There’s money to be made in reconstruction. Based on our annual Giants 300 survey, we estimate that the top 300 AEC firms generate about 20-30% of annual revenues from reconstruction, and for design firms that specialize in historic preservation and adaptive reuse, that percentage can quickly go north of 50% of total revenues. If your firm is doing less than the industry average, you may be missing a great opportunity.
A reconstructed building is the ultimate green building. It is generally the case that “saving” an existing building is the most sustainable thing you can do, for obvious reasons. Whether it’s a renovation that simply extends an existing use, or one that takes an existing building and transforms it to another use, much of the embodied energy in that building is staying put.
Furthermore, reconstruction offers the opportunity to take an energy hog and make it much more efficient. Just doing the basics—sealing the envelope, insulating, upgrading lighting and lighting controls, etc.—should yield a 20% improvement in energy efficiency. Stretch a little and 30% energy savings should not be unreasonable. That’s good for the building, the occupants, and the owner—and it’s the right thing to do.
Reconstruction can turn ordinary buildings into great buildings. Look at how the Building Team for the Mid-Ohio Foodbank took an old mattress factory and turned it into a LEED Gold facility that helps provide 55,000 meals a day to the hungry and involves 10,000 volunteers a year. Owen Hall at Michigan State University and the new Cell and Genome Sciences Building at UConn are additional examples of how the ordinary can be transformed into the extraordinary.
Reconstruction challenges your imagination. The Building Team for Duke University could have taken the easy road and junked Duke’s old coal-burning power plant. Instead, they came up with a creative way to use new technology to convert the plant to 70% natural gas power generation, while enhancing the early 20th-century structure. Look how the Building Team converted Memorial Field House—essentially a big barn—into modern classroom and student space at the University of Toledo. These kinds of jobs take real imagination.
Reconstruction can bring communities together. People like to preserve and enhance the things that are important to them. The people of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, cared about the monument to their Civil War veterans, and they went out and raised $2 million to restore it to perfection. Ditto for the people of Northeast Central Durham, N.C., who fought to turn a broken-down school building into a thriving multi-purpose community center. Tap into that wellspring of community involvement. It will yield projects whose rewards go far beyond the bottom-line considerations.
Reconstruction work is fun. Building a fancy high-rise on a greenfield site in some exotic part of the world must surely have its pleasures, but digging into the bowels of an older building also has its mysteries—and surprises. Who knows what lurks behind that gypsum board? Matching your wits against the original designers and contractors is the ultimate chess match.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2014
The Endless City: Skyscraper concept connects all floors with dual ramps
Rather than superimposing one floor on top of another, London-based SURE Architecture proposes two endless ramps, rising gradually with a low gradient from the ground floor to the sky.
| Aug 11, 2014
Will Alsop's funky 'high-rise on stilts' will be built over an apartment building in London
South London's riverfront will soon be graced by one of Will Alsop's eccentric designs: a curved apartment tower on purple stilts.
| Aug 11, 2014
New guide for prevention of thermal bridging in commercial buildings
The guide aims to overcome obstacles with respect to mitigating thermal bridging to reduce energy consumption in buildings.
| Aug 8, 2014
LEGO launches set aimed at professional architects
LEGO Architecture Studio is made up of 76 unique elements and over 1,200 pieces, and is intended to give the builder as much freedom as possible.
| Aug 8, 2014
First look: China's latest office development will take the shape of binary code
The Window of Guangzhou project will consist of three towers forming the number sequence "001."
| Aug 8, 2014
Government Sector Giants: Public-sector construction slow, but stirring [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Improving energy performance of existing properties through targeted upgrades and large-scale reconstruction continues to be a federal priority, according to BD+C's 2014 Giants 300 Report.
Sponsored | | Aug 8, 2014
Setting guidelines for construction PDF documents across the AEC industry
Sasha Reed interviews two members of the coalition responsible for creating new Guidelines for Construction PDF Documents. SPONSORED CONTENT
Sponsored | | Aug 8, 2014
Safe and secure: Fire and security glazing solution for Plaquemines Parish Detention Center
When the designers at L. R. Kimball looked for an all-in-one clear, wire-free glazing solution that protects against fire, bullets and forced entry for the new Plaquemines Parish Detention Center, SAFTI FIRST supplied a complete single-source tested and listed assembly that was easy to install and maintenance-free.
| Aug 7, 2014
Office Sector Giants: ‘Flex’ reigns supreme in hot office construction market [2014 BD+C Giants 300 Report]
The adage “doing more with less” has become a byword for many businesses since the Great Recession, and clients are trying to maximize every precious inch, according to BD+C's 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 6, 2014
BIG reinvents the zoo with its 'Zootopia' natural habitat concept [slideshow]
Bjarke Ingels’ firm is looking to improve the 1960s-designed Givskund Zoo in Denmark by giving the animals a freer range to roam.