Offices transformed: Trend or trouble

For the last decade, a high level of structurally vacant office buildings has characterised the Dutch real estate market. In 2010 the minister of housing, spatial planning and the environment (VROM), Tineke Huizinga, presented a report on the scale of office vacancy and took the initiative to start a taskforce to reduce the vacancy. The former...

Door leegstand verlaagde huren bij de buren

Vaak wordt aangenomen dat een ruimtelijke concentratie van structureel leegstaande kantoren resulteert in een verpaupering van het gebied (Remøy 2010). Verondersteld wordt dat dit de aantrekkelijkheid van de locatie als vestigingsplaats voor kantoorhoudende organisaties negatief beïnvloedt, waardoor de ‘willingnessto-pay’ afneemt. De relatie...

The negative externalities of structurally vacant offices: An exploration of externalities in the built environment using hedonic price analysis

It is often assumed that a spatial concentration of structurally vacant offices results in a degradation of an area (Remøy 2010). It is argued that this has a negative influence on the attractiveness of a location for office accommodation, so that the "willingness-to-pay" of office organisations further decreases. The relationship between...

Sustainability and office building conversions: A comparison of Dutch and Australian practices

Local Authorities worldwide are encouraging adaptation to reduce building related energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The City of Melbourne is promoting the retrofit of 1,200 CBD properties before 2020 with sustainability measures as part of their policy to become a carbon neutral city, and the City of Amsterdam aims at cutting...

Sustainability and within use office building adapations: A comparison of Dutch and Australian practices

Local Authorities worldwide are encouraging adaptation as a means of reducing building related urban energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The City of Melbourne is promoting the retrofit of 1,200 CBD properties before 2020 with sustainability measures as part of their policy to become a carbon neutral city. Australian cities date from...

Zorg voor leegstand: Herbestemmen van leegstaande kantoren naar zorgfuncties

Out of Office: A Study on the Cause of Office Vacancy and Transformation as a Means to Cope and Prevent

Office building vacancy is becoming an increasingly visible part of the cityscape. Billboards shout “for rent” and office locations look abandoned even in the middle of the day. Still, new office buildings and locations are being developed, adding up to the built environment. As hardly any office buildings are demolished, adapted or transformed,...

Sustainability by adaptable and functionally neutral buildings

The continuing high levels of office building vacancy in the Netherlands cause a loss of income for building owners and - since the physical life span of the buildings is not getting shorter – an increase of obsolete office buildings. These buildings are deteriorated or even prospectless, with no perspective on future lease or reuse for office...

Nieuwe kansen voor kansloze kantoren

Dat in Nederland veel kantoren leeg staan is genoegzaam bekend. De laatste cijfers komen uit op ca 5,9 miljoen m2. Op zichzelf hoeft leegstand geen probleem te zijn. Om verhuisbewegingen op de kantorenmarkt mogelijk te maken wordt een zogenaamde frictieleegstand van ca 5% als wenselijk beschouwd. Het huidige leegstandspercentage (ca 14%) is...

Conversion of office buildings

Building conversion is a way of activating and reusing vacant office buildings. Former research (Barlow and Gann, 1993, Brand, 1994, Douglas, 2006, Geraedts and Van der Voordt, 2003, 2007) has shown possibilities for conversion through theory and practise, and has delivered instruments for determining the conversion possibility of vacant...

A new life: Conversion of vacant office buildings into housing

Purpose<br/> – The vacancy of office buildings leads to financial problems for the owners and social problems for the community, e.g. vandalism, dereliction and deterioration. A solution may be found through the conversion of vacant office buildings into housing. Vacancy‐threatened buildings are often part of the mediocre part of the building...

A new life: Transformation of vacant office buildings into housing

Office buildings are experiencing vacancy. This leads to financial problems for the owners and social problems for the community, e.g. vandalism and deterioration. A solution may be found in transformation of vacant buildings and changing the buildings’ program. In the Dutch situation, housing is a valid function, given the tight market. Housing...