Exploring the business case for more adaptable buildings: lessons from case studies

This paper explores the business case for designing more adaptable buildings, an issue that has, for the most part, been overlooked in the literature. It reviews some of the existing literature on adaptability and discusses the drivers for and barriers to designing buildings that are more adaptable. In doing so, it draws upon lessons from the developing market for ‘greener’ or more sustainable buildings. The costs and benefits of designing more adaptable buildings are explored through a workshop with industry stakeholders and illustrated with evidence from case studies. The findings of this research highlight the circumstances that would need to change, in terms of industry mindsets and market conditions, in order for adaptable buildings to become more widespread

What is meant by adaptability in buildings?

Purpose Despite being a common term in the literature, there is little agreement about what the word ‘adaptability’ means in the context of the built environment and very little evidence regarding practitioners’ understanding of adaptability. This paper therefore examines what practitioners in the building industry mean when they talk about ‘adaptability’. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted a qualitative approach, involving 82 unstructured face-to-face interviews with practitioners from a range of professional disciplines in the construction industry, including architects, engineers, facilities managers, property agents and planners. The interview transcripts were coded inductively in order to identify themes in the qualitative data. Findings The interview data revealed a wide range of perspectives on adaptability, particularly regarding terminology, the meanings practitioners associate with adaptability and the way in which these meanings are communicated to others in the industry. The applied meaning of adaptability varied depending on context. Practical implications Conflicting language, and different interpretations of adaptability, is a potential barrier to the development of adaptable buildings. A clearer articulation of the meaning of adaptability (particularly by clients) during briefing and design could give rise to a more appropriate level of adaptability in the built environment. Originality/value This study has addressed a gap in the existing literature, by foregrounding the voices of industry practitioners and exploring their (sometimes very different) interpretations of adaptability in buildings

Croydon's tower: reconciling old traumas and new hopes

The suburban town of Croydon exists as one of London's thirty-three boroughs. Located to the south, it has historically been an important gateway bridging central London with South East England. Croydon has the largest population of all the boroughs, boasts the third largest office stock in London and the largest shopping centre in south London. This article examines how Croydon's changing architectural landscapes remember, and rework, urban traumas. It focuses on the adaptive reuse of Croydon's 1960s podium and tower office stock; the iconic Nestle Tower is discussed as an exemplar

Is the longbow better than the crossbow? Emerging issues from mobilising a longitudinal study on a megaproject

Longitudinal studies of occupational safety and health (OSH) outcomes in construction projects are rarely conducted, due to the financial, practical and ethical difficulties of studying people, projects, and organisations over extended periods of time. Traditionally, OSH research in the construction industry is cross-sectional – where a ‘snapshot’ is taken, often with a retrospective view. The focus of this paper is the mobilisation of a longitudinal research study investigating OSH policy in an eight-year infrastructure megaproject in the UK. The research examines implementation of the project’s “transformational” OSH strategy, in order to develop new understandings of the effectiveness of OSH interventions. The research design uses a “strategy as practice” lens and traces the various strands of OSH policy, from development to their adoption as practice. The research context is complex, due to the complicated contractual arrangements. The research design incorporates a rarely used “tracer” methodology. During the mobilisation phase of the research project, several challenges were identified, including interpretation and implementation of this tracer methodology, coping with a large team of researchers, obtaining ethics approval and establishing the governance structure, deployment of the team to the site, ensuring consistency in the data collection, managing data sets, and the reliability of the coding. The methodology adopted is time-consuming, and the very large data sets that are generated need to be managed. Complex research project management structures and processes are required, which would not be needed for traditional cross-sectional studies. Sufficient time needs to be allowed at the start of such research projects, in order to put the necessary systems in place. The paper will be of interest to OSH researchers and those contemplating longitudinal studies, particularly those employing a tracer approach

The case for new academic workspace

Executive summary: This report draws upon the combined efforts of a number of estates professionals, architects, academics, designers, and senior managers involved in the planning of new university buildings for the 21st century. Across these perspectives, all would agree – although perhaps for different reasons - that this planning is difficult and that a number of particular considerations apply in the design of academic workspaces. Despite these difficulties, they will also agree that when this planning goes well, ‘good’ buildings are truly transformational – for both the university as a whole and the people who work and study in them. The value of well-designed buildings goes far beyond their material costs, and endures long after those costs have been forgotten ..

Thinking + talking adaptability: diagrams for time and change in the built environment

The Adaptable Futures (afr) group at Loughborough University has sought to improve stakeholders' capacity to deliver adaptable building designs and the adaptive reuse of our building stock and urban spaces. The research has provided an expanded and refined understanding of how to design for and implement adaptability: a response to what we see as a lack of shared understanding across stakeholders and a need to (re)conceptualize buildings in context and time. Buildings can no longer be conceived as static and isolated objects, but as unfinished social products susceptible to change and demanding of strategies to accommodate the diverse cycles of their constituting parts and stakeholders

The use of actor-based immersive health and safety inductions: Lessons from the Thames Tideway Tunnel megaproject

Health and safety inductions are ubiquitous in construction but tend to be poorly designed and suffer low levels of worker engagement. In this paper we report on the evaluation of an innovative, full day, actor-based health and safety induction called EPIC, currently being used on London’s Thames Tideway Tunnel megaproject. As of March 2019, more than 14,000 individuals had attended EPIC. This evaluation examines the impact of EPIC from the perspective of participants and other stakeholders, and considers the utility of actor-based immersive health and safety inductions for use more widely, in both construction and other sectors. Using a mixed-method, longitudinal approach to data collection, EPIC is evaluated against Kirkpatrick’s (1959) ‘four levels’ framework of reactions, learning, behaviour change and results. This paper discusses factors which support and hinder actor-based inductions, and the challenges involved in assessing the impact of inductions on subsequent behaviour and health and safety outcomes