Course summary

MA Architecture and Adaptive Reuse is a course about existing buildings, situations, and places, and how over time these structures and locations can be encouraged to evolve, sustain new uses and accommodate new users. Throughout this course, you will investigate strategies for adaptive reuse - strategies that are not applied as a reaction to current conditions, but in anticipation of future changes. Adaptation is now at the forefront of architectural practice; two of the most pressing challenges in the 21st century are climate change and urbanisation. Given that already more than half of the global population live in urban environments, and by 2050 it is projected that more than 70% of the world population will live in cities, all societies need to be able to accommodate growth while at the same time reducing consumption. The existing building stock needs to become both more efficient and more resilient. During the course, you will investigate the four main aspects to sustainable reuse - environmental, societal, inhabitation and economical, while also exploring heritage, history, memory, community and the influence these factors have on remodelling activities. You will explore the impact that context and the environment have upon projects, while developing an understanding of some of the technical issues including construction, environmental control, and materials in order to make creative and appropriate proposals for new users of buildings. Furthermore, you will also examine specific examples of adaptive reuse and theories of reuse and explore strategies for the conservation and adaptation of the existing environment.