Case Studies
Showing the ‘art of the possible’ is one of the best ways to influence action on retrofit.
At Don’t Waste Buildings, our case study site tours (for completed projects) and webinars (for retrofits in progress) have become one of our most effective methods of engaging with developers, policymakers, professionals and communities to help understand the challenges around building retrofit, while demonstrating the financial and environmental benefits, as well as the wider economic and social opportunities.
We are constantly building our library of retrofit case studies, along with gathering key data points on each project. Please browse the case studies below, and feel free to contact us with any questions.
If you have a suggestion for a case study, or you wish to help us organise and host a case study tour, please let us know by clicking the button below.
Selecting projects for a DWB case study
The criteria for a case study tour or webinar is very broad. We are agnostic about location, periods, styles, typology – we just look for buildings/projects where there is a significant element of re-use.
Most of the case study tours that we have hosted in the past can be found below.
We insist that the developer, or the person responsible for the finances and green-lighting the project, attends the tour or webinar. This is so that we can clearly understand the decision-making process and the financial, policy and regulatory implications of re-use, so that we can effectively advocate for change to remove key barriers.
Our tours and webinars are always free, and, for site tours, the building owner will generally nominate the maximum number of people who can be accommodated. Webinars are largely unlimited to numbers (although 500 tends to be the maximum on most webinar platforms – we would be delighted for such a large audience!)
The structure of our tours and webinars is straightforward: The developer and design team present their retrofit project, organised around specific topics, including the drivers for reuse (financial, economic, environmental, social, etc.), barriers encountered, social and community impacts, policy and planning restrictions, insurance challenges, and lessons learned regarding design constraints. The second half of the session is dedicated to either a roundtable discussion or a moderated Q&A.
Any discussions that take place are based on the ‘Chatham House Rule’ and it is important that everyone involved–especially the developer–feels comfortable that we are there to learn and not to ‘catch anyone out’.
Case study analysis
Our Case Studies Team will collect data to be synthesised and anonymised to support the "Don't Waste Buildings" campaign.
We look for five categories of information, including:
Project Information: building typology; size; location; vacancy; utilisation; condition assessment; percent reused; change of use; listing (if any); earmarked for demolition; professionals involved (architects, engineers, consultants, agents, etc.)
Financial Analysis: cost of demolition/rebuild versus reuse; government subsidies or incentives available; tax and regulatory disincentives; economic impact of reuse; return on investment; etc.
Environmental Data: embodied carbon; operational carbon; carbon emissions comparison; whole life carbon assessment, if produced.
Social Value: community engagement; local employment; skills and education; housing; health; local infrastructure; public realm; etc.
Policy & Regulatory Issues: supportive policies (i.e. ‘Retrofit First’); barriers; disincentives; emerging policies; potential changes; etc.
On top of the data points above, we also look at the lessons learned from the project, including stakeholder insights:
Developer and Architect Interviews: Gather qualitative data on motivations, challenges, and successes experienced by industry professionals in repurposing buildings.
Government and Policymaker Insights: Collect feedback from policymakers on the challenges of promoting building reuse and addressing embodied carbon in the built environment.
Public and Community Feedback: Collect case-specific feedback from local communities impacted by building reuse projects.
And finally, we look at the case study outcomes:
Environmental Impact: Quantify reductions in embodied carbon, energy savings, biodiversity, and other environmental benefits.
Economic Outcomes: Document economic successes of the project, including profit margins, community investment, and local development.
Community Benefits: Evaluate tangible social outcomes, including housing availability, improved local infrastructure, employment, skills and increased public engagement.