Abstract:
Adapting the Narrative focuses on ways and methods to promote the option of adaptive reuse within the context of Detroit through policy and sustainability methods.
Adaptive reuse sustains the value of a building through a change of use and or significant modification of a building. The current critique of adaptive reuse is that it is good in theory as an excellent sustainable design method but unreliable in practice (Deniz et al.) (Baker et al.). This is due to several important limitations related to regulations and public opinion regarding such interventions.
Often, this makes the pursuit of this type of process nearly impossible. How does one encourage adaptive reuse in a culture where new is always best, and the current perception of adaptive reuse is low? This study, Adapting the Narrative, intended to explore avenues of ways to encourage adaptive reuse through a multi-prong approach to provide a dialogue and clarity behind the realities and implications of adaptive reuse today – to educate (laypeople, professionals, developers, investors, policymakers, etc.) in hopes of adapting the narrative surrounding this subject.
The research adopted a primary post-positivist framework and a secondary contextual framework. This multipronged research approach employs interviews, literary reviews, precedents, explorations, and case studies.
This work proposed a program to encourage adaptive reuse within residential neighborhoods in Detroit. The program provides educational tools and points to resources to bring understanding in an attempt to showcase the inherent value in buildings.
Despite these limitations, adaptive reuse offers meaningful solutions for increasing the holistic sustainability of the construction industry. Adapting the Narrative continues this conversation discussing the implications and possibilities of adaptive reuse.
