ArticlePDF Available

Abstract and Figures

Purpose The vacancy of office buildings leads to financial problems for the owners and social problems for the community, e.g. vandalism, dereliction and deterioration. A solution may be found through the conversion of vacant office buildings into housing. Vacancy‐threatened buildings are often part of the mediocre part of the building stock. Does conversion make sense in this case? What are the opportunities, threats and risks? What are the critical success factors? The purpose of this paper is to discuss financial, functional, structural, technical and aesthetic issues. Design/methodology/approach Through previous research at the Delft University of Technology, tools are developed to decide the potential for the conversion of buildings. This paper discusses the risks and chances, and brakes and triggers of transformation projects, based on case studies. These case studies are performed through interviews with professionals involved in the transformation process and through analyses of architectural drawings of the before and after situations. For each project two interviews were held, with the architect and the developer or client. The interviews focussed on the process of the transformation projects. Findings The conversion of nondescript and unarticulated buildings makes sense from the point of view of sustainability, both ecologically and in an urban regeneration context. These projects will only be interesting for developers of commercial real estate if they can be made economically feasible. Social housing associations also have additional social goals. Through a longer investment perspective these associations can wait for property increases through long‐term externalities as result of upgrading of the area. In buildings that are kept because of economical or social feasibility there are strong connections between the target group, the location and the conversion costs. Practical implications The tools developed have proved to be useful for quick scans of the potential for building conversion. This paper is a first step in trying to depict a more detailed view of the risks and chances of building conversions. Knowledge of the risks and chances of conversion is required to make decisions concerning transformation projects. Originality/value The paper develops knowledge about transformation projects and decision support tools for the conversion of buildings, based on empirical studies.
Content may be subject to copyright.
A new life: conversion of vacant
office buildings into housing
Hilde T. Remøy and Theo J.M. van der Voordt
Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
Abstract
Purpose – The vacancy of office buildings leads to financial problems for the owners and social
problems for the community, e.g. vandalism, dereliction and deterioration. A solution may be found
through the conversion of vacant office buildings into housing. Vacancy-threatened buildings are
often part of the mediocre part of the building stock. Does conversion make sense in this case? What
are the opportunities, threats and risks? What are the critical success factors? The purpose of this
paper is to discuss financial, functional, structural, technical and aesthetic issues.
Design/methodology/approach Through previous research at the Delft University of
Technology, tools are developed to decide the potential for the conversion of buildings. This paper
discusses the risks and chances, and brakes and triggers of transformation projects, based on case
studies. These case studies are performed through interviews with professionals involved in the
transformation process and through analyses of architectural drawings of the before and after
situations. For each project two interviews were held, with the architect and the developer or client.
The interviews focussed on the process of the transformation projects.
Findings The conversion of nondescript and unarticulated buildings makes sense from the point of
view of sustainability, both ecologically and in an urban regeneration context. These projects will only
be interesting for developers of commercial real estate if they can be made economically feasible. Social
housing associations also have additional social goals. Through a longer investment perspective these
associations can wait for property increases through long-term externalities as result of upgrading of
the area. In buildings that are kept because of economical or social feasibility there are strong
connections between the target group, the location and the conversion costs.
Practical implications The tools developed have proved to be useful for quick scans of the
potential for building conversion. This paper is a first step in trying to depict a more detailed view of
the risks and chances of building conversions. Knowledge of the risks and chances of conversion is
required to make decisions concerning transformation projects.
Originality/value The paper develops knowledge about transformation projects and decision
support tools for the conversion of buildings, based on empirical studies.
Keywords Office buildings, Housing, The Netherlands
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Problem
Office buildings in The Netherlands are experiencing high vacancy levels. In January
2006, the Dutch office market held 5.6 million m
2
vacant office space, or 14 percent of
the total of 40 million m
2
office space. Around 3-5 percent of this is seen as necessary to
provide for movement and growth. A part of this vacancy (about 1.5 million m
2
)is
structural (or long-term), which is defined as vacancy of the same floor space for more
than three consecutive years (DTZ Zadelhoff, 2005). The same tendencies are found in
Germany, where Berlin, Du
¨sseldorf, Franfurt, Leipzig, and Munich all have vacancy
rates of 10-20 percent of the total stock (Eurohypo AG, 2005).
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0263-2772.htm
F
25,3/4
88
Received August 2006
Accepted October 2006
Facilities
Vol. 25 No. 3/4, 2007
pp. 88-103
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0263-2772
DOI 10.1108/02632770710729683
Vacancy is a problem on different levels. Economically, vacancy affects the owner
of a building directly. For society, vacancy presents problems of insecurity and social
uncertainty and may bring about criminality ranging from vandalism and graffiti to
break-ins, illegal occupancy and fires. As such, vacancy also has indirect effects
through the negative image that it gives to the surrounding area and buildings. This
can lead to deterioration of the area, with rising vandalism, technical decay and
devaluation of its buildings. At the same time, the restrictive Dutch housing market
presents a potential demand for vacant office buildings. In the Dutch situation, housing
is an attractive adaptation option, given the tight housing market. Housing
traditionally overlaps well with other aspects of the city core, supporting culture and
leisure. In 2004 the Dutch Minister of Housing sought to build at least 25,000 dwellings
within five years by converting empty office space into housing.
Objective
Functional transformation is only one of several possible ways to solve the problems of
vacancy. The owner of a vacant building can also choose to have the vacant building
demolished and build something else, he can have it renovated and rented out again as
offices, he can sell it or he can simply do nothing just hope for better times and wait
for someone to rent the building. Most well known examples of candidates for
conversion consider buildings with a proven architectural quality, while
vacancy-threatened buildings are often part of the mediocre part of the building stock.
This paper aims to answer the following questions:
.What makes building conversion a good option for dealing with high levels of
vacancy?
.Which buildings are suitable for conversion from office buildings to housing?
.Does conversion of the mediocre elements of the building stock make sense?
In answering these questions, we used numbers from DTZ Zadelhoff (one of the largest
Dutch real estate brokers) and Neprom (Dutch Association of Project Developers) and
used data from earlier studies to develop methods and instruments for deciding the
transformation potential. We present two case studies of delivered conversion projects.
These cases describe the use of the instruments and give information from Dutch
practice on the feasibility of converting the mediocre buildings mass. These cases,
together with 12 others that are currently being studied, will be presented in the book
Transformatie in Nederland (Transformation in The Netherlands), which that will be
published in January 2007.
Vacancy
Market
Vacancy of office buildings has risen worldwide since the year 2000. Driven by the
growth of the new economy, high-risk investments in real estate property increased at
the end of last century. The burst of the internet bubble in 2001 was accompanied and
reinforced by economic decline and a worsening competitive position of The
Netherlands in general (Buck Consultants International, 2003). The effect on the real
estate market was devastating. As a result of the cyclic behaviour of the real estate
market, a huge number of buildings were at that moment being developed or built, and
even now, buildings which were initiated before 2001 are being finished. Vacancy
Conversion of
vacant office
buildings
89
related to the conjunctures in the real estate market can probably be solved when the
situation in the market improves. But conjuncture-related vacancy can easily become
structural vacancy. Organisations that move to new office buildings often leave behind
buildings which do not fit present performance requirements. A lower structural
demand of office space is expected, due to the decrease in the labour force through
ageing and the worsening competitive position of The Netherlands, which leads to
outsourcing of work to lower income countries. Part of the vacancy thus derives from
market and economic changes. But the location and the building also play important
roles.
Location
Some office locations are preferred to others, on both local and regional levels. Parts of
a city try to outdo each other, but especially for bigger firms, location is chosen on
regional givens national or even international. There are several reasons why some
locations are less desirable than others, for instance poor accessibility by public
transport or car and poor parking provision. Another factor can be a negative image of
the area created by a poor spatial and visual quality. Agglomeration factors, such as
other similar firms moving out, lack of facilities and a concentration of ageing
premises, are also important. Finally, urban planning and zoning play an important
role. For instance, mono-functional areas are more prone to experiencing vacancy;
urban districts deteriorate due to negative market developments in a certain branch.
Municipality plans to change the use of an area can also influence prospects of future
development possibilities and thus trigger vacancy.
Building
Reasons to leave a certain building include negative image or identity through a bad
spatial-visual quality, decay and shabbiness of the building or evidence of vandalism,
or the technical quality of (parts of) the building are in a poor condition or its
installations are out-of-date or malfunctioning (Healy and Baker, 1987). The functional
lifespan of a building is over if the building is not able to meet the requirements of new
office space, as in a lack of flexibility in rearranging space or inefficient use of space or
poor accessibility. A large number of structural vacant office buildings were built
between 1960 and 1980 (Neprom, 2003).
Building stock
Conversion to decrease the office supply
On the Dutch market, there are 5.6 million square meters of office space for rent at this
moment. Most of this space is vacant. Owners of office buildings let out their buildings
at low rates to try to keep them on the market. This leads to a general decrease in rents
and income. Vacant buildings with huge “for rent” signs are a bad advertisement for
the owner. Taking some of the non-conforming buildings off the market will lead to an
increase in rents, as supply and demand will correspond better. According to DTZ
Zadelhoff, a significant part of the office space – approximately one million square
meters should be taken off the market. Many office buildings are functionally or
technically outdated and not flexible enough to be refitted, or have a bad spatial-visual
quality. Also, the urban context of the buildings can be experienced as poor, from poor
F
25,3/4
90
accessibility, too little parking provision, the building being situated in a housing area
or being affected by other agglomeration factors.
Conversion to increase the housing supply
The Dutch housing market is stressed. The figures regarding the scarcity of dwellings
vary, but about 800,000 to one million dwellings are needed. Existing office buildings
can of course be demolished and new housing can be built. However, the conversion of
existing building structure is sustainable: building materials are reused, and the
morphological structure of an urban area is retained. This contributes to an
understanding of the place and increases its historical value. Transformation also
saves construction time. For projects that have to be delivered in a short time-span, this
makes transformation especially interesting. And, for both options, there is no need to
conquer inbuilt land, which is already scarce in The Netherlands.
Which buildings are suitable for conversion?
Market
The longer a building has been vacant, the more likely it is that the current owner will
be willing to sell the building or initiate a functional transformation. The subject of our
research is the structural vacant building stock, defined as vacancy of the same square
meters for three consecutive years in a building that was delivered more than three
years ago.
Location
Locations in inner cities or on the edges of cities are interesting locations for housing
developments. Due to poor accessibility by car and poor parking provision, several
office buildings in such locations are having vacancy problems. However, many of the
vacant office buildings are situated in office/industrial parks or along the highway.
Highway locations are poorly accessible by public transport, and air and sound
pollution are severe problems. Under the current circumstances these locations are not
suitable for housing. However, office/industrial parks can be: by regenerating larger
parts of an office location an interesting housing environment can be created. Different
locations correspond to different housing types and different target groups. If a
location is found to be suitable for housing, the next question is who which target
group would like to live there?
Building
Ranging from reprogramming to demolishing everything but the structure, most
buildings have a certain potential for conversion. A specific kind of building is one
which has recognised architectural qualities or has monument status. The conversion
and reuse of these buildings almost always succeeds, albeit with economic loss. The
architectural quality or monument status will be kept without great changes in the
fac¸ade or other characteristics. A program can be sought to reinforce the value of the
building. The other extreme is the non-eloquent building stock. Apart from their lack of
architectural quality, these buildings are often of poor technical or functional quality.
They are outdated but, as revealed in our case studies, they can possibly be converted
into housing. There are few definite vetoes to the building structure itself, but the floor
height must reach the minimum floor height defined by Dutch building laws. This
Conversion of
vacant office
buildings
91
minimum is currently 2.60 m of free height. Other important factors are the economic
feasibility of conversion and urban zoning plans prescribing certain functions.
Instruments
In order to be able to judge office buildings on their potential for conversion into
dwellings the “transformation meter” (Table I) was developed by Geraedts and Van der
Voordt (2002). This instrument consists of criteria to measure opportunities and risk.
The criteria used consider internal building and location aspects. While only a few
internal building criteria are absolute, more of the location criteria can be the source to
a negative transformation advice. Depending on the target group, the conversion of the
building can be made economically feasible; the location, however, is not that easily
changed. The transformation meter has been developed to assist decision-making at
the beginning of a possible conversion trajectory.
In her thesis research at the University of Delft, Nicole de Vrij (2004) discussed a
number of methods that have been developed to decide which buildings are suitable for
conversion. The outcome of this research is a definition of four evaluation instruments,
based on the “transformation meter”. de Vrij (2004) validates her method through case
studies of 11 transformation projects. The first step is a quick scan, using the criteria of
Geraedts and van der Voordt (2002) plus a few additional criteria such as the lack of an
enthusiastic developer, the owner not being willing to sell the office building, or the city
council not being wiling to change the zoning plan. Further, a rough feasibility study is
executed in this first phase. By applying this instrument, office buildings that are not
suitable for conversion into dwellings are quickly identified. Second, potential target
groups are recognised based on the local market, the location and the building. Third,
the feasibility model gives an insight in the financial/economic feasibility of the project.
Target groups are matched with rental prices and idealised floor plans. The idealised
floor plans can be used to divide the office space into dwellings and an estimate can be
made of the number and type of realisable dwellings. Development calculations can be
made using costs and incomes. Fourth, a checklist makes a comprehensive risk
inventory possible. Most risks can be averted when signalled in advance. Specific
characteristics of the transformation project are listed, providing solutions for
frequently occurring problems, organised by location and building characteristics.
These are again subdivided into legal, economic, technical and functional/architectonic
aspects.
The instruments developed at the University of Delft coincide with research done by
Barlow and Gann (1993), presented in a report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Their research focuses on the variables of buildings, owners, planning consent, finance
and economical feasibility. These variables were isolated and researched. Cases were
used to validate the research.
Brakes, triggers and risks
Brakes
One of the obstacles for conversions is the specialisation in competence of the actors in
the real estate market. Developers, investors and owners of office buildings have little
knowledge of other branches of the real estate market. Another problem is the price
asked for vacant office buildings and the cost of conversion compared to the income
from the new function. Prices are kept high through using unrealistically high book
F
25,3/4
92
Aspect Criterion U
Location
Urban situation Office on remote industrial zone
Office in the middle of an office park
Office in area defined as priority area for offices
Land property Land rent
Vacancy Vacant more than one year
Vacancy of surrounding buildings
Character of urban situation Location on or near city edge, ring roads
Desolated area
No greenery in the neighbourhood
Social depreciation, vandalism
Pollution; smell, noise, view
Distance and quality of facilities Shop for daily errands .1km
Meeting place (cafe
´, snack bar, etc) .500 m
Bank/post office .2km
Basic medical facilities (doctor, pharmacy) .5km
Sport facilities (fitness, swimming pool, sports park)
.2km
Educational facilities (nursery, school, university)
.2km
Accessibility by public transport Distance to station .2km
Distance to bus, metro, tram stop .1km
Accessibility by car; parking Many obstacles, limitations, poor flow
Distance to parking place .250 m
,1 parking place/100 m
2
dwelling realisable
Building
Year of construction Building was built or renovated recently (three
years)
Character of the building Unrecognisable, non-eloquent
Poor maintenance
Extensibility Not extensible horizontally
Not extensible vertically
Structure Structure in technically bad condition
Dense structural grid, ,3.6 m
Dimensions Net storey height ,2.6 m
Fac¸ade Fac¸ade openings not adaptable
Impossible to create windows which can be opened
manually
Daylight entry ,10 percent of the living area
Entrance (building, dwelling) Impossible to create a socially secure entrance
Impossible to realise elevator in the building (if more
than four floors)
Distance from dwelling to stairs/elevator .50 m
Impossible to realise escape stairs according to
escape demands
Installations No or insufficient conduits realisable
Environment Noise level at the fac¸ade .50 dB
Sufficient isolation between dwellings impossible
Sufficient isolation of fac¸ade impossible
Presence of dangerous materials in construction
No or little sunlight
Source: Geraedts and van der Voordt (2003)
Table I.
Criteria for low
transformation potential
(the greater the number of
checkmarks, the higher
the risk and the lower the
transformation potential)
Conversion of
vacant office
buildings
93
values. These values often do not correspond with the market value of the object in
question and make redevelopment impossible. Until 1996 the rent per square meter for
office space was higher than the rent per square meter for housing space. The value of
offices is decreasing, while apartment prices continue to rice. This problem is thus
getting smaller, but is still an important issue due to the costs of the conversion.
Because of this, many investors and owners choose to keep their building on the office
market, waiting for better times.
Municipal zoning plans and Dutch building laws are other brakes. Trying to
develop housing in an area scripted for offices can lead to juridical debacles lasting for
18 months. With such uncertainties, conversion is difficult. The building laws are
different for offices and housing. In particular, escape during fire, daylight submission
and the noise level of the surroundings demand changes in the building structure
which can lead to high costs or even make conversion physically impossible. Another
problem is raised by the location of the vacant premises. Half of the vacant buildings
are located in industrial areas and are considered unsuitable for conversion because of
the characteristics of these locations.
Triggers
Knowledge about conversion and different fields of the real estate market is crucial to
trigger transformation projects. Keeping a structural vacant building in the portfolio
costs money and leads to financial loss. Redeveloping the building can be a better
option. One advantage of a transformation project is the short time-span through
which a transformation project can be developed. Conversion is a sustainable way of
developing housing through re-use of buildings or parts of buildings. If a commercial
program can be added to housing, the project can more easily be made economically
feasible. Another trigger is the scarcity of space. Finding a central location for housing
development can be difficult; finding a centrally located vacant office building is easier.
Redeveloping central locations again can help to upgrade inner city areas and attract
other investors.
Social housing corporations are a specific group of actors on the real estate market.
For a social housing corporation, not only is economic feasibility important, but social
feasibility is too. Another characteristic of these corporations is that they do not require
an immediate return on their investment. The demanded return on investment is also
lower than for a commercial developer. For these reasons, social housing corporations
are more likely to take on a transformation project.
Risks
Through our case studies, we have learned that the large risks in transformation
projects come from more than one source one being the building itself, others being
the market or the municipality. Older buildings especially do not correspond with the
drawings or other available information, e.g. the construction turns out to be made of
bricks, not concrete, the distances between columns are not the same throughout the
whole building or the construction contains hidden asbestos. This implies hidden costs
that are revealed during construction. Another problem that was stated in two of our
cases is the housing market. At the moment that these developments started, the
economy was increasing and the housing market was booming. At the moment of
selling the apartments though, the market was saturated and some of the apartments
F
25,3/4
94
turned out to be difficult to sell. A third problem is due to procedures which have to be
run at the municipality. Procedures for changing zoning plans or getting permission
not to work with standard building laws can take a long time. This means that the time
gained through conversion is lost through procedures.
These risks can be eliminated through better planning strategies. In feasibility
studies the chances of problems like weak construction floors, asbestos, and old
installations should be recognised. The choice of dwelling type and size should be
based on serious analyses. The feasibility of the project can be reached through
diversity, both in dwelling type and by adding another function to the building (e.g.
commercial space on the ground floor). Agreements should be made with
municipalities before starting a transformation project; this would lead to better
cooperation during the transformation process.
Cases
Introduction
To explain the transformation process and main risk and success factors we will
present two case studies. The introduction to each case describes the actions taken at
the beginning of each project, responding to the quick scan and feasibility study as
developed by de Vrij (2004). The cases are selected because they were not
architecturally stunning buildings and were not monuments (which legally cannot be
destroyed). The success of these projects has to be explained through economic and
social feasibility.
Student housing in Groningen
The first case study is taken from Groningen in The Netherlands. This office building
was built in 1980 for the Dutch telecom company KPN in the centre of the city. KPN
had moved out and the building was vacant when the housing foundation In marked it
as an interesting place to realise student housing. The reason for the interest of In was
the location of the building in the city centre, close to public services and city (night)life
and near other facilities that the foundation rented out as student housing. The
corporation was also the developer of the project. Through a feasibility study the office
building was regarded as suitable for housing. The building was already up for sale,
but the price was originally too high. After some extra months of vacancy and
intensive negotiations by the housing association, the price was lowered to an
acceptable level. During the feasibility study, appointments were made with the
municipality in order to be sure in advance that changing the zoning plan would be no
problem.
Feasibility. Before buying the building, a feasibility study was done as to ensure
economic feasibility. The building structure is a simple concrete structure of columns
on a 5.4 m grid. In the centre of the building there is an elevator; the staircases are
situated at each end of the building. This granted that nothing had to be done to the
building as to make sure it would apply to the prescriptions for fire escapes. Another
important factor was the state of the fac¸ade. The restrictions on noise on the fac¸ade are
stricter for housing than for offices (maximum 50 dB for housing compared to a
maximum of 60 dB for offices). The fac¸ade did not meet standards for housing, but the
municipality was willing to make an exception. Another common problem is that in
many offices, windows cannot be opened manually. In this building, though, most
Conversion of
vacant office
buildings
95
windows could be opened, or at least one window per structural bay. This was an
important factor in keeping down the cost of reconstruction. A third factor that can
increase the cost of restructuring is internal installations. Heating, air and electric
installations could be re-used. Sub-meters were placed to measure the electricity used
by each unit. Radiators were re-used and were also given added meters.
Design. Little was done about the design of the building. The entrance was
refurbished, as to allow for 83 students to use it on a daily basis. In the wall, 83
post-boxes were placed, together with 83 doorbells. A program was set up in
agreement with the major student organisation in Groningen. This resulted in rooms of
20-25 square meters, each with its own kitchen, bathroom, address, mailbox and
doorbell. Dividing walls between the units were made sound- and fireproof by using
layers of gypsum plates. In this way, as little as possible weight was added to the
construction. The converted building is an anonymous one, little was changed
physically, but the use of the building is radically transformed (see Figures 1-3).
Luxury apartments in Eindhoven
An office building dating from 1958, originally built for the municipality health care
office, later used as municipality offices, was recently abandoned. The building was
not a monument, but the municipality thought it should be reused. A competition was
held for real estate developers in cooperation with architects: the winning developer
could buy the premises and would agree to convert the building into housing. During
the competition, research was done to determine whether the building was suitable for
housing. A feasibility study was also done. The developer who won and got the right to
develop the project was a professional real estate developer, and aimed to develop and
Figure 1.
The existing fac¸ade was
kept
F
25,3/4
96
Figure 2.
Existing office building
Conversion of
vacant office
buildings
97
Figure 3.
Office building converted
into housing
F
25,3/4
98
sell the apartments. As it happened, a commercial housing corporation later bought all
the apartments.
Feasibility. A feasibility study was done as part of the competition. In this case, there
was no pre-defined profile of the renters or buyers. The developer together with the
architect looked at the possibility of fitting apartments into the existing structure.
Together with the costs of making the fac¸ade work technically, only top-end
apartments were calculated to be economically feasible. The neighbourhood where the
building is situated was also thought to be a suitable location for top-end housing. To
create extra income and add value to the urban setting, the base of the building was
given over to a commercial program (a pharmacy and a health centre).
Design. The existing building had various technical disadvantages: for example, the
fac¸ade was outdated and not energy efficient. The floors were too thin to function well
as the division between two apartments. There were several possibilities to solve these
problems. Finally one concept was chosen that would solve all the technical problems;
each apartment was designed as a box that was placed in the existing structure like a
drawer in a chest of drawers. This also solved the isolation of the interior walls and
floors as the fac¸ade. However, during construction it also became clear that the
building was not built to modern standards. The measurements of the columns and the
distances between them varied from floor to floor. The “drawers” had to be
manufactured specially for each unit. This caused high extra costs. Another factor
contributing to the construction costs was the state of the existing construction.
Although the fac¸ade was radically altered, the characteristic structure of the
building and its identity were kept (Figure 4 and 5). The large-scale left-over spaces
that this building comprised were kept public and open. This is one of the obvious
qualities provided by the existing structure and which could not be provided for
through a new building built specifically for its use (Figures 6 and 7).
Reflection and conclusion
Most examples of converted buildings are examples of successful architecture;
buildings which become monuments. These buildings will be reused, whether they are
functionally efficient or not. Converting nondescript and unarticulated buildings
makes sense from the point of view of sustainability, both ecologically and in an urban
regeneration context. These projects will only be interesting to developers if they are
economically feasible.
In our case studies we have looked at buildings that were kept because of
economical and social feasibility. In these projects there are strong connections
between target group, location and the conversion costs. The former KPN building in
central Groningen is interesting for student housing because of its location. The project
was feasible because the price was reasonable, the fac¸ade did not have to be altered and
the fire escapes were satisfactory. In the Eindhoven case, the fac¸ade had to be
completely renewed because of severe technical problems. The building was
completely stripped; the only parts to be reused were the concrete skeleton and the
staircases. The construction even had to be reinforced. The conversion could only be
made feasible if it was developed as high-end apartments. The location added force to
this conclusion.
Conversion of
vacant office
buildings
99
Figure 4.
Typical floor plan before
conversion of the office
building into housing
Figure 5.
Typical floor plan with 16
units. The existing
elevator and staircases
were reused
F
25,3/4
100
Figure 6.
Typical floor plan before
conversion of the office
building into housing
Conversion of
vacant office
buildings
101
Figure 7.
Typical floor plan after
conversion into high-end
apartments
F
25,3/4
102
References
Barlow, J. and Gann, D. (1993), Offices into Flats, James Rowntree Foundation, York.
Buck Consultants International (2003), De internationale concurrentiepositie van Nederland,
Neprom, Nijmegen.
de Vrij, N. (2004), “Measuring is knowing?”, graduation thesis, Department of Real Estate &
Housing, TU Delft, Delft.
DTZ Zadelhoff (2005), Cijfers in perspectief, DTZ Zadelhoff, Utrecht.
Eurohypo AG (2005), “Market report Germany 2005”, available at: www.eurohypo.com]#,46].
Geraedts, R. and van der Voordt, T. (2002), “Offices for living in. An instrument for measuring
the potential for transforming offices into homes”, Proceedings of CIB Conference W104,
Open Building Implementation, Mexico City, October 3-4, pp. 207-29.
Geraedts, R. and van der Voordt, T. (2003), “Good buildings drive out bad buildings.
An instrument for defining the lower end of the office premises market”, Proceedings CIB
Conference W104, Open Building Implementation, Hong Kong, 23-26 October, Vol. 2,
pp. 40-51.
Healy and Baker (1987), National Office Design Survey, Healy and Baker, London.
Neprom (2003), Aanbodmonitor kantoren, Neprom, Voorburg.
Further reading
Geraedts, R. and de Vrij, N. (2004), “Transformation meter revisited. Three new evaluation
instruments for matching the market supply of vacant office buildings and the market
demand for new homes”, Department of Real Estate & Housing, TU Delft, Delft.
Corresponding author
Hilde T. Remøy can be contacted at: h.t.remoy@tudelft.nl
Conversion of
vacant office
buildings
103
To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight.com
Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints
... No entanto, a reutilização adaptativa não é uma decisão fácil porque existem muitos fatores que afetam a conversão (TAN; SHUAI; WANG, 2018). Alguns proprietários de edifícios e profissionais não estão nem mesmo dispostos a considerar a reutilização adaptativa porque há são muitos riscos e incertezas (BULLEN, 2007;REMØY;VOORDT , 2007). Tendo em vista que a reutilização adaptativa se apresenta como uma alternativa sustentável para redução de emissões de CO2, quando comparado ao processo de construção de novas edificações, e as novas necessidades de flexibilização desencadeadas pela pandemia do COVID-19, onde mudanças ocorreram no mercado imobiliário, em que muitos ativos se encontram em dificuldades, e outros estão obsoletos, precisarão se reinventar. ...
... Quando se trata de reuso adaptativo, uma das maiores preocupações dos proprietários de edifícios e profissionais é com relação aos riscos e incertezas, sendo que muitos não estão nem mesmo dispostos a considerar a reutilização adaptativa (BOYD, JANKOVIC;1992;EGBU, 1999;HOLM, 2000;BULLEN, 2017;REMØY;VOORDT, 2007 ...
... However, these blueprints were not identical to the current layout of the building, as they did not reflect the recent configuration of the building, and thus, the A/E team was in need to update and edit the blueprints accordingly. This challenge corroborates with findings concluded in the relevant literature (Alauddin, 2014;Conejos et al., 2016;Remøy and van der Voordt, 2007;Wilkinson et al., 2014). ...
Article
Full-text available
Purpose This paper aims to provide architecture, engineering, construction and facilities management (AEC/FM) practitioners with a guiding tool for overcoming the challenges affecting their performance in adaptive reuse project. Design/methodology/approach Literature review was conducted to comprehend the challenges affecting the AEC/FM performance during the implementation of adaptive reuse projects. A case study was conducted on an adaptively reused building, located in Saudi Arabia. The case study building was converted from a bookstore into an amusement center. Document review of the as-built drawings, and a structured interview with the project manager were conducted. The study concluded with the development of AEC/FM practical guidelines, pertaining to the different involved domains. Findings This study indicated that the potential challenges are interrelated among the three domains. These challenges pertained to the spatial, legislative, technical, administrative and operational aspects. The findings emphasized the vital role of the integration among the AEC/FM domains, at the early project planning phases. Based on the findings, three sets of AEC/FM guidelines were developed. Research limitations/implications Theoretically, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that provides a case-specific investigation of the challenges affecting the AEC/FM performance in adaptive reuse projects. Practical implications The developed practical guidelines could potentially enhance the AEC/FM performance in future adaptive reuse projects. Originality/value This study contributes to the practice of adaptive reuse projects through providing practical guidelines for mitigating the challenges that affect the AEC/FM performance in these projects.
... Therefore, to prioritize existing buildings for adaptive reuse, the first step is to examine their potential for reuse. The literature review shows that there are different criteria and methods to evaluate buildings' potential for adaptive reuse and assign new suitable reuse (Remøy and van der Voordt 2007;Wilkinson and Reed 2011;Wang and Zeng 2010;Aigwi et al. 2020;Bullen 2007;Tan, Shen, and Langston 2014;Gann and Barlow 1996;Geraedts and van der Voordt 2004;Architectural Institute of Japan 2007;Wilson 2010). For example, to evaluate the potential of office buildings for transforming into housing, Geraedts and van der Voordt (2004) introduce a measurement tool that includes physical aspects of building (including aspects such as structure, dimensions and facade) and locational aspects (including aspects such as urban location, distance and quality of facilities, access to the public transport, parking) and some market consideration. ...
Article
Full-text available
The paper seeks to outline a framework to prioritize existing buildings for adaptive reuse. Twenty-nine schools were selected and investigated to determine their priority for adaptive reuse. By evaluating obsolescence and calculating the useful life of the buildings, their potential for reuse was identified using Adaptive Reuse Potential (ARP) model. According to the reuse potential and best time for reuse intervention, these projects were prioritized. By determining the most important obsolescence types and setting priorities among them according to their impact on reducing the buildings’ useful life, different strategies to mitigate/avoid each obsolescence have been discussed. The results show that functional, technological and physical obsolescence are the most important types of obsolescence respectively. Also, according to the results the average effective useful life of all case studies is 54%. Therefore, with the persistenceof the current conditions, only about half of the expected life of the cases will be utilized.
... Shipley states, "some developers argue that reusing older buildings always represents a financial advantage" (Shipley, 2006), but it needs a comprehensive strategy, which is subject to a detailed and systematic study for achieving financial success. It faces problems associated with the economic risk and uncertainty of the success of the new function (Remøy and Van der Voordt, 2007). According to Bullen, adaptive reuse is a process for improving the economic, environmental and social performance of heritage buildings (Bullen, 2007). ...
Article
Purpose: Oman has a rich built heritage due to its strategic location making its history full of events, which resulted in remarkably cultural and social heritage. The government works on preserving the built environment through the adaptive reuse strategy of abandoned buildings or sites, which is considered a comprehensive approach to sustainability. The adaptive reuse process often involves complex factors especially through decision-making, which influence the success of the generated project. The research aims at proposing an assessment methodology that offers guidelines that can help to achieve comprehensive adaptive reuse. Design/methodology/approach This paper analyzes and assesses adaptive reuse interventions for selected five heritage houses in the Sultanate of Oman. The assessment is conducted based on sustainable and physical aspects. Findings The results display that a comprehensive sustainable strategy for adaptive reuse projects is essential to promote the local economy, enhance social values, preserve the cultural identity, and adapt to the local environment. Originality/value The Sultanate of Oman has significant adaptive reuse projects of private heritage houses that can achieve more success by following comprehensive strategies. This contribution proposes comprehensive strategies for successful adaptive reuse that help in achieving numerous social, cultural, environmental, and economic benefits. These strategies can be further developed by extending the assessment methodology to include more categories. Keywords: Adaptive Reuse, Heritage Houses, Preservation, Cultural Enhancement, and Sultanate of Oman.
... However, during a scientific study linked by I. Djebbour and R.W Biara (2019) on the adaptive reuse of historic buildings in the historic center of Tlemcen, a study composed of a group of different types of buildings dating from different periods (Zianid, Merinid, and French) revealed that although there is a good mastery of restoration, the use of space is moderately taken into account, while the social aspects of space such as cultural identity are not taken into account at all (Djebbour and Biara, 2020). The concept of conversion is discussed in this paper as an architectural practice aimed at giving a new function to a building whose previous use no longer fits the needs of its users while maintaining its original essence (Remøy and van der Voordt, 2007;Cabeza et al., 2018). The majority of the ideas are based on a consideration of the topic of heritage (Yildirim, 2012). ...
Article
Full-text available
Adaptive reuse of heritage buildings is a viable option for giving them a second life because it is less expensive and energy efficient. However, to think of preserving a building without thinking about reviving its ambiances would be to preserve the envelope without the soul. Through the acoustic environment analysis, this research was conducted to determine the quality of historic building reconversion in Algeria. We've decided to concentrate on the acoustic environment in medieval Islamic structures. The library of the Kasbah in Bejaia was our choice. It was built in 1797 to serve as a mosque, although it has been altered numerous times since then. We carried out in-situ acoustic measurements and then distributed a closed questionnaire to three categories of people: users, staff members, and outsiders. The conversion of the mosque into a library was fraught with two significant issues. The first was technical: there was no acoustic study, resulting in a poor fit between absorbing and reflecting materials. The second was functional: there is no clear boundary between the reading room for readers and the workspace for staff members.
... In practice, this means that the building is made into an apartment building with a minimum investment for a maximum of ten to twenty years, before it is restored to its previous function. Building transformation can be faster, cheaper, and more sustainable, than building anew (Remøy & van der Voordt, 2014;Remøy et al., 2007). There are however potential downsides to this approach. ...
Article
Full-text available
People living in short-term rental housing, henceforth temporary housing, are rarely consulted by professionals involved in the design process, whether regarding new or refurbished buildings. Knowing what is required for temporary dwellers to feel at home and how their meanings of home relate to household characteristics, activities, and indoor environmental quality, might result in better designs for these commonly small dwellings. To explore the views of temporary occupants about their home environment, we designed and conducted a survey directed to young people in the Netherlands, likely to be familiar with living in temporary accommodation (141 university students, 58 refugees who have received a permit to stay; henceforth named permit holders), 23 persons who were working 4 days and studying 1 day; henceforth named starters). Through factor analysis, six meanings of home were found to be statistically significant: Representation, privacy, sociability, rootedness, future, and appropriation. Multiple regression analyses and analyses of variance indicated that meanings of home were related to some household characteristics and the presence of light and cleanliness. Our study showed that measuring meanings of home might help understand not only how dwellings are used but also how to improve the design of small temporary dwellings. For instance, more possibilities for good or natural light, storage, and the display of personal possessions should be incorporated into the design of these small dwellings.
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Conversion, as a type of building adaptation, is becoming an increasingly common kind of architectural practice in many cities. Various aspects of this topic are the subject of numerous analyses and research interests, mostly, focused on drivers and obstacles of the conversion process. Although the conversion is still not sufficiently present in modern construction practice in Belgrade, several office building conversions to luxury hotels were completed on the territory of the central historic districts. Also, many vacant heritage buildings were noticed. Considering the above mentioned, the Serbian standards for classifying hotels into categories are analyzed, to examine the difference between the procedures for conversion of heritage buildings and non-heritage buildings into hotels, in terms of application of the standards. Although the status of heritage buildings, in many cases, can be an obstacle in the process of building conversion, this paper presents the legislative benefits of converting heritage office buildings into hotels.
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Vacant office buildings are an issue of many cities. Considering different types of adaptive reuse as increasingly presented in contemporary building practice, conversion of these buildings is, besides renovation for the same use, demolishing and new building, one of the strategies for solving this problem. Usually, a choice of new use for converted building is the consequence of market needs of a particular city. In Belgrade, due to the increasement of a number of foreign touristis in last two decades, there is a need for the increasement of accommodation capacity. Number of hotel accommodation is, also, increased through the conversion of vacant buildings. The most of the converted buildings are located in the cultural-historical areas, which is consistent with tendencies in Belgrade's tourism development. In the paper, the conversion potential of office buildings into hotels in Belgrade is considered. POTENCIJAL PRENAMENE POSLOVNIH U HOTELSKE OBJEKTE U BEOGRADU Rezime: Poslovni objekti van upotrebe predstavljaju problem velikog broja gradova. Jedan od načina rešavanja ovog problema, pored renoviranja radi korišćenja objekta u iste svrhe, rušenja i izgradnje novih objekata na mestu postojećih, jeste njihova prenamena, budući da su različiti vidovi ponovne upotrebe objekata sve zastupljeniji način delovanja u savremenoj graditeljskoj praksi. Izbor nove namene je, najčešće, uslovljen tržišnim potrebama pojedinačnih gradova. U Beogradu je, usled porasta broja stranih turista u poslednje dve decenije, došlo do potrebe za povećanjem smeštajnih kapaciteta. Broj hotelskih objekata je povećan i prenamenom objekata van upotrebe. Najveći broj prenamenjenih objekata se nalazi u okviru kulturno-istorijskih celina, što je u skladu sa tendencijama u razvoju turizma u Beogradu. U radu se razmatra potencijal prenamene poslovnih u hotelske objekte u Beogradu. Ključne reči: prenamena, poslovni objekti, hotelski objekti, kulturno-istorijske celine
Article
Full-text available
Purpose This study aims to develop a decision-making tool that assesses the economic feasibility of converting commercial and industrial buildings into rented residential accommodation. This tool also enables developers to provide high-quality rented residential accommodation that contribute to the gentrification of formerly industrialised inner city or developed areas. Design/methodology/approach The overarching epistemological approach adopted used inductive reasoning and a postpositivist philosophical design to structure the research problem and devise new theories about the phenomena under investigation. From an operational perspective, a two-phase “waterfall” research approach was adopted. Phase one used extant literature to identify development factors and variables for consideration, risks posed and conversion appraisal criteria. Two case studies formed the basis of a cross comparative analysis, namely, a new build and conversion of a former industrial building into rented residential accommodation. Phase two identified development appraisal criteria, conducted a cost analysis and premised upon the findings, developed a decision support appraisal tool as a “proof of concept”. Findings The research combined key decision factors and variables that assist property developers when evaluating whether to convert commercial and industrial property into rented residential accommodation. The appraisal tool’s functionality was validated via a focus group discussion with senior property developers to ensure that assessment criteria and development weightings were appropriate. Feedback revealed that the tool was suitable for purpose and should now be adopted in practice and refined as appropriate and with usage. Research limitations/implications The appraisal tool presented could yield a far more accurate means of decision-making which, in turn, could ensure that predicted investment returns are received (thus reducing errors and lowering risk for investors). Future work is required to robustly test and validate the tool’s accuracy in practice. It is envisaged that future projects will provide a rich stream of data for such testing. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work constitutes the first attempt to conceptualise a decision support tool for rented residential property development.
Article
Full-text available
This study identifies a list of effective criteria for the adaptive reuse of heritage buildings in Egypt. Adaptive reuse is one of the most important conservation strategies. The qualitative nature of this approach and its reliance on many diverse and often conflicting heritage factors and values has made decision-making complex, difficult, and fragmentarily supported in a way within the framework of sustainability. The research examines the factors influencing the adaptive reuse of buildings to determine effective and influencing criteria in Egypt for changing resistant perspectives. Criteria from previous studies were reviewed and evaluated for their potential use through a questionnaire tool targeting professional and non-professional, then analyzed by the SPSS statistics program. The results showed five empowering criteria for effective buildings adaptability in Egypt. Based on the analysis for principal components, identified criteria are grouped into seven principal components; heritage value management, integration with the demand of development, environment adaptivity, environmental performance and sustainability, public intervention, adaptation Plan, and financial and investment. The identified empowering criteria and principal factors are considered as a reference for stakeholders and governments to get a clearer vision of adaptive reuse to achieve better and more sustainable planning, and management.
Article
Full-text available
A large number of office premises seem difficult to rent out because they no longer meet the demands of the market. A solution must be found for these premises and also for office buildings that have been empty for longer periods. Reallocation or transformation to other functions such as homes can be envisaged here. In addition, due to the lack of available locations for building homes, corporations and project developers are desperately looking for structural alternatives. The transformation of offices into homes can also be a good option for this objective. In this paper answers are provided to the questions: which groups of households can be identified for the transformation of empty office buildings into homes; what is the demand profile of these groups; and with which instrument can the transformation potential of empty or soon-to-be empty office buildings be measured.
Conference Paper
Full-text available
At present (2004), there are many vacant office buildings available for rent in The Netherlands. This situation is caused by the rapid economic ageing of these buildings due to the economic recession. At the same time, there is a great demand for housing, especially among two target groups: young starters in the market and elderly people. These two groups are most suitable for living in transformed office buildings. Transformation of office buildings into homes can contribute to solving both the shortage of housing as well as the problem of vacant office buildings. Moreover, transformation can also have additional benefits. These include, for example, bringing residents back to areas from which they have disappeared and improving the inhabitability of areas. Transformation is also important for sustainability. By preserving historical buildings, the history of an area remains valuable. Despite the benefits, very few transformation projects are taking place, even though they have proven to be possible in the past. One of the reasons for this is the lack of experience in transformation projects. Good instruments could help to solve this problem. In the study 'Offices for Living in', published in CIB W104 Open Building Implementation, Mexico 2002, an instrument was developed for measuring the potential for transforming vacant office buildings into homes. This instrument was called the ‘Transformation Meter.’ In the following research project, the Transformation Meter was tested in practice, updated and improved, so that it will be better able to support future transformation projects. The project resulted in the definition of three new evaluation instruments based on both the Transformation Meter and detailed case studies of 11 projects.
Conference Paper
Full-text available
In the study 'Offices for Living in', published in CIB W104 Open Building Implementation, Mexico 2002, an instrument was developed for measuring the potential of transforming (soon-to-be) empty office premises into homes. As a follow-up, this survey 'Good Buildings Drive out Bad Buildings' looks explicitly at the lower end of the office premises market. The office premises in question have been vacated by organizations that have moved to new premises of a higher quality and in a better location. Depending on the prevailing market conditions, a number of the vacated premises will remain empty. This is particularly true of premises that offer the least quality, whose location is less desirable, or whose price/quality ratio is unattractive. This study introduces an instrument known as the Vacancy Risk Meter (VRM), which allows the so-called lower end of the office premises market in a particular urban district to be defined at an early stage. The study was aimed at the developments in the office premises market in Rotterdam between 1996 and 1999. This period was characterized by the presence of a relatively high percentage of chronically empty buildings. In the subsequent period, from 1999 to 2002, a more favourable economic climate and altered market forces led to many of the empty buildings being rented out once again as office premises. From 2002 onwards, a growing economic recession has meant that the number of chronically empty buildings is once again on the increase: the cycle is repeating itself.
Article
Full-text available
A large number of office premises seem difficult to rent out because they no longer meet the demands of the market. A solution must be found for these premises and also for office buildings that have been empty for longer periods. Reallocation or transformation to other functions such as homes can be envisaged here. In addition, due to the lack of available locations for building homes, corporations and project developers are desperately looking for alternatives. The transformation of offices into homes can also be a good option for this objective. In the current study answers are provided to the questions: how many and which office buildings stood empty in a particular area of Rotterdam; which groups of households can be identified for the transformation of empty office buildings into homes; what is the demand profile of these groups; and with which instruments can the transformation potential of empty or soon-to-be empty office buildings be measured.
De internationale concurrentiepositie van Nederland
  • Buck Consultants International
Measuring is knowing?”, graduation thesis, Department of Real Estate & Housing
  • N De Vrij
Cijfers in perspectief
  • DTZ Zadelhoff
Market report Germany 2005
  • Eurohypo AG
National Office Design Survey
  • Baker Healy
Aanbodmonitor kantoren
  • Neprom