The Whys...The What Ifs...and The What Fors

Why should we reuse and redevelop old buildings and building sites? And, is this just a trend in passing?  As old buildings become abandoned and unsuitable for their original intended use, we are faced with questions of possible reuse. Reclamation and recycle are the new buzz words for the Sustainable movement. Often, it comes down to a decision of reuse or remove and rebuild new. There are factors involved that affect the reuse and redevelopment decision(s). Certain criteria should be considered such as: Is society going to find value, what is the historical significance of the site and can it be maintained and what kinds of ecological conditions are on the site. More importantly, it seems, is the question of Economics...what's the bottom line? For historical reuse, there can be hidden costs pertaining to contamination from outdated materials, and what, if any, did these materials contribute to the overall site contamination...which involves testing and if found, removal at sometimes extravagant cost to the developer. But considering all that is involved with reuse and redevelopment, the what fors seem to outweigh the costs. All over the world, countries as far away as Australia are reusing historical abandoned buildings and reaping the benefits. Often, the historic building in question is located in a key area of the downtown district, not to mention the often-linked architectural style to that period in time, or commonly known as period character.

Defining Adaptive Reuse & Redevelopment

Adaptive reuse is the process of reusing an old building or site for a new purpose. Often, these buildings have a noted durability as well as, historic significance. As part of the Sustainable movement, adaptive reuse is seen as an effective way to "recycle" these old buildings, rather than demolishing them. With advancing technology and the absence in the U.S. of manufacturing needs, large manufacturing facilities have been abandoned. These facilities along with obsolete schools and churches, have provided new challenges in adaptive reuse. Further, adaptive reuse as seen as and answer to land conservation, specifically, in the case of brownfield reclamation.