Reuse, reinvest, and retrofit... or demolish?
1. It's Good for the Community
Preservation of older structures adds to a sense of identity, educating the community about its history and helping it citizens to amplify their collective historical heritage and culture. In the case of architecture, context often matters. Keeping buildings on their original sites can contribute to an understanding of how and why the community and its character developed.
2. It's Good for the Economy
We can look to the reuse of the High Line Rail in NYC as a model for what preservation, the use of embodied energy, and reuse of the abandoned elevated train artery can do for a local economy. The West Chelsea neighborhood restaurants, shops, galleries, and other businesses in this largely forgotten area of NYC have profited immensely from recent increased usage, traffic, and tourism to the area after High Line was reopened as a walkway and native plant preserve. Substantially different buildings in bulk, form, scale and arrangement are emerging, while still preserving key visual features through restoration and reuse of abandoned existing buildings in the neighborhood. This contributes to employment density and a new pool of patrons for the businesses.
"Dollar for dollar, rehabilitation creates more jobs than new construction. One study in the US, for example, found that $1 million invested in the rehabilitation of an existing building creates 9-13 more jobs than the same $1 million invested in new construction. Why? Because rehabilitation is more labor-intensive than new construction - that is, it requires more man-hours and fewer materials. An economy that is more labor-intensive and less materials-intensive is a greener economy," says Richard Moe of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
3. It Makes Good Economic Sense
In many cases, remodeling or rehabilitation of an existing structure can be far less expensive than demolishing and building a completely new structure.
4. It's Good for the Environment
Most professionals in the construction industry are aware of and agree with the current trends in the use of green materials and practices in new construction. But, the green movement has largely disregarded the inherent advantages of building reuse, including the primary one-embodied energy. At the core of sustainability practices should be the question: does the structure that currently exists on the property where I plan to build still have value and will it continue to sustain its value? It doesn't matter how much energy you save if you're carting the structure off to a landfill in 1-2 generations. Rehabilitating old and inefficient buildings can save energy through embodied energy and reduce energy consumption. And with a few sustainability practices, also improve the health and well being of its occupants. New construction - even when done in an environmentally friendly way - still requires the use of irreplaceable natural resources. And the consumption of those resources has real, measurable impacts. For example, a recent study by the UK's Empty Homes Agency found that it takes 35-50 years for a new energy-efficient single-family home to recover the carbon expended during its construction.
5. It Preserves Techniques and Heirlooms That Can No Longer Be Duplicated
There are valuable lessons in preservation that can inform current building decisions and that we cannot learn in any other way. Lasers, computers, and high tech equipment can't replicate early construction techniques, many of which have been lost or are underappreciated. These early techniques yield a product highly different in character, texture, and appearance than new ones. Many families learn about the character and culture of their ancestors through the observation of their early built environment.
1. It's Good for the Community
Preservation of older structures adds to a sense of identity, educating the community about its history and helping it citizens to amplify their collective historical heritage and culture. In the case of architecture, context often matters. Keeping buildings on their original sites can contribute to an understanding of how and why the community and its character developed.
2. It's Good for the Economy
We can look to the reuse of the High Line Rail in NYC as a model for what preservation, the use of embodied energy, and reuse of the abandoned elevated train artery can do for a local economy. The West Chelsea neighborhood restaurants, shops, galleries, and other businesses in this largely forgotten area of NYC have profited immensely from recent increased usage, traffic, and tourism to the area after High Line was reopened as a walkway and native plant preserve. Substantially different buildings in bulk, form, scale and arrangement are emerging, while still preserving key visual features through restoration and reuse of abandoned existing buildings in the neighborhood. This contributes to employment density and a new pool of patrons for the businesses.
"Dollar for dollar, rehabilitation creates more jobs than new construction. One study in the US, for example, found that $1 million invested in the rehabilitation of an existing building creates 9-13 more jobs than the same $1 million invested in new construction. Why? Because rehabilitation is more labor-intensive than new construction - that is, it requires more man-hours and fewer materials. An economy that is more labor-intensive and less materials-intensive is a greener economy," says Richard Moe of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
3. It Makes Good Economic Sense
In many cases, remodeling or rehabilitation of an existing structure can be far less expensive than demolishing and building a completely new structure.
4. It's Good for the Environment
Most professionals in the construction industry are aware of and agree with the current trends in the use of green materials and practices in new construction. But, the green movement has largely disregarded the inherent advantages of building reuse, including the primary one-embodied energy. At the core of sustainability practices should be the question: does the structure that currently exists on the property where I plan to build still have value and will it continue to sustain its value? It doesn't matter how much energy you save if you're carting the structure off to a landfill in 1-2 generations. Rehabilitating old and inefficient buildings can save energy through embodied energy and reduce energy consumption. And with a few sustainability practices, also improve the health and well being of its occupants. New construction - even when done in an environmentally friendly way - still requires the use of irreplaceable natural resources. And the consumption of those resources has real, measurable impacts. For example, a recent study by the UK's Empty Homes Agency found that it takes 35-50 years for a new energy-efficient single-family home to recover the carbon expended during its construction.
5. It Preserves Techniques and Heirlooms That Can No Longer Be Duplicated
There are valuable lessons in preservation that can inform current building decisions and that we cannot learn in any other way. Lasers, computers, and high tech equipment can't replicate early construction techniques, many of which have been lost or are underappreciated. These early techniques yield a product highly different in character, texture, and appearance than new ones. Many families learn about the character and culture of their ancestors through the observation of their early built environment.
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