Comparing Design Features of Campus Buildings with Adaptation/Demolition Outcomes

Abstract

Adaptable buildings are a vital part of circularity in the built environment. With long-term owners, defined sustainability goals, and frequently shifting programmatic and organizational needs, college campus buildings are positioned to be at the forefront of this movement. Many Design for Adaptability (DfA) strategies are published, but there is a scarcity of empirical evidence showing that they work. This study investigated whether these DfA features in US college campus buildings led to more adaptation and reuse. Data were collected on 26 adapted or demolished buildings and were analyzed using logistic analysis. The results suggest that DfA features lead to more adaptations, providing evidence for campus decision-makers that these strategies work.

Keywords:

• Adaptability
• Flexibility
• Reuse
• Renovation
• Campus

Acknowledgments

The National Science Foundation, Award #1553565, funded this research. The authors would like to thank Cornelius Walker for his assistance in data collection and Zoraya Rockow for providing photographs of Clemson House.

Datasets

A dataset is available as part of the supplemental online material.

Data Availability Statement

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article or its supplementary materials.

Supplemental Online Material

Supplemental material (including the dataset, complete explanations of parameter scorings and weightings, and the entry form) is available at (https://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/24751448.2023.2245716).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Anna K. Becker

Anna K. Becker is an Independent Research Contractor currently working with Clemson University. She researches adaptable building design and quantification of building adaptability. She recently published “Evaluating the Weighted-sum Approach for Measuring Buildings’ Adaptability” in the Journal of Green Building.

Brandon E. Ross

Brandon E. Ross is the Cottingham Associate Professor in the Glenn Department of Civil Engineering at Clemson University. He researches many areas, with Design for Adaptability and Deconstruction a common thread. Ross received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award to support his research on Design for Adaptability.

Dustin Albright

Dustin Albright is an Associate Professor in the School of Architecture at Clemson University. He is a Faculty Fellow at Clemson’s Wood Utilization + Design Institute and a contributor to Clemson’s Institute for Intelligent Materials, Systems, and Environments. His research revolves around prefabricated timber building systems of varying scales and applications. He practices professionally in the Clemson, South Carolina office of Hanbury, a multidisciplinary design firm.