{"id":5333,"date":"2022-09-01T08:17:46","date_gmt":"2022-09-01T08:17:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/?p=5333"},"modified":"2022-09-01T08:17:49","modified_gmt":"2022-09-01T08:17:49","slug":"finding-new-purpose-for-derelict-and-disused-buildings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/finding-new-purpose-for-derelict-and-disused-buildings\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding new purpose for derelict and disused buildings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

Following the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns in the UK, many office buildings were left deserted; relics of a time when we would enter an office without the need to social distance. The need to isolate from others saw huge swathes of the population working from home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only did this change the home into a living and working space for so many, but empty office buildings became a symbol of the times. While many were able to adapt to home working, leaving these spaces to serve no purpose, a question arose; wouldn\u2019t these spaces be more useful repurposed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outside of defunct office space, London is littered with structures which are no longer in use; boarded buildings and disused spaces which could be reimagined into places which suit new requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recycling and repurposing architecture has endless benefits; whilst maintaining or integrating the original structure, these spaces can be adapted to be more sustainable and useful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Renovating or retrofitting can be considered for these structures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using a meticulous whole building approach can help to achieve extremely high standards of thermal performance and airtightness, adopting materials and detailing complementary to the building\u2019s fabric and historic significance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are a range of things to consider; reducing moisture risks and using breathable impermeable materials such as wood fibre or lime-based render will allow walls to breathe. Efficient insulation is another core consideration of a low energy retrofit. Ventilation requires careful assessment and specialist support is recommended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Whilst a detailed, thorough and high-quality retrofit project is likely to be expensive, the principles can be applied to other buildings at a more affordable scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recommended reading for those seeking to retrofit a building can be found below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clapham Retrofit – https:\/\/www.sparaochbevara.se\/wp-site-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/CaseStudy1_CLAPHAM-RETROFIT-LONDON.pdf<\/a> RIBA – https:\/\/www.architecture.com\/knowledge-and-resources\/knowledge-landing-page\/how-to-get-a-building-retrofit-ready<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Following the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns in the UK, many office buildings were left deserted; relics of a time when we would enter an office without the need to social distance. The need to isolate from others saw huge swathes of the population working…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":311100,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/311100"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5333"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5333\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5335,"href":"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5333\/revisions\/5335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}