The future is all about renovation. This is how we can imagine a more sustainable construction industry. For centuries, reusing existing materials was commonplace. It was only with the industrialisation of construction in the 20th century that waste became a major problem. So what might a joyful and creative era of perfect, tailor-made renovation solutions look like?
by Florian Heilmeyer
The preservation, renovation and adaptation of existing buildings, the recycling and reuse of previously used materials, components and infrastructure is not only one of the oldest tasks of architecture – it is also its most important and current task at the beginning of the 21st century. Yet renovation is as familiar to us as it is distant. For centuries, the reuse of existing materials was commonplace. When a building became truly redundant, it was carefully dismantled into its component parts in order to reuse as many materials as possible. It was only with industrialised construction in the 20th century that we began to dispose of things in a big way. We need to move away from this throwaway mentality if we are serious about the building revolution.
According to a report by the UN Environment Programme, the global construction industry will be responsible for 9.95 gigatonnes of CO2 emissions in 2020 – a staggering 38 per cent of all man-made emissions. As a result, the construction sector has set a grim new record. The production of cement alone, for the 75 billion tonnes of concrete used each year, generates three billion tonnes of CO2 – roughly three times as much as the entire aviation industry. If cement were a country, it would be the third largest emitter after China and the US. This burden will be with us for some time to come, even if we manage to quickly and decisively pull some of the bigger levers for a more sustainable construction industry – more climate-neutral materials, more circularity, more conservation beyond mere preservation.
Renovation as a Continuous Building Update
For renovation to take precedence over demolition and new construction, not only must economic and political rules be adapted, but architecture itself must change. For the canon of architectural history since the 20th century has been primarily a canon of new buildings. It was in these that modern architects could best demonstrate their ideas. New buildings were the pure doctrine, while renovations had to make compromises. Even at universities, new buildings were always designed in studio courses. In the 21st century, we need a new approach: We need well-trained experts who can assess the renovation potential of existing buildings and structures and explore their development possibilities. It is a matter of constantly developing and improving the everyday building stock with the latest technologies and materials – just as you constantly update your computer with the latest programs. Our buildings can only meet our ever-changing needs if they are regularly updated. In other words: Architecture can only last if it is constantly changing.
Demolition and New Construction Should Be the Exception, Not the Rule
Advocating such careful, ongoing renewal and development does not mean opposing all new construction. But demolition and rebuilding should be the exception, not the rule. Moreover, a new culture of renovation would not be a doctrine of renunciation, because unfortunately we can no longer afford the beautiful new buildings.
On the contrary, experts such as the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research say that the necessary adjustments and innovations in all areas of construction would have to trigger a wave of innovation as massive as the industrial revolutions – with comparable economic growth. In this sense, more renovation does not mean less architecture, because a good renovation requires more creativity than a comparatively less complex new building: It requires more courage, more engagement with what is desired and required, more active engagement with the application of building regulations, and it creates more complex, vibrant buildings.
New Icons for the Renovation Era
There have been solid theoretical positions on regeneration since the 1970s. Most of these developed in the Western hemisphere as a result of protest movements against the demolition of entire old city districts, as was common in New York, Paris, London and Berlin after the Second World War. So the shift towards renovation has long since begun. And it is no coincidence that we can already admire a number of brilliant icons of the new era: In 2000, the spectacular but also spectacularly transformed old power station on the Thames, Bankside Power Station, opened as Tate Modern, thanks to the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron. This was followed in 2002 by the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, whose spaces were wonderfully left raw by French architects Lacaton & Vassal, making renovation itself a theme. And in 2009, the Neues Museum in Berlin, whose ruins were brought back to life by the British architects David Chipperfield and Julian Harrap. Like a harmonious architectural triad, these renovations set the tone for a new culture of renovation that no longer favours a particular historical layer and restores it as the more important one, but recognises the value and high design quality in the complexity of our history and cultures.
Diverse Approaches Brimming with Creativity
Thousands of projects have already followed these renovation icons in the early years of this still young century. The approaches are wonderfully varied and full of creativity. One of my favourite recent examples is the renovation, restoration and extension of the “De Lakenhal” museum in Leiden, the Netherlands, by architects Happel Cornelisse Verhoeven (2014-2020). Here, the ensemble of buildings dating from several centuries, which had been repeatedly altered over the decades, was first thoroughly cleared and tidied up. The renovation culminates in an extension at the rear of the museum, which is revealed with a completely new, dramatically jagged and multicoloured brick façade.
It would be fair to say that Happel Cornelisse Verhoeven has exhausted the entire spectrum of renovation possibilities in this project: subtle inlays, the fine art of seamwork as a distinction between new and old historic layers, and the addition of something entirely new that stands confidently at eye level with the historic fabric.
Renovation can also be very radical, as we can see in two recent projects: In Dresden, Spanish architects Nieto Sobejano completely gutted a historic Baroque guardhouse for the Archive der Avantgarden (the interiors were no longer in their original state) and installed a dramatic new concrete sculpture. The project was recently honoured as ‘Best of Best’ at the ICONIC AWARDS: Innovative Architecture.
In Basel, Swiss architects Buchner and Bründler filled an old warehouse with a two-storey concrete structure for the new Kunsthalle Baselland, preserving much of the existing structure while creating an entirely new interior configuration.
Welcome to the Era of Renovation
The possibilities for creating a dynamic architectural balance between old and new are endless. In Spain, the architects Flores y Prats speak of the “second-hand principle” of their architecture; in France, the young collective BAST confidently proclaims the “grittiness” of the unfinished as a principle. In England, the renovation and reuse specialists of Assemble have been awarded the prestigious Turner Prize, and in Germany, the collective cityförster and the interior design studio LXSY in Berlin are experimenting with methods of putting 100 per cent recycled architecture into practice – and how to derive aesthetics from ethics.
Of course, one should not be too deceived by all this wonderfully lively, creative and globally vibrant renovation activity. Demolition and rebuilding still dominate the construction industry. There is still a long way to go before there is a real change of course. But a start has been made. We can indeed look to the future with optimism if we continue what we have started. The renovation era can be a joyful and creative one, full of perfect, customised renovation solutions. We just have to make it so. Or, to end with a recycled quote from Abraham Lincoln: “The best way to predict the future is to create it.
ICONIC AWARDS 2024
Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos and other outstanding renovation projects have been honoured with the ICONIC AWARDS 2024: Innovative Architecture.
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About the Author
Florian Heilmeyer, born 1974, lives and works on the move, but mainly in Berlin. He studied architecture in Berlin and Rotterdam and published his first texts during his studies. Since then he has worked as a critic, journalist, editor, consultant and curator in the fields of architecture, society and the city. He writes for the specialist and daily press worldwide, is the editor and co-editor of numerous specialist books and has been involved in numerous exhibitions, including twice in the German contribution to the Architecture Biennale in Venice. He is currently accompanying Gerkan Marg and Partners’ ‘Umbau’ exhibition on its world tour.
