When we talk about the adaptive reuse of old buildings we often think of romantic, pre-war buildings from the Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian eras. However in reality, a large proportion of the UK building stock consists of vacant buildings dating from the fifties to seventies – the not so old, (and perhaps not so loved!) buildings. In this podcast episode, we explore the challenges this era of buildings bring, and how our design approach differs when bringing them back to life.

Why do some buildings last for centuries while others disappear in mere decades? From the remerging role of passive design measures to creating ‘flexible’ buildings, this week sees guest experts from our lighting, engineering and architecture teams question what it takes to design long-lasting, sustainable buildings for generations to come.

Alan Davies and his new panel of experts discuss how to bring old buildings back to life. As we emerge from the global pandemic, new civic strategies require more modern solutions for spaces. From adaptive reuse of historic structures to retrofit projects in modern buildings, there are more options available to building owners and designers than ever before. Retrofit and refurbishment seems like the obvious choice but is it more cost-effective and can we retain the important character and history that is inherent in these buildings?

No one country has the ability to solve the climate emergency and when it comes to the reuse of buildings, we have to be sensitive to the building stock, environments and policies that influence the industry. But how does this affect the design and construction process? Do we still have a way to go to persuade some nations that reusing older buildings is the best approach or is it already taking off as a worldwide initiative?

Our guests debate the meaning of accessibility, inclusivity and equality in the built environment, highlighting physical and perceived barriers that users can face. Concluding the episode, our experts discuss how heritage buildings can be adapted to be more considerate of everyone who uses them.

BDP’s head of heritage, Alan Davies meets with Lucy Townsend, Il’ic Testoni and James Hepburn to ask the fundamental question ‘Can we make historic buildings sustainable?’ They discuss how to measure sustainability in old buildings and analyse what we can do to adapt existing structures to meet ever-stringent net zero carbon ambitions to help address and halt the climate emergency.