Refurb & Retrofit

IS RETROFIT THE WAY FORWARD FOR SUSTAINABILITY?

With local councils and housebuilders under pressure to reach targets of 340,000 homes every year until 2031, there is the danger that sustainability will take a back seat. But just how can developers, particularly those working on older properties, step up and begin to make a difference? Wayne Oakes, Director at the sustainable engineering consultancy, Dice, believes retrofitting could be one solution.

Wayne Oakes, Director of Dice

Developers and local councils are under huge pressure to deliver the high numbers of housing the UK needs to solve its housing crisis.

The focus has very much been on building brand-new homes on brownfield or greenfield sites, and in most cases, this is the quickest way to get houses up and people in.

However, what happens to those sites where demolition means hundreds of former homes are knocked down and new ones built? And why aren’t developers and local councils working with the property stock they have and looking at ways to improve rather than clearing the site and starting again?

The one simple answer is time. A new home can be built in as little as six months but if a developer was to look at retrofitting existing properties on a site, it could take double or triple that amount of time.

There is a massive need for houses at the moment and the demand for new homes can take precedence over making improvements to existing ones. However, it’s something we all must focus on in a bid to improve sustainability.

Looking at how best to retrofit an existing property is one possible solution. It is a lot more sustainable and better for the environment to retrofit rather than to demolish and start again and it can also be a lot cheaper, depending on the project and the current state of the existing building.

However, a retrofit project won’t be suitable for all buildings, especially where there are delicate environmental and biodiversity factors to consider.

Developers will always consider whether the project is suitable as a retrofit, based on the state of the existing building and the needs of the finished one.

It certainly isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Residential properties are all relatively similar in their intended use and what’s required of them so these are pretty standard. But when you consider non-residential buildings, which can span from offices to hospitals to restaurants and everything in between, it’s a different story. They may require a more bespoke approach when considering retrofitting based on use.

Retrofit can achieve as much as a 70% reduction in energy use, which has a massive impact on consumption. And the positives don’t stop there. It’s also important to note that when you compare a retrofit to a demolish-andrebuild project, you’re also saving on the embodied carbon that would be involved in the construction process.

There are multiple reasons to retrofit rather than demolish – sustainability being the major one – but there are barriers that need to be addressed before this is considered by planners and developers.

One of the main challenges is client buy-in when it comes to sustainability. Developers must be afforded the time and budget to focus on finding a more environmentallyfriendly solution, so it’s something that we all must get on board with.  www.diceconsult.co.uk