Adaptive Reuse of Architectural Heritage

How can we, through the use of digital technologies, create qualitative and sustainable transformations of our architectural heritage? This project of ref- erence spans across the fields of architectural heritage, digital design and fabri- cation, and circular economy. As both an interdisciplinary, research-oriented demonstration project and a built project, it has a built-in outreach through a num- ber of external partners involved.
The paper describes the architectural investigations and solutions developed in the intersection between architectural heritage, digital registration processes and parametric construction and fabrication systems. The method presented, es- tablishes a design workflow that relates detailed information of existing condi- tions with production constraints. A key aspect of this novel method is the em- phasis on modular principles, which, together with the integration of digital tech- nologies, allows the construction costs to be minimized. This makes restoration of historic buildings that holds high cultural and architectural value, but low eco- nomic value, a viable alternative to demolition.
The paper describes how we, using digital technology, can tailor materials into bespoke building components with a clear notion of materiality in architec- tural transformation projects. The paper addresses the reuse of architectural her- itage through digital technologies and investigates a design pipeline for the man- ufacturing of bespoke building components with the capability to adapt to an ex- isting building fabric.