An introduction to refurbishment. Part 1: Identifying opportunities at the feasibility stage

The article explores ways to justify reuse of existing structures through a thorough understanding of the original building structure, and engineer’s intent.

As the climate changes there will be ever-increasing social and economic pressure to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, with focus turning to the embodied carbon in products which has thus far been eclipsed by operational values.

Tim Ibell, James Norman and Oliver Broadbent challenge structural engineers to steer their clients away from a presumption of a new building.