Resilient Building Retrofits: Combating the climate crisis

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This radical book aims to inject new insight and urgency into the discourse on the retrofitting of commercial and residential buildings in the face of the climate emergency. It is about the why, how and who should take the lead in revolutionising buildings in the face of serious climate and social change.

This radical book aims to inject new insight and urgency into the discourse on the retrofitting of commercial and residential buildings in the face of the climate emergency. It is about the why, how and who should take the lead in revolutionising buildings in the face of serious climate and social change.Buildings contribute very significantly to the output of carbon, particularly in developed countries where the stock is old, but it is neither feasible nor desirable to demolish them all and start again! If existing buildings cannot in be replaced in the short-term by new zero carbon stock, retrofitting and adaptation of the existing building stock is critical and urgent. 

This book explains why and how the improvement of buildings requires a complex, holistic approach that brings all stakeholders together with respect and understanding. Yet to do this against a limited time frame is challenging. The book analyses what must be done, explores how it could be achieved and sets out a manifesto for action by all those engaged: from policy makers, to educationalists, designers, constructors, investors, funders and occupiers. By bringing together authors from across the built environment disciplines, the book stimulates debate within policy, practice and education circles which must lead to action if we are to avoid catastrophe. This is a unique addition to the literature on the sustainability of existing buildings and their retrofitting for the benefit of all.

Table of Contents

Part 1: The Why: Challenge and a need to change

1. The Climate Crisis: why it matters for the built environment

Sarah Sayce, Sara Wilkinson & Sam Organ

2. The philosophy and definition of retrofitting for resilience

Sara Wilkinson & Sarah Sayce

3. An inadequate building stock

Sarah Sayce and Sara Wilkinson

4. Understanding Vacancy in the office stock

Gill Armstrong

Part 2: The What: Exploring solutions

5. A governance response: from coercion to persuasion to embracing diversity?

Jeroen Van der Heijden

6. Financing RetrofitsUrsula Hartenberger,

Sarah Sayce and Zsolt Toth

7. Low Tech vs High Technological solutions for a pandemic adaptable Society

Sara Wilkinson & Samantha Organ

8. Repurposing and adaptation

Hilde Remøy & Sara Wilkinson

9. Heritage: learning from and preserving the past

Sara Wilkinson & Shabnam Yazdani Mehr

Part 3: Conclusions, the future, and a manifesto for Change

10. Conclusions and a Manifesto to Retrofit for the Future

Sara Wilkinson, Sarah Sayce & Gill Armstrong

Product details

  • Published: September 2022
  • Publisher: Taylor and Francis
  • Authors: Sayce S & Wilkinson S
  • ISBN : 9780367903541
  • Page Numbers : 228