Renovation and Adaptive Reuse: Breathing New Life into Aging Assets

Join us in New York for an in-person seminar and networking with industry colleagues.

As buildings age, owners need to adapt their outdated assets to keep them relevant, especially when market forces demand change. Following the pandemic, office vacancies have rapidly increased, and with financing soon to reach maturity, many will become distressed properties available at high discounts. Fearing drastic reductions to their tax base, cities will rezone to allow mixed-use properties in areas that are now only single occupancy. Some of these buildings are prime candidates for conversion to residential or life science. In addition, increasing climate concerns will mandate sustainable growth initiatives, requiring owners to consider embodied carbon, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste during construction. Consequently, more existing buildings will be refreshed and renewed, which, fortunately, will allow their distinctive architecture to remain.

In this in-person seminar, we will discuss sustainability in the context of revitalizing aging buildings. We will also review the structural phases of a renovation or adaptive reuse project: document review, field investigation, structural analysis and design, and construction administration. In each stage, we will share examples and demonstrate typical challenges. We will also review selected antiquated structural systems, including terra cotta tile flat-arch floors, draped mesh floors, proprietary reinforced concrete systems, and cast-iron construction.