A group of South Australian architects, builders, academics and regulators have united to call for a national policy shift that makes adaptive reuse the default approach, requiring it to be fully considered before allowing redevelopment.
The group gathered in May at Hames Sharley’s Adelaide office to identify industry challenges that are hindering building reuse in Australia, highlighting international exemplars and formulating recommendations for progressing the uptake of adaptation. As a result of these discussions, the consortium has now released 24 recommendations for prioritising the retention, retrofitting and reuse of existing buildings.
Co-hosted by the University of South Australia and Hames Sharley – with support from the City of Adelaide, the University of Adelaide and the Australian-French Association for Research and Innovation (AFRAN) – the workshop involved sharing reuse policies and initiatives currently being undertaken in France, including the concept of “sufficiency,” a strategic approach focused on reducing overall resource consumption that is enshrined in French legislation.
The recommendations were developed by representatives from the Australian Institute of Architects, Arup, ARCHI, Built Australia, City of Adelaide, Forum, Future Urban, Heritage South Australia, Hames Sharley, Lendlease, Les Moore Projects, the South Australian Department of Infrastructure and Transport, the South Australia Planning Commission, the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia, among others.
Some of the key recommendations include:
- Establishing a centralised database of vacant precincts, buildings and land to identify opportunities for adaptive reuse
- Updating building policy to recognise embodied carbon saved by reuse rather than demolition and rebuild
- Financial incentives, such as tax breaks and reduced fees, be introduced to make adaptive reuse economically feasible and to encourage and reward adaptive reuse projects.
The recommendations also urged governments to lead by example, by revising building policies to prioritise adaptive reuse and by initiating their own adaptive reuse projects.
Professor David Ness, from the University of South Australia’s Centre for Sustainable Infrastructure and Resource Management and the co-founder of the World Sufficiency Lab in Paris, highlighted the tendency to praise and celebrate new builds for their sustainability and energy performance, sometimes overlooking the broader environmental impact of building new.
“The building industry represents around a third of global carbon emissions, yet we’re seeing more and bigger builds by default [in Australia]. This seems far out of step with EU countries such as France and Denmark, where attention is focused on making better use of existing space,” said Ness. “It’s therefore critical that our policy settings prioritise building retention, retrofit and reuse – instead of new builds.”
The recommendations from the workshop will be presented to policy-makers in South Australia.
Hames Sharley associate director Yaara Plaves reflected on the group’s collective call to action, emphasising the need for built environment professionals and cross-sector stakeholders to collaborate on initiatives that work towards minimising the built environment’s contributions to carbon emissions.
“In any field where complex, systemic challenges resist straightforward solutions, siloed expertise creates blind spots and biases,” said Plaves. “Addressing these through a community of practice model that brings participants together cultivates learning and mutual trust, and is essential to bring about sustainable, demonstrable solutions.”
The University of South Australia stated that plans are being explored to develop an “Australian Sufficiency Lab” at the University of Adelaide, through a potential partnership between Australia and France.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
