students should understand and connect deeply with building materials.

"Modes of hands-on engagement are important," said Maher. "There's a lot of learning to be gained by working directly with tools and materials – discovering how wood behaves because you've shaped it, understanding what's inside a wall because you've assembled or cut it."

"This tacit knowledge transfers to different scales and situations."

According to GRT Architects founding partner Rustam-Marc Mehta, developing a robust methodology is also important for setting a clear agenda of how the old relates to the new.

"Respecting history does not mean being beholden to it, yet there is a need to develop a robust methodology," said Mehta, having worked on adapting a New York-based historic neo-Gothic rectory.

"By identifying what might be worth saving and what might be modified, we've developed an approach that invests in a historic dialogue."

"You need a discovery mindset"

When tackling older buildings, unforeseen challenges often arise linked to irregular layouts, historical quirks and worn materials, which often don't align with modern-day practice.

Barker explained that architects should therefore develop flexibility in their design process, including sketching skills, and have a willingness to adapt when uncovering hidden constraints mid-process.

"Teams must be prepared to revise assumptions, respond to unexpected conditions, and make pragmatic yet imaginative choices to honour the past while delivering something fit for the future," said Barker.

"Be willing to adapt," echoed Travers. "The best reuse architects are those who love the work – not just the end product, but the messy, unpredictable, hands-on process of getting there."

Since no two adaptive reuse projects are the same, flexibility and innovative thinking are particularly important.

"Skills are different for different types of adaptive reuse projects – you need a kind of discovery and innovative mindset where you can turn restrictions into solutions," said founding partner at MVRDV Jacob van Rijs.

"There could be all sorts of skeletons in the closet."

"Education needs to shift"

Alongside flexibility, observation and analytical skills, Maher explained that there is a need for creative problem-solving skills, and architects can greatly benefit from being exposed to different creative disciplines, including fine art.

"Being bold, searching for new possibilities at every stage, and having a desire to actualise these," said Maher. "Exposure to art and artistic practices is essential. The technical skills are important, but it's the creative problem-solving that leads to exciting new opportunities."

Maher added that social skills and the ability to communicate are also essential, including developing an understanding of the communities that revolve around a building and ensuring they are included in the conversation about the adaptation.

"This is one reason why social skills are also extremely important – knowing your audience and becoming familiar with the many communities of people involved and having the mindset to bring them in," said Maher.

According to the experts, enabling students to develop the skills needed to thrive while working on such projects is made harder by the way universities currently teach architecture.

This stems from numerous issues, including viewing historic preservation and architectural design as distinct subjects, a lack of exposure to real buildings, and the different ways the discipline is taught.

"It's messy, iterative and full of compromise, which makes it harder to teach in a conventional university setting," said Travers. "There's also a lack of exposure to real buildings: students aren't often given the chance to study existing structures in detail, let alone work on them."

This, he warned, is leading to a "significant gap" in the required skills as universities tend to continue to prioritise new-build thinking.

"But as the profession shifts, education needs to shift too," he added.

The experts agreed that there needs to be enhanced partnerships between academic institutions, studios and practitioners working on adaptive reuse projects, which would allow students to gain more experience.

"To support adaptive reuse, hands-on learning about historic construction, building techniques and materials would be useful," said Barker.

"Understanding that buildings are not blank canvases but are layered artefacts is a good start."

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