Adaptive Reuse Symposium Challenges Conventional Thinking

On March 31 – April 1, the UK College of Design presented a Historic Preservation Symposium entitled “Adaptive Reuse: Preservation Through Innovation” at the Carnegie Center.  The speaker’s presentations were followed by a local panel discussion.  The speakers were were Roberta Brandes Gratz, Holly Wiedemann, Donovan Rypkema, and Matthew Keifer.  The attendance was standing room only.  My aide, Leah Boggs, attended.  You can read an article about the Symposium here.

The overarching theme was that historic preservation is a vital part of new urbanism and should not be reserved for museum quality buildings.  Even buildings that were not distinctive when built become noteworthy over time.  However,  our framework for discussing urban projects tend to be geared toward destruction and not preservation.  Financing is geared that way also.

Adaptive reuse allows cities to honor the evolution of the city’s architecture, create inviting and interesting urban spaces, create jobs, and keep debris out of landfills.  As we go forward with urban development and redevelopment we need to change the framework for our thinking, be creative with financing, and draft rules that allow and encourage the adaptive reuse of buildings.  Clearly there is energy and momentum in this direction.