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Architecture vocabulary · Styles, History and Conservation

Adaptive reuse

Meaning in architecture, with examples

nounCommon term

In architecture, adaptive reuse means: Giving an old building a new use, such as turning a factory into a museum or offices, while keeping much of its original structure and character.

In Turkish: yeniden işlevlendirme, yeniden kullanım

How it is used

Important in both conservation and sustainability, because reusing a structure saves embodied carbon. London's Tate Modern, a former power station, is a famous example. Architects also say 'repurpose' or 'convert' a building; the result is a conversion.

Example sentences

  1. The adaptive reuse of the tobacco warehouse created a library and artists' studios.

  2. Adaptive reuse is often greener than demolishing and building new.

Common collocations

  • adaptive reuse project
  • industrial heritage
  • convert a building
  • repurpose a building
  • restorationWork that repairs a historic building and returns it to an earlier condition, based on careful research into its original form, materials and techniques.
  • embodied carbonThe carbon emissions from producing, transporting and installing a building's materials, and later from maintaining and demolishing it, as opposed to emissions from its energy use.
  • sustainable designDesigning buildings to use less energy, water and materials, to reduce carbon emissions and waste, and to provide healthy places for people over their whole life.
  • BrutalismA style from the 1950s to the 1970s known for heavy, bold forms and raw, exposed concrete, often used for housing, universities and public buildings.

More terms: Styles, History and Conservation

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