adaptive reuse
Old becomes new
Adaptive reuse is the practice of repurposing an existing building for a function different from its original design—converting a factory into apartments, a church into a restaurant, a warehouse into offices.
The term belongs to architecture, urban planning, and historic preservation, where it describes an alternative to demolition that preserves structural and cultural value while meeting new needs: The old textile mill is a prime example of adaptive reuse.
- repurposingAdapting for different use
- upcyclingImproving discarded materials' value
- second chanceRenewed opportunity after failure
- renovationRestoring to good condition
- retrofittingUpdating existing with new
new life · urban renewal · LEED certification · circular economy · gentrification · green building · restoration · ghost signs · brownfield · infill development · building code · modular design · heritage tourism · zoning · tax credit · historic preservation · reimagine · sustainable
adaptive reusedemolition
Deliberate structural destruction
teardown · razing · wrecking · building demolition · knock down