Rehabilitation. Restoration. Adaptive Reuse. Historic Preservation.
Many words, and each has specific meaning in the world of construction. Essentially, each approach leads to the same outcome; effectively using existing older buildings for new or contemporary use.
Over the decades, society has learned that natural resources, including those used in building construction, are indeed limited. The environment is so important to personal well-being. Today’s now common and significant weather swings negatively impact our homes, communities and quality of life. Can construction lessons from the past be the key to a more sustainable future? It may provide a clearer road map.
Consider the number of people in the U.S. that need homes, businesses and other construction services to understand the impact on our resources – 430 percent population increase since the 1890s to a 140 percent increase in population since the end of World War II. The current population is more than 336 million people, and 20 million more are predicted by 2030. This will have an enormous impact on the housing shortage and natural resources, so preserving and reusing the resources we have is essential.
The number of buildings constructed to support this population growth is significant. The energy to manufacture bricks, steel, glass, concrete, plaster and other construction materials is a resource and energy investment. Demolishing a structure means the investment is lost. Embodied energy exists in those buildings and with a reuse mindset and experienced project teams, this energy can be saved and reused.
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is the country’s largest landlord. It owns more than 481 historic properties and an inventory of more than 375 million square feet of workspace serving 1.1 million federal employees. The GSA noted in its recent Vision+Voice publication the many new trends in building reuse and efficiency – most notably that 40 percent of the energy used in a building’s lifespan is the embodied energy that fabricated and erected the structure.
That percentage is increasing. It is rising not because it takes more energy to create steel or concrete, but because the operational efficiency is increasing. GSA’s goals, focusing on sustainability, are driving the reduction of BTUs per square foot by 40 percent. Newly identified Net Zero goals will add to the push for buildings to be more efficient.
The Christman Company has demonstrated on multiple LEED projects that more than 80 percent of an existing building’s construction material is reusable. Preservation, restoration or rehabilitation brings a building back to life, allowing future generations to use sustainable structures. The bottom line is that demolishing a building to create a more efficient one starts with at least a 40 percent invested, or embodied, energy loss. Keeping our existing building frames and enclosures makes energy and environmental sense.
Over the next century, the trend in building reuse likely does not include its original purpose. This is an exciting development, and Christman has led the charge. We converted an iron foundry into a boutique high-end hotel. We guided the transformation of a coal-fired power plant to a class-A corporate office building and repurposed a manufacturing facility to market rate, low-income housing. Imagine a renovation of a former grocery store to a university classroom facility or a mall (all the rage in the 1980s) into a mixed-use housing, office and retail complex. We have seen it all, and the opportunities are vast. Roads, utilities and other valuable infrastructure that must be added to new construction already exist at these buildings. Why walk away from the streets, water and sewer services in an existing area? Would you say no to something already paid to expand somewhere and bear the cost of these services?
Period buildings and their technology require in-depth understanding when developing a reuse plan. Structures from the 1950s vary from those built in the 1930s or even 1900. From the 1960s through today, considerable changes in curtain walls, rain screens, EFIS systems and more were developed. Working with construction and design professionals, owners can develop a realistic reuse design and market-based budget and schedule.
Experienced professional partners use specific “tools” to deliver projects. Unlike a hammer and a trowel, these tools include experts who understand State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPOs), National Park Service and local and regional governments. These relationships help owners obtain all possible federal and state tax credits, grants and other financial incentives related to the historic preservation and rehabilitation of designated historic and/or brownfield sites. Using these tools, clients have saved from $1 million to more than $80 million in costs related to reusing their historic buildings.
Our other resource restraint is skilled construction trades. The Associated Builders and Contractors have noted a need for more than 546,000 skilled trades in 2023, aside from normal attrition. How do we address these shortages? Utilizing new technologies like 3D printing to recreate lost historic and period details improves the economics of the job and assists where historic labor is geographically or industry limited. However, skilled trades assemble and configure the materials, making them essential to the project.
Consider the embodied energy, natural resources and economic investment already made in existing buildings. If you include the cultural value from their design and prior use, there is clear justification to reuse and reimagine these historic resources. Better yet, we are rewriting the stories these structures share with their community. To me, historic preservation is a simple decision, where the past is our future.
Ron Staley
Senior Vice President and Executive Director, Historic Preservation Group