Post-pandemic, Australia’s commercial building market has experienced a shakeup, with tenants demanding the best of amenity and location to tempt workers back to the office. For buildings that aren’t cutting the commercial mustard, owners seeking bang for buck are more likely to consider re-use over renewal.
Re-use allows building owners to shift more flexibly with the commercial tides. One example of this is 380 Docklands Drive: Schroter and his team have produced a proposal to transform the ailing commercial building into a vertical primary school.
Funded by the building’s new owner, the scheme has been met with enthusiasm so far but is yet to receive a greenlight from the state government.
The benefits of adaptive reuse vary by typology. With Australia struggling to keep up with housing demand, speed is a hugely appealing benefit for converting existing typologies to residential. Where larger institutions are looking to grow their footprint, adaptive reuse allows flexibility and the ability to grow locally.
The 380 Docklands Drive proposal flips a workplace into a primary school, Render
Considerations
Adaptive reuse projects come with benefits and drawbacks in terms of speed, cost and complexity, with building codes a major consideration.
For example, transforming a building from commercial to residential requires upgrading standards for cooking, sleeping and sanitation, while converting a warehouse to an office building requires improved air flow. Adhering to the new typology’s building code adds complexity and cost but ultimately ensures the building is safe and fit for its new purpose while retaining
its personality.
It’s also important to consider how codes may have changed since the building was first constructed. For example, re-use projects may require additional structural reinforcement just to bring a building up to speed with current earthquake compliance.
Block D
With the construction of its new laboratory buildings delayed, the University of Melbourne partnered with Architectus to convert level 4 of the brutalist Block D building from ageing office space into laboratories.
A prime example of adaptive re-use, the labs provided the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology with the space and resources it required, without needing to move further afield.
University of Melbourne, Block D
Mitsubishi Tonsley
As Australia’s car manufacturing industry wound down, the former Mitsubishi car factory was transformed into a vibrant knowledge precinct supporting clean technologies, sustainable industries, advanced manufacturing, education, and research. The precinct is recognized as a world-leader in sustainable adaptive reuse and precinct design: first 6 Star Green Star: Communities in Australia.
Retaining the existing structure saved 90,000 tonnes of embodied carbon emissions, the equivalent of taking 25,000 cars off the road for a year.
The heritage Main Assembly Building was reinterpreted it as a central hub, with communal spaces, retail and event spaces.
Main Assembly Building, Mitsubishi Tonsley
Shepparton Law Courts
Architectus’ design of Victoria’s first Specialist Family Violence Court in Shepparton included the adaptive re-use of the city’s 1930s courthouse to become a vital part of the new precinct.
Retaining the building’s culturally significant fabric, we renewed the courthouse by introducing safe, calm and light-filled new spaces. This includes generous waiting and mediation areas, interview and meeting rooms, a child-friendly zone with a cubby house, a dedicated courtyard, and a direct secure link to a family violence courtroom in the adjacent law courts building.
Shepparton Law Courts
