Adaptive Reuse: Work on Heritage Constrained Buildings
Adaptive Reuse: Work on Heritage Constrained Buildings
The “preservation” of buildings can sometimes threaten their survival. The term “conservation” implies a more active process, one of breathing new life into old buildings. Clearly the use for which a building was built is almost always the ideal use but it can be a counsel of perfection. If banks no longer require palatial high street premises, what is to be done with them? As it happens Wine Bars, Cafe Bars, Pubs and Restaurants have proved a very good use for redundant banking halls as we at GLM know particularly well. That is “adaptive reuse”. It invariably involves crucial interventions and a sensitivity to the historic context.
Adaptive reuse lies at the heart of the majority of the work undertaken by GLM. We can point to a string of projects stretching back over decades where we have honed our skills in this crucial area. It is often a major intellectual and design challenge, one where the maxim “less is more” applies above all. We delight in finding ways of getting the most out of an existing building.
As time goes on we build up an ever expanding repertoire of design ideas which act as a creativity toolbox. Contact GLM today and bring us your problem building… We love problem buildings!
– David Gibbon, RICS Conservation Accredited Building Surveyor