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Adaptive Reuse

Adaptive Reuse

The International Energy Agency estimates that in 2040, approximately two-thirds of the global building stock will be buildings that exist today.1 While decarbonization principles, frameworks and methodologies continue to develop, one thing remains clear: we won’t solve the climate crisis without deep retrofits and reconfigurations of our existing building stock. Enter adaptive reuse.

Adaptive reuse is the art and science of converting an existing building for a purpose other than its original function. The building type offers unparalleled opportunities for environmental sustainability (a building’s structure is responsible for most of its carbon footprint), cost-effectiveness (reuse rather than building new), and the preservation of historic structures.
 
1. International Energy Agency. (2020). Energy Technology Perspectives, February 2021 Revised Edition. Paris, France.

SFS transformed a gymnasium built in 1918 into a new city hall council chambers for Bonner Springs, Kansas.

Adaptive reuse represents the greatest opportunity for environmental stewardship in the public sector.

— Dana Gould, Principal Architect, Adaptive Reuse & Historic Preservation Specialist

Featured Projects

SFS has extensive experience repurposing building structures and building systems serving those structures. Select adaptive reuse projects are featured below.

Bonner Springs Government Services Center

SFS was tasked with uniting the operational services of the City of Bonner Springs, Kansas into one complex. To do so, our team transformed a 1918 school building listed on both the Register of Historic Kansas Places and the National Register of Historic Places into a city hall.

Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center

For the Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center, SFS converted Manuel Morris’ iconic midcentury building into a multipurpose community center featuring a museum, theater, rehearsal studios, event spaces, classrooms and offices.

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