Abstract
Vacant commercial facilities are an increasing concern in many developed countries. Despite
the low occupancy rates in existing facilities, new commercial facilities that better
accommodate the needs of modern end-users are constantly developed. In addition to financial
concerns, under-utilized spaces are a great environmental burden, as buildings account for
approximately one third of the global energy demand. One of the most effective ways to reduce
the greenhouse gas emissions associated with buildings is to increase space-efficiency, namely,
reduce the use of space. Repurposing existing facilities for a new use or a different end-user,
does not suffer from the embodied energy and material use associated with new construction
and major refurbishments. However, it can be argued that even a repurposing project may lead
to significant waste of financial, natural and human resources if the project is unsuccessful, i.e.,
the facility remains under-utilized after the attempted adaptation. This study examines two
Finnish repurposing projects with special focus on stakeholder management and engaging endusers. Both projects are investigated starting from the early design phase. The data comprises
stakeholder interviews, and observation in a planning workshop. As the researchers actively
participated in the workshop, the research is also partially action-based. This paper presents a
model for identifying and engaging end-users to a repurposing project. The key finding is that,
active participation in the design phase leads to a sense of ownership of the space, which in turn
is thought to promote the efficient use of space and improve occupancy. End-user engagement
and higher occupancy together would support all three dimensions of sustainability: social,
environmental, and economic.
the low occupancy rates in existing facilities, new commercial facilities that better
accommodate the needs of modern end-users are constantly developed. In addition to financial
concerns, under-utilized spaces are a great environmental burden, as buildings account for
approximately one third of the global energy demand. One of the most effective ways to reduce
the greenhouse gas emissions associated with buildings is to increase space-efficiency, namely,
reduce the use of space. Repurposing existing facilities for a new use or a different end-user,
does not suffer from the embodied energy and material use associated with new construction
and major refurbishments. However, it can be argued that even a repurposing project may lead
to significant waste of financial, natural and human resources if the project is unsuccessful, i.e.,
the facility remains under-utilized after the attempted adaptation. This study examines two
Finnish repurposing projects with special focus on stakeholder management and engaging endusers. Both projects are investigated starting from the early design phase. The data comprises
stakeholder interviews, and observation in a planning workshop. As the researchers actively
participated in the workshop, the research is also partially action-based. This paper presents a
model for identifying and engaging end-users to a repurposing project. The key finding is that,
active participation in the design phase leads to a sense of ownership of the space, which in turn
is thought to promote the efficient use of space and improve occupancy. End-user engagement
and higher occupancy together would support all three dimensions of sustainability: social,
environmental, and economic.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Proceedings of the CIB World Building Congress 2016 |
| Subtitle of host publication | VOL 2: Environmental Opportunies and Challenges |
| Publisher | Tampere University of Technology. Department of Civil Engineering. |
| Publication status | Published - 2016 |
Subject classification (UKÄ)
- Other Engineering and Technologies
Free keywords
- stakeholder management
- sustainability
- repurposing
- end-user engagement
- project management