Seismic shifts in the way we work, spend, and live our lives are making entire building-types obsolete.
This creates a major challenge for the sustainable transition of cities. Demolition and rebuilding is one of the world’s greatest contributors to carbon, resource and material waste, and we are developing new tools and methods to allow adaptive transformation of buildings to compete as a value proposition. We have created new design methods, digital techniques and financial analysis tools that more accurately quantify the process and ROI in transformation.
From transforming the world's largest historical pier building in Boston USA, to Australia’s oldest public library, our adaptive transformation projects bring new life to historical structures in a thoughtful way. The revitalisation of historic places and spaces is not just an effort to save meaningful buildings, but critical for the future of our planet.
Now, more than ever, the environmental and social impact of construction demands our attention. The transformation and reuse of existing campuses, neighborhoods, waterfronts, industrial sites, and buildings are an essential part of our commitment to reducing environmental impact, moving societies from a linear exhaustible system into a circular sustainable economy.
When we choose to transform rather than build new, we capture a building’s existing embodied energy. This helps to minimise waste, save resources, and preserve heritage. Reuse of existing qualities is one of the most sustainable strategies available to us today – and also one of the most exciting.
To bring State Library Victoria into the 21st century, a five-year redevelopment plan was launched, and in 2019 the library reopened its doors to the public, revealing an extensively transformed institution. The refurbishment lead by Schmidt Hammer Lassen respects the library’s authenticity and rediscovers its existing qualities by enhancing the historical characteristics.
Through analysis, simulation, scanning and visualization we examine the site and building premises to uncover the hidden opportunities and possibilities that add extra value to the project. We assess the building’s impact on the local environment and explore opportunities for positive change.
Exploring different qualities of data helps us create design concepts that create value for society, maximize space and lower resource consumption. We interweave financial, real-estate and design strategies to simplify otherwise complex decisions and mitigate the associated risks.
Our investment/ reward sensitivity analysis is visualised against social and environmental values, making the most impactful design outcomes visible.
Contact us to know more about our approach and process.
