TOWARDS strongECONOMICstrong SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH ADAPTABLE BUILDINGS.pdfVIP

TOWARDS ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH ADAPTABLE BUILDINGS 1 Anupa MANEWA 2 Christine PASQUIRE Dr 3 4 Alistair GIBB Prof Robert SCHMIDT 1 PhD Scholar, Department of Civil and Building Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK, R.M.A.S.Manewa@lboro.ac.uk 2 Senior Lecturer, Department of Civil and Building Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK, C.L.Pasquire@lboro.ac.uk 3 Professor, Department of Civil and Building Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK, A.G.Gibb@lboro.ac.uk 4 Research Associate, Department of Civil and Building Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK, R.Schmidt-III@lboro.ac.uk Keywords: Adaptable Buildings, Trend Analysis, Economic Sustainability, Conceptual Framework Abstract The existing building stock in most countries does not meet the parameters of economic, social and environmental sustainability. Physical, functional, technological, economical, social and legal obsolescence are the principal factors driving the decommissioning, refurbishment, alteration and/or adaptation of a building. In the UK the Government promotes optimum use of the existing building stock through mixed use in urban centers and encourages conversion of redundant office and retail space into leisure, service and/or residential uses rather than demolition and renewal. There is therefore a growing need to design new buildings that are adaptable and flexible over their life span