Adaptive Reuse

Contents

Introduction3
The imperative to reimagine old buildings for new futures

Sustained Impacts 5
Adaptation invites nuanced dialogue between past and present

A Harmonious Collage 8
Layered environments that elicit curiosity and connection

Climate Change and Decarbonization 14

The Outsize Role of Existing Buildings

Conclusion21

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Introduction
The imperative to reimagine old buildings for new futures
The architecture of adaptation is uniquely potent. Reimagined buildings can assume a new
stance by wearing the changes made to their use and character. Their transformations are
made more profound and their impact is amplified by a nuanced dialogue between past and
present. Adaptive reuse both sustainably extends the life of buildings and helps reestablish their
relevance to the communities they serve.

Communities across the country have rebuked the hallowing of racial hierarchies within their
institutions. Following these calls for change, institutions have asserted their commitment to
equity and justice; this commitment extends to the experience of the built environment. Too
often, buildings and campuses feel like they require “insider knowledge” to navigate their
spaces and grounds. Exclusionary signaling can range from the overt—honoring histories of
discrimination and subjugation—to subtler gestures of unwelcome. Understanding and open-
minded discourse are vital steps toward change. Can buildings contribute to this constructive
discourse? Can campuses extend equal welcome to all? We think they can.

When razing a building to start anew, the new building may indicate, even commemorate,
what was there before, but it stands as a forthright expression of the present. On the opposite
end of the spectrum, when an entirely faithful act of historic preservation, the conservation
fortifies and memorializes the past. We are primarily focused on the messy middle—adaptive
reuse projects that are neither pure acts of establishing something new, nor the safeguarding of
something old, but rather complex negotiations between the past and present. When you adapt
a building for a new future, the very act of adaptation—critical reflection of the building’s past
and current postures, developing consensus on what should remain and how the existing fabric
is expressed, and reimagining the building for contemporary use and values—offers a platform
for constructive dialogue. Architecture can convey this dialogue, and in doing so, present a far
richer and more nuanced response to the charge.

Just as adaptive reuse is uniquely positioned to confront and reexamine social and cultural
paradigms, the practice holds promise to address the performative shortcomings of our existing
buildings. According to the UN Emissions Gap Report from 2020, the most effective approach
to staving off a rise in global temperatures in excess of 1.5°C is for the world to systematically
reduce emissions within the next 10 years, by 2030.1 Given the carbon debt incurred by
demolishing to construct new and efficient buildings, this 10-year window brings an urgency
to the problem that adaptive reuse is well-positioned to address. Close to two-thirds of the
building area that exists today will still exist decades from now;2 improving the performance of
existing buildings will have substantive impact.

Clearly, there may be site-specific rationales to build new, to preserve, or to adapt. But to
assume a path of deliberate understanding toward purposeful reinvention, we should consider
thoughtful and ambitious transformations of existing buildings.

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ADAPTIVE REUSE DEBORAH BERKE PARTNERS | ATELIER TEN 4
Sustained Impacts
Adaptation invites nuanced dialogue between past and present
Buildings, particularly historic buildings, can convey to
some a sense of integrity and awe. To those marginalized in
our society, they can convey repressive authority and power.
Buildings can outlive their original functions or lose their
cultural relevance. Their signs and modes of exclusion may
be subtle, though no less corrosive. The answer is not to do
away with old buildings, but to recontextualize them, to
modify them to be deliberately inviting and inclusive, and
to provide evidence of their change. Reinvention avoids
memorialization and museumification, which are closed-off
interpretations. Adapting these buildings opens the door to
new possibilities and configurations, creating more open-
ended and culturally-accessible spaces.

The first step in transforming an existing building is to

develop an empathetic understanding of its historic and
social context. Determining what to preserve and how to
interpret its cultural heritage is a process of decipherment
and translation. Stakeholders are asked to navigate and
confront various “webs of meaning.”3 As the ambitions for
future buildings are considered, so are the ways the present
fabric may impinge on those ideals. When approached
thoughtfully, this process of marrying old and new can lead
to productive dialogue. The dialogue is most substantive, and
the built result is most impactful, when diverse voices and
experiences are invited and accepted.

Above and Below:

The original 1930s Art Deco building was designed by the architects
Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, as a YMCA for sailors and merchant marines.
The building was sold to New York State and operated as a women’s
prison from 1974-2012. The prison reported high rates of abuse and
was a site of pain and confinement. Following its decommission, the
building was envisioned as The Women’s Building, a new global hub for
the women’s and girls’ rights movements.
DBP and the NoVo Foundation led an inclusive community engagement
process that grappled with the building’s checkered history.

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A newly common setting
Adapted buildings can help create “bridging ties,”4 linking
together people with various backgrounds. They offer a
common setting for broad groups—one that gives presence
to the past while assuming an intentionally equitable stance
that is open to the future. These layered buildings elicit
thoughtful engagement, extending discourse in ways that are
approachable and reinforcing.

Ties to the community

Renovating existing buildings establishes a purposeful
continuity that values a community’s local environment and
history. Celebrating the craft and artisanship that went into
the original building, rehabilitation can tap local labor skills
to support a regional economy. Adaptive Reuse can help Above:

strengthen ties rather than build new fences. Our design of the Rockefeller Arts Center at SUNY Fredonia
adds to a 1968 I. M. Pei building with long concrete walls
punctured with metal and glass. The addition inverts the
language using a lighter palette where concrete is reserved as
an accent. Working closely with local skilled concrete workers,
we developed a distinct diagonal boardform patterning.
Below:
NXTHVN is a not-for-profit arts and community incubator
founded by artist Titus Kaphar in the Dixwell neighborhood
of New Haven, Connecticut. By reusing the fabric of two
existing factory buildings, NXTHVN expresses itself as a
continuation of the community.

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 Adaptive reuse both sustainably
extends the life of buildings and
helps reestablish their relevance to
the communities they serve.

Above and Below:

NXTHVN is dedicated to providing affordable workspaces for artists,
mentoring local youth, and contributing to the revitalization of the
Dixwell neighborhood of New Haven. It occupies two abandoned
factory buildings and includes a luminous new addition.
The design celebrates the found conditions of the old buildings. Timber
beams, brick walls, and concrete floors are cleaned and left exposed,
and some industrial elements are retained. The Great Hall is reopened
to a double height space with sawtooth skylights.
The new addition’s facade is composed of glass and staggered gray
brick, creating a clear distinction between old and new. Illuminated
at night, the new addition acts as a beacon for the center, and signals
renewed investment in the neighborhood.

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A Harmonious Collage
Layered environments that elicit curiosity and connection
Working with old buildings has been at the center of our
practice for reasons both opportunistic and ideological.
Buildings—whether loved or maligned by those who use
them, whether attributed to a famous architect or without
an author—are complex things, with histories and implicit
meanings. We see their renewal and reinterpretation as an
active and intelligent act. The existing building is more than a
scenic backdrop, adding quick cachet to a new program — it is
a source of inspiration and a point of departure.

The result can be intricate and layered. Bearing visible traces of

its earlier form, the transformed building becomes something
nonetheless new. There is room for discovery and ingenuity
and the reconsidered whole can be greater than the sum of its
parts. There is no singular roadmap to adaptation, only the
underlying premise of a complex negotiation. We approach
each project on its own terms, determining a response to
the existing fabric that sits somewhere between reverent to
irreverent. When we describe an intervention as reverent,
we refer to a subtle design move that is often constrained
by preservation rules. These moves can, however, still be
powerful. An irreverent intervention can change a building
more fundamentally, to create possibilities for new programs
or unprecedented combinations of programs. In all instances,
we look to make impactful interventions that address
manifestations of societal prejudice and exclusion and to
introduce clear signals of welcome and inclusion.

Our approach to adaptive reuse may involve intervention or

unveiling and be framed as interruptions or refractions. We
highlight and heighten the productive tension that is derived
from the immediacy of old and new. In the following pages,
we describe our toolkit for converting old buildings, to breathe
new life into them, and to offer equal respect to all users.

Above
Our design for the Meeting and Guesthouse at the University of
Pennsylvania preserves the street-facing residential character of
the original buildings and adds a new interlocking addition with a
high performance terracotta building envelope in a contemporary
architectural language.
Below:
At the 21c Museum Hotel Louisville, our straightforward, modern
insertions weave five buildings together, highlighting elements of the
original fabric and providing opportunities to display dramatic, large-scale
contemporary art.

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Understanding and Acknowledgement
We begin by developing an understanding of the building’s
history—from its original cultural context through to the
present. Most buildings do not belong to any single group of
users nor do they rigidly embody a single set of values. They
are often comprised of a messy agglomeration of histories and
compounded aspirations. We examine the varied experiences
and sometimes conflicting meanings that are associated
with the building. We do this without preconceived notions
of restoring one outlook versus another, and shepherd the
dialogue away from nostalgic restoration and towards one
framed through critical reflection.5 The goal of this process is
to explore new possibilities that can both strengthen existing
bonds and establish new ties between a building and its
community of users.

Above and Below:

The design for The Women’s Building, a place of
activism for women's and girl's rights, acknowledges the
building’s past lives as a YMCA for merchant marines,
and, thereafter a New York State prison for women. The
design incorporates historic elements from the various
periods, including a chapel space that was a place of
respite for the seamen. Though the space was less
meaningful to the women who had been incarcerated
there, community engagement revealed a common
desire to mark all the eras of the building’s history. To
design a place of optimism and idealism, we would make
room to understand and acknowledge the past.

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Unveiling and Contrast
With this understanding, and often in consultation with
users, stakeholders, and specialists, we determine elements of
the building that ought to be revealed. We avoid recreations
through mimicry or fakery. But rather than blanket erasure,
we favor selective incorporation of historic fabric; dialogue
cannot continue without some semblance of the past.

We set the new against the old, retaining old fabric

and adding new elements that are clearly legible and
contemporary. We express the seams between old and new.
The result is a harmonious collage that is in keeping with an
ideal that values differences. The transformed building should
be idiosyncratic and uniquely authentic. Overwriting and
layering results in an architecture that is not overly precious,
granting users permission to engage, participate, and,
overtime, to develop a sense of ownership.

Above and Below:

In Buffalo we revived an architectural masterpiece—the
long-abandoned former Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane—
designed in 1870 by H.H. Richardson with a landscape by
Frederick Olmsted. A new glass and steel entrance creates
a fresh connection to the restored landscape. The pavilion’s
light and transparent architectural language reads as a legibly
contemporary intervention against Richardson’s masonry. Our
design approach to this historic building preserves its past by
contrast—through the successful juxtaposition of old and new.

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Intervention and Discovery
At the onset of the design process, we challenge ourselves
to fundamentally rethink the buildings we plan to convert.
We pull them apart to reveal their underlying logic and
to discover new spatial and programmatic possibilities.
Subtraction can be more impactful than addition—
removing floors to connect spaces or to bring in natural
light. Interventions can subvert the original stance of a
building and instantiate openness and welcome; they can
be extensive, though most often are surgical and precise.

Fitting new programs into an existing building is much

like a hermit crab occupying a cast aside shell—it is not a
tailored fit. Spatial inefficiencies are inherent to adaptive
reuse and may be a boon rather than a compromise.
They allow programs to grow and adapt over time. The
extra room gives venue to small informal gatherings
and supports sociability. Laying out programs within
existing confines can force unexpected adjacencies and
interconnections. An open attitude towards discovery and
a view of the existing structure as a collaborative force can
reveal potentials that would otherwise elude themselves in
a custom-built structure.

There is an undeniable richness to the experience of the

layered environment of an adaptive reuse project. One that
elicits delight, curiosity, and connection. Adapted buildings
can reinforce a sense of place while displaying deliberate
action that makes them relevant and accessible to the
diverse populations they serve.

Above and Below:

Building on the mission of engaging the public with contemporary art
and supporting the revitalization of American downtowns, our design
for the 21c Museum Hotel Oklahoma City transforms the historic Ford
Motor Company Manufacturing Building that was originally designed in
1916 by Albert Kahn, master of modern industrial architecture in the US.
Considering precise moves to connect floors and bring in natural
light, we cut through the concrete floorplate to insert new glass block
lightwells that bring daylight into the core of the building.

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 There is an undeniable richness
to the experience of the layered
environment of an adaptive reuse
project. One that elicits delight,
curiosity, and connection.

Above and Below:

A new canopy extends past the historic masonry facade and connects
to a veiled and glowing addition that holds new modes of movement
up through the building. The new entrance signals welcome and
draws the public into the 122 Community Arts Center in New York.
The addition makes wayfinding clear and straightforward, giving users
autonomy to navigate the floors held by various arts organizations. In
turn, users feel permission to explore, to participate, and to engage
with the art and artists.

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Climate Change and Decarbonization
The Outsize Role of Existing Buildings
Around the country, institutions and municipalities have put New Construction
in place comprehensive plans to achieve carbon neutrality
with tandem plans for growth. Their plans include emission
reductions, energy generation, and purchasing green power
or carbon offsets, but often leave untapped the opportunities
available through the operation of their existing building
stock. Most American cities have a higher proportion of aging
building stock than plans for new construction. Consequently,
energy efficiency improvements through retrofits can play a
critical role in reducing operational carbon while presenting
embodied carbon savings. The push toward carbon neutrality
is most effective when the optimization and improvement of
existing buildings is addressed.

Adaptive Reuse

Adaptive Reuse and Decarbonizing Grid6

Cumulative Carbon Emissions Over Time

Adapted structures emit less carbon over their lifespan compared
to new construction that accepts a carbon debt from preceding
demolition. As building technology becomes more efficient, and the
energy grid continues to eliminate fossil fuels, the impact of embodied
carbon increases.
This study considers several scenarios for the construction and
operation of a typical academic building. The cumulative operational
carbon emissions assumes an all-electric building and uses current and
projected New York State grid emissions.

Operational Carbon

Embodied Carbon

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Considering the Whole Life Carbon Impact of Buildings
In its lifecycle, a building is responsible for two types of
carbon emissions: operational and embodied. Operational
carbon relates to building energy use, resulting from both
fossil fuel consumption on site as well as emissions associated
with grid-purchased electricity. Embodied carbon is emitted
during the manufacturing, production, and delivery of the
materials used in the construction. In comparison to new
construction, repurposing an existing building significantly
reduces embodied carbon emissions. Our approach considers
a building’s carbon emissions through its whole life, analyzing
both operational and embodied carbon.

Operational Carbon
The path towards carbon neutrality focuses on reducing
operational carbon compared to a given baseline. But even
the most efficient buildings still use energy. Utilizing on- or
off-site renewable energy, preferably in the project’s grid
region, compensates for the remaining energy demand and
will offset the annual carbon emissions associated with the
building operation.

High-performance buildings, whether new or repurposed,

can substantively lower their operational emissions if their
energy supply is clean. Renewable energy generation at
the utility-scale has grown from 10% of total electricity Path to Zero Carbon
generation to 18% over the last 10 years.7 As the production Similar to new construction, existing
of electricity gets cleaner, the justification for all-electric buildings must (re)introduce passive
buildings gets stronger, as does the potential to lower approaches with active strategies to
reduce energy consumption. Adding
operational emissions. This progress reverts attention to renewables can drive a building
embodied carbon. toward net zero carbon and beyond.

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Embodied Carbon
Broadly speaking, understanding a building’s embodied
carbon profile begins by surveying the existing building and
its components, including quantifying primary material
assemblies and their remaining useful life. An embodied Embodied Carbon Footprint by Building Category
carbon characterization of the existing building is created Through these embodied carbon profiles, we can
and evaluated alongside a range of criteria, such as the compare a new construction project that accepts
structural integrity of existing materials, potential hazardous the carbon emissions from demolition to that of an
adaptive reuse project. This type of study can also
contamination, and aesthetic or historical character, to guide decisions regarding the reuse of building
make decisions as to whether to retain or replace building components based on their contribution to the
components. The embodied carbon characterization must embodied carbon profile.

be reviewed in conjunction with the operational carbon

emissions for a complete assessment.

Outside the building footprint, salvaging and reusing existing

materials like concrete pavers, asphalt, stone, or steel edging
effectively reduces embodied carbon emissions. Maintaining
existing trees and plantings may provide a carbon benefit
through carbon sequestration, although research on this
is still being developed,8 and offers other gains to natural
habitats, biodiversity, outdoor thermal comfort, and reduced
urban heat island effects.

Social Cost of Carbon

The social cost of carbon is a measure of the harm resulting
from climate change, such as devastating weather events, sea
level rise, and increased food insecurity. For example, New
York City’s Climate Mobilization Act assigns a capital value
of $268 per mtCO2e.9 When analyzing a building’s potential
for adaptive reuse, a more holistic assessment considers the
social cost of carbon for the emissions saved from renovating
an existing structure. This social and environmental impact
equivalence may bridge shortfalls in payback derived through
an analysis of life-cycle costs alone.

More cities and some higher education institutions are

investigating means to utilize carbon pricing and integrating
social costs of carbon to consider costs holistically.

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Considering the Whole Life Carbon Impact of Buildings

Conducting a Gap Analysis Deep Energy Retrofits and Comprehensive

Renovations
When assessing an existing building for a renovation
or retrofit, we perform a gap analysis to understand the Existing buildings are composed of multiple systems that
building’s current condition. We study existing envelope have varying lifespans. For example, a structure built in
conditions, structural integrity, and age of the HVAC system, 1930 is a layering of various systems since day one. A 1930s
among other components, and review historical energy use to building is likely to have had its façade updated at least once,
determine the building’s energy profile. its mechanical systems updated at least twice, and lighting
replacements at least 3 or 4 times. Most likely, none of these
A gap analysis may incorporate observations from operating upgrades were likely done simultaneously, by the same
and maintaining the building. Interviewing the facilities designer or under the same ownership. Consequently, the
staff can offer insight into the challenges of operating the building becomes a patchwork of systems that are once again
building, such as an inability to maintain space temperature outdated and cannot meet the stringent requirements of the
and comfort, or inconsistent performance of mechanical increasingly demanding energy codes.
equipment. A good picture of the current state of the building
will help identify strategies to close performance gaps. Major institutions and municipalities increasingly rely on
Comprehensive Renovations and Deep Energy Retrofits of
existing buildings to accelerate progress toward their carbon
emission goals. Deep Energy Retrofits take a whole-facility
approach to make buildings more energy efficient, aiming
to achieve a 50 percent or greater reduction in building
energy usage and carbon emissions reduction of 30 percent
Roadmap to GHG emissions reductions
or more.10 These renovations focus on achieving major
The Gap Analysis helps to establish a timeline for
an incremental and phased approach to meeting energy efficiency improvements while considering capital
overall performance goals. In this example, building investments necessary over the life of the building. Phased
measures include improvements to the envelope plans are developed to meet project goals based on the
and lighting. The HVAC plant measures address
improvements to heating, cooling, and ventilation findings of the gap analysis. Improvements need not occur at
systems, as well as controls. once but may be phased to achieve maximum benefit.

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Passive Elements and Surgical Interventions
There are inherent energy-saving opportunities that ought
to be considered in deep energy retrofits. Many existing
buildings lend themselves well to the reinstatement of their
passive design elements. For instance, most turn of the
(20th) century structures are comprised of heavy masonry
and can take advantage of thermal mass effects. Existing
buildings may have originally been designed with passive
design elements that manage solar heat gains through eaves,
shades, appropriate window to wall ratios, or by their use of
landscape and planting. They may have been designed to take
advantage of natural ventilation but were later sealed to be
airconditioned. Renovations can reinstate the passive design
elements which may have been diminished over time or
removed entirely.

Older structures historically have a lower window-to-wall

ratio and darker interior finish materials, such as wood.
These smaller apertures and low-reflectivity finishes make
it challenging for ample daylight to permeate deep into the
space. Optimizing daylight and visual comfort is a common
priority; for an existing building, creative design solutions,
such as the introduction of skylights or interior light-shelves,
can be considered.

Understanding the indoor conditioning criteria and the

building’s program is critical to making a Deep Energy
Retrofit successful. Transitional spaces may be assigned a
wider thermal comfort range. These transitional spaces can
act as buffers to spaces with stricter comfort ranges that
can be set further inboard; this planning solution offers
users comfortable environments without a dependance on Thermal Nirvana
significant interventions to the facades. The strategy has other Creating spaces that allow
benefits that include the protection against occupant thermal our bodies to adjust to wider
temperature swings is a means
shock as they move from extreme outdoor conditions to
to modifying our definition of
conditioned indoor spaces, maintaining the integrity of ‘comfort,’ increasing energy
intrinsic and existing plan features, and minimizing energy savings, and thus achieving
Thermal Nirvana!
use while being responsive to user comfort expectations.

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Passive Elements
DBP and Atelier Ten’s design of Harvard Law School’s Lewis Law
Center, converts a library stacks building into a 21st century learning
and work environment for students, faculty, staff, and law clinic clients.
The 1959 modernist building, originally designed by Shepley Bulfinch
Richardson & Abbott, limited the amount of light entering the space by
design and in response to its original program. A light metal and glass
addition complements the original limestone façade while introducing
more daylight into the spaces. Skylights bring light deeper into the
building footprint and into shared spaces.

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Facade and Moisture Considerations MEP System Retrofits and All-Electric
Systems
Improvements to the building envelope, while costly, can
be the most effective strategy for reducing a building’s Many existing institutional and commercial buildings
energy use. Establishing an air barrier improves occupant were not designed with centralized cooling or ventilation.
comfort and building thermal performance by reducing Providing new centralized infrastructure, often augmented
leakage and infiltration, and therefore contributes to with energy recovery and advanced controls, offers energy
passive survivability11. Insulating the interior-side of the efficient conditioning and better indoor air quality. With
façade improves thermal performance while maintaining mechanical system retrofits, the envelope must also be
the character and integrity of the historic façade. There is upgraded to control moisture migration and infiltration.
a concern of masonry spalling due to the new separation
Designing buildings to be nimble to adapt to the changing
between the exterior and the interior heating and a risk the
carbon content of the grid is key in reducing operational
masonry and grout will perform poorly by experiencing new
carbon; highly efficient all-electric systems can take
freeze-thaw cycles. Detailed hygrothermal and heat-transfer
advantage of a cleaner grid. To make electrification
analysis can help inform decisions regarding the insulation
economically feasible in cold climates, winter heating loads
type and thickness required to achieve the desired envelope
must be significantly reduced. Buildings that are connected to
performance and to mitigate these risks.
a combustion-based central energy plant should put in place
a long term decarbonization strategy, addressing the building
and campus scales.

Responsive Design with a View to the Future

Digitization allows users to assess their usage and emissions
in real-time, against similarly granular time-of-use carbon
emissions data made available by utilities. Thermal and
electric storage and on-site renewables can also play a role in
mitigating peak use.

Backward-looking weather data can misinform building

design, making buildings more vulnerable to future changes
in climate. Designs that refer to statistically derived future
climate data can better mitigate climate-change risks.
Strategies and adaptation measures which address long-term
climate impact make buildings more resilient.

Improving Historic Facades

THERM analysis illustrates the effect of having a solid masonry wall
with minimal to no insulation. Once insulation is added to the interior
side of the wall assembly, its thermal performance is significantly
improved while maintaining the integrity of a historic facade.

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Conclusion

We must assign proper value to the resources that have gone into the making of our existing
buildings—the human effort, the craftmanship, the materials, and their carbon footprint. The
EPA has estimated that U.S. construction generated 600 million tons of debris in 2018; of
that, more than 90% came from demolition, with only 10% attributable to new construction
12
processes. When considered through the lens of embodied carbon and sustainable materials
management, the argument for adaptive reuse is straightforward; and when coupled with the
social resonance these projects can have, that argument becomes particularly compelling.

Altered in form, posture, and purpose, the transformed building is newly positioned to
better respond to the needs and ideals of the people it serves. The existing structure forms an
expressive framework within which unexpected, idiosyncratic, and nuanced spaces can emerge.
Reinvention is rich in possibility and stakes an optimistic claim on the future.

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Notes
1. United Nations Environment Programme, Emissions Gap Report 2020 - Executive Summary,
https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/34438/EGR20ESE.pdf?sequence=8
2. “Why the Building Sector?”, Architecture 2030, accessed December 15, 2020, https://
architecture2030.org/buildings_problem_why/
3. Erving Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, (New York: Doubleday, 1956).
4. Danielle S. Allen, “What We Should Be Doing With Diversity on Our College Campuses”,
Institute for Advanced Study, last modified 2013, https://www.ias.edu/ideas/2013/allen-bridging
5. Svetlana Boym, The Future of Nostalgia, (New York: Basic Books, 2002), 49.
6. NREL Scenario Viewer and Data Downloader, https://cambium.nrel.gov/?project=c3fec8d8-
6243-4a8a-9bff-66af71889958. Assuming reference scenario (called the Mid-case) that uses
default or median assumptions in the models, including existing policies as of June 30, 2020.
7. “Alternative Renewables Cost Assumptions in AEO2020”, U.S. Energy Information
Administration, last modified January 29, 2020, https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/section_
issue_renewables.php
8. Leigh J. Whittinghill, D. Bradley Rowe, Robert Schutzki, Bert M. Cregg, “ Quantifying carbon
sequestration of various green roof and ornamental landscape systems”, Landscape and Urban
Planning, Volume 123 (March 2014), 41-48, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2013.11.015.
9. For purposes of clarification, we will refer to carbon emissions in terms of metric tons of CO2
equivalent emissions, or mtCO2e. This is a way to standardize the greenhouse gas emissions to
that of one unit mass of carbon dioxide, based on the global warming potential (GWP) of the
gas. It may also be referred to as “carbon emissions”, or simply “carbon”.
10. “NYC targets nine facilities for deep energy retrofits”, Smart Cities World, las modified October
4, 2019, https://www.smartcitiesworld.net/news/news/nyc-targets-nine-facilities-for-deep-
energy-retrofits-4652
11. Passive survivability is the ability for a building to critically function in the event of a loss of
utility and infrastructure services.
12. “Sustainable Management of Construction and Demolition Materials”, Environmental
Protection Agency, accessed January 7, 2021, https://www.epa.gov/smm/sustainable-
management-construction-and-demolition-materials.

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Disclaimer and Copyright Notice
All content herein, including diagrams and images, are copyright Deborah Berke Partners, Atelier
Ten, and/or other entities. Any publication of this white paper, or portions thereof, requires
permission from the copyright holders.

Photography Credits
Richardson Olmsted Campus, Page 4, Page 10
122 Community Arts Center, Page 13
Photography by Christopher Payne

Rockefeller Arts Center, Page 6

University of Pennsylvania Meeting and Guesthouse, Page 8
21c Museum Hotel Oklahoma City, Page 11
Photography by Chris Cooper

21c Museum Hotel Louisville, Page 8

Photography by Catherine Tighe

ADAPTIVE REUSE DEBORAH BERKE PARTNERS | ATELIER TEN 23

Acknowledgements
This paper is a collaborative effort between Deborah Berke Partners and Atelier Ten.
The project was first envisioned in June 2020; this version is dated September 2021.

The DBP team includes Arthi Krishnamoorthy, Matthew Scarlett, Laura Fiset, Jon Swendris,
Alan Brake, and Maitland Jones. The Atelier Ten team includes Larry Jones, Shivani Shah, Shanta
Tucker, and Sheena Zhang.

For discussion and questions:

[email protected]

ADAPTIVE REUSE DEBORAH BERKE PARTNERS | ATELIER TEN 24