William Algaard
Director, Building Engineering
Arup, London

Our commitments to the climate emergency and the Paris Agreement give us an annually reducing carbon budget to meet the needs of the projected urbanization and population growth. This budget does not allow construction to continue with the current approach and rate. We need to make our buildings last. Resilience and adaptability are the key to this. Resilient systems can spring back from changes in their environment, such as shocks from natural disasters, longer-term climate change, or market alterations. Resilient design considers hazards that can challenge long-term viability of buildings, identifies vulnerabilities and analyzes potential impacts. Resilient design and investment decisions are based on informed balance of cost, risk, and long-term value and opportunity.

Building code design requirements are primarily concerned with protecting life safety of the occupants in extreme events, not impacts on businesses or the survival of a building. For example, code compliant buildings often need demolition following design level earthquakes. This can be avoided by following a resilient design strategy, often at little additional cost.

However, the greatest global threat to long building life is typically obsolescence. Buildings become obsolete when they are unable to meet required standards or to adapt to changing markets. Examples are presented where existing buildings have been reimagined and given a new lease of life, increasing the asset value and substantially reducing the embodied carbon compared with reconstruction options. While frequently complex and technically challenging, adaptive reuse solutions can often be realized in less time and for less cost than rebuild options. The presentation concludes with recommendations for challenging ourselves to improve the resilience and adaptability at the design stage, and support extending the life of buildings.