Adaptive reuse market demonstrates staying power

Geberit North America, an Illinois-based provider of structural wastewater plumbing and sanitary technology, has started offering a course called “Office to Residential Building Conversions: Feasibility and Plumbing Retrofit,” available through the AEC Daily continuing educations service.

The course has been created to support to architects, engineers, contractors and developers. The firm also has tied the instructional course to an e-book titled “Adaptive Reuse Case Study eBook and Project Consultation Services.”

“This is a response to an increased developer, specifier and owner interest in maximizing existing building stock and significant market changes in urban development,” Geberit says of its two new efforts.

Adaptive reuse, or the repurposing of buildings, has a lengthy history often tied to architectural or historic preservation efforts. The new “Office to Residential Building Conversions” CEU course, however, points to the potentially market-driven phenomenon of converting low-occupancy or vacant office building into residential or other types of structures.

In both historic efforts and the potential new adaptive reuse wave, demolition contractors and materials recyclers each can be presented with opportunities to be involved in such projects.

“Our focus on conversions and adaptive reuse aligns with the changing urban landscape,” says Richard Nortier, director of marketing at Geberit North America. “We’re committed to providing solutions that make these challenging renovations not just possible, but highly efficient and cost-effective.”

The Pittsburgh-based Build Reuse association, which hosts a Deconstruction + Reuse Conference, held its 2024 version of that event at the Kehoe Ironworks complex in Savannah, Georgia.

That venue is located on a 6.3-acre former brownfield site that once housed an iron foundry and a gas company. There, buildings dating from 1873 through 1902 have been converted into 8,000 square feet of event and meeting space offering views of the Savannah River.

In the Midwest, St. Louis-based architectural firm Lawrence Group Inc. has been involved in more than one project to repurpose older buildings.

The company helped build a speakeasy-style bar in the basement of the City Foundry STL redevelopment and converted a bank vault in downtown St. Louis' Security Building into storage space for the new headquarters for the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis.

The course being offered by Geberit and AEC Daily points to the potential of developers and civic leaders alike exploring options to convert relatively newer office complexes into residential space, whether through demolition or adaptive reuse. Geberit’s adaptive reuse e-book includes overviews of example projects.

Projects mentioned include the conversion of a historic warehouse into modern loft apartments, where Geberit’s in-wall systems allowed for flexible bathroom placement without compromising the building's structural integrity. In repurposing an old factory into a mixed-use development, Geberit’s space-saving concealed tanks enabled efficient use of limited square footage.

“The practice of converting office buildings into residential spaces such as apartments, condominiums and hotels has been embraced by communities and all levels of government as a solution to the housing crisis," Geberit says.

More information on the Geberit AEC Daily course and its e-book are available on the Geberit North America website.