To address the current housing shortage in the Netherlands, approximately 90,000 new homes need to be added to the housing stock annually. Adaptive reuse of vacant buildings for housing contributes to achieve this aim. Until around 2014, adaptive reuse was seen as a solution to office market vacancy, which surged from around 5% nationwide in 2001 to nearly 15% in 2013. The high vacancy rates were partly a result of the dotcom crisis and the financial crisis. These crises, along with technological advancements and an increase in flexible working, led to a reduced need for office space, while an oversupply of office buildings was developed and constructed.

After 2014, a tipping point became apparent. Adaptive reuse was increasingly driven by the demand side of the housing market rather than the supply side of the office market. The focus on sustainable construction and the greening of the existing building stock increased. In the publication preceding this book Transformatie van kantoorgebouwen (Adaptive reuse of offices) from 2007, sustainability was hardly mentioned. At most, adaptive reuse was noted as inherently sustainable because the building was reused. However, due to rising energy costs, the costs of building materials, and the climate crisis, sustainability aspects such as energy-efficiency, circularity, and adaptability have become much more important, though they are not yet fully applied in the market.

Currently, the Netherlands has a high demand for housing, and at the same time many buildings remain vacant. Numerous urban areas comprise outdated office buildings that are no longer in demand or in (full) intended use. Across the country, churches are increasingly left vacant due to aging populations and secularisation. Industrial real estate loses its function as industries relocate from city centres to more accessible locations or abroad. School buildings are left empty as neighbourhoods age. Hospitals are vacated due to new concepts and scaling up of healthcare. Retail space is becoming vacant due to centralisation and online shopping. Thus, buildings originally constructed for these (and other) purposes can be adapted into housing.

The fusion of old and new buildings can potentially contribute to preserving local identity. When architecturally interesting buildings are involved, adaptive reuse also contributes to preserve cultural heritage. Adaptive reuse can support the greening of the building stock, reduce demolition waste and the use of raw materials. Moreover, adaptive reuse could contribute 10-15% to annual housing production.

The conclusion seems logical: adapt vacant buildings into housing. But it's not that simple. The owners of vacant properties and housing developers are not always able to agree on feasible plans for the building’s future destination. Adaptive reuse is different from new construction and therefore requires a different approach. There are also various financial, economic, legal, and policy challenges, such as uncertainty about financial feasibility and fear of lengthy procedures. This is why we have taken the initiative to publish this book now, at a time when we are amid both a housing crisis and a climate crisis. With this book, we aim to provide more insight into the opportunities and challenges of adaptive reuse. We give voice to actors who have gained experience from different perspectives, and we discuss projects that showcase the breadth of Dutch adaptive reuse practices.

This book was written by researchers from the TU Delft, but also various experts from industry contributed. This has resulted in a wide range of themes. Adaptive reuse is examined from different angles, with a focus on feasibility. We then discuss adaptive reuse as a sustainable design, development, and management strategy. The role of different actors is highlighted in the perspectives section: property owners, investors, developers, as well as housing associations, architects, users, and governments. Finally, we present a number of adaptive reuse projects to illustrate best practices.

Om het woningtekort op te lossen moeten er jaarlijks zo’n 90.000 nieuwbouwwoningen aan het woningbestand worden toegevoegd. Transformatie van leegstaande gebouwen en herbestemming naar woningen draagt bij aan de oplossing hiervoor. Transformatie werd tot rond 2014 gezien als een oplossing voor de leegstand op de kantorenmarkt, die in de periode 2001–2013 hoog opliep, landelijk van rond 5% in 2001 tot bijna 15% in 2013. De hoge leegstand was mede het gevolg van de dotcom-crisis en de financiële crisis, die samen met technologische ontwikkelingen en een toename in flexwerken leidden tot minder benodigde vierkante meters kantoren, terwijl er juist een overschot aan kantoren werd ontwikkeld en gebouwd. Rond 2014 is een kantelpunt zichtbaar geworden. Transformatie werd steeds vaker gemotiveerd door de vraagzijde van de woningmarkt en niet meer door de aanbodzijde van de kantorenmarkt. De aandacht voor duurzaam bouwen en het verduurzamen van de bestaande gebouwenvoorraad nam toe. In het boek Transformatie van kantoorgebouwen uit 2007 werd duurzaamheid nauwelijks genoemd. Hooguit werd transformatie vermeld als intrinsiek duurzaam, omdat het gebouw werd hergebruikt. Door toegenomen energiekosten en kosten van bouwmaterialen, en door de klimaatcrisis zijn duurzaamheidsaspecten zoals energie-efficiënt, circulair en aanpasbaar bouwen echter veel belangrijker geworden, hoewel ze nog niet overal worden toegepast. Nederland kent een grote vraag naar woningen, maar daarnaast staan veel gebouwen leeg. Op veel plekken in de Randstad staan verouderde kantoorgebouwen waar geen vraag meer naar is. In het hele land komen kerken leeg te staan door vergrijzing en ontkerkelijking. Door verplaatsing van industrie uit de binnensteden naar beter bereikbare locaties of naar het buitenland verliest industrieel vastgoed zijn functie. Schoolgebouwen komen leeg te staan door vergrijzing van de buurt. Ziekenhuizen komen leeg te staan door de invoering van nieuwe zorgconcepten en schaalvergroting. Veel winkels komen leeg te staan door centralisatie en online winkelen. Gebouwen oorspronkelijk gebouwd voor deze (en andere) functies kunnen worden getransformeerd naar woningen. Versmelting van oud en nieuw draagt bij aan behoud van identiteit. Wanneer ook nog eens sprake is van architectonisch interessante gebouwen draagt transformatie bij aan behoud van het cultureel erfgoed. Transformatie kan bijdragen aan verduurzaming van de gebouwenvoorraad en het reduceren van grondstoffengebruik en sloopafval. Transformatie zou jaarlijks 10-15% van de woningproductie kunnen bijdragen.

Describes all aspects of sustainable conversion adaptation of existing buildings and provides solutions for making urban settlements resilient to climate change. This comprehensive book explores the potential to change the character of cities with residential conversion of office space in order to withstand the negative effects of climate change. It investigates the nature and extent of sustainable conversion in a number of global cities, as well as the political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal drivers and barriers to successful conversion. The book also identifies the key lessons learned through international comparisons with cases in the UK, US, Australia, and the Netherlands.

Het congres van de European Real Estate Society (ERES) vond afgelopen jaar plaats in Delft. Het ERES-congres is het toonaangevende vastgoedcongres in Europa en één van de grootste congressen in de wereld op het gebied van vastgoed. Naast een specifieke industriedag, waren er verscheidene keynote speakers en enkele honderden academische presentaties. In deze special komen vier onderzoeken aan bod die zijn gepresenteerd op dit congres.

This book presents a huge number of contributions on corporate and public real estate management, urban development management, design and construction management and housing. These topics correspond with the names of the four sections of the Department of Management in the Built Environment at the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, TU Delft, the Netherlands. The book is a Liber Amicorum for prof. Hans de Jonge to mark his farewell as professor of real estate management and development. Due to the special role Hans de Jonge has had for over 25 years in our department the book includes many other contributions as well, from his former and current PhD candidates, university managers, and academic and professional colleagues from inside and outside the faculty. It offers a diversity of words of praise, personal memories, solid pieces of academic work, and reflections on the present, past and future of real estate management and development. As such the book presents a very interesting story of twenty five years of teaching and conducting research being started, guided and/or influenced by Hans de Jonge. It shows the contribution that Hans, his team and others have made to the growing body of knowledge on how to match the demand and supply of real estate and how to contribute to an efficient and effective building stock that evokes interesting experiences.