By Healthcare Facilities Today

According to the United States Environment Protection Agency, sources of building-related construction and demolition debris account for approximately 48 percent of the waste stream every year. As a response to this, and other environmental hurdles, sustainability is becoming not only a priority, but a standard for healthcare design, with adaptive reuse becoming an increasingly viable solution that shines a light on environmental harm, project constraints, and social issues, according to a blog on the Contract magazine website.

Adaptive reuse is the process of reusing an old site or building for a purpose other than which it was originally built or designed. Campus planning and adaptive reuse may be considered a more sustainable solution than a new construction project, the blog said. 

To anticipate success when contemplating if adaptive reuse is right, the blog suggested considering the following questions to weigh benefits against challenges during site selection.

• Does the prospective property has physical damage, decay, or disrepair that remove the benefits of reuse? 

• What is the ecological condition of the site?

• Is there government funding available for abatement? 

• Do you need to update the space to meet current healthcare occupancy codes?  

• What is the historical importance of the site for the community? 

• Do surrounding conditions support a need for revitalization, by which the project could be a catalyst for further urban redevelopment, and thus economic development?  

• What are other marketing benefits for the client? 

• Does the project fit within the corporation’s strategic plan?

By applying this best practice methodology to an existing property, the blog said, adaptive reuse has the capability to solve project constraints, while contributing to great sustainable and social benefits.  

Read the blog.