Emotional Heritage

The continued use of existing buildings is becoming increasingly important in view of the growing pressure to renovate. Converting and rebuilding makes ecological sense and continues the architectural and spatial history of our cities. Terms such as conversion culture, sustainable transformation and adaptive re-use are dominating the architectural discourse. But instead of just reacting to what already exists, the question arises as to how we can think about the ability to rebuild and reuse from the outset and establish this as a planning basis for new buildings. The new building of today is the existing building of tomorrow. What characterizes a convertible building? Which existing buildings can be adapted well, and why? How can the future transformation be taken into account at the planning stage - in the renovation of existing buildings as well as in the planning of new buildings, in an urban context as well as in rural areas? 

The new building of today is the existing building of tomorrow. How must floor plans be organized to facilitate later adaptation? What design and structural conditions must be met so that additions, conversions or demolition are possible without any problems? Durable materials and the non-destructive replacement of components are just as important as the ability to separate them by type. Treating the supporting structure, envelope and building technology as separate elements of the architecture does justice to their different lifespans and facilitates individual upgrading and adaptation in the future. In view of the shortage of skilled workers, construction methods that allow subsequent maintenance or adaptation by the users themselves are also a criterion for sustainable buildings. In the pursuit of greater sustainability in the construction industry, convertibility must become a planning standard in both the refurbishment of existing buildings and new builds.