Jeffry Burchard explores in his essay the “opportunity found by extending the life and purpose of viable existing buildings“, that have shaped our cities. Arguing that “we have an abundant supply of buildings”, the author proposes four essential steps to transform existing buildings.

Existing buildings are full of risk and opportunity. That risk can be revealed in physical or functional deterioration and even eventual failure. In some cases, this failure is devastating, as we have just witnessed with the tragic condo tower collapse in Surfside, Florida. But there’s also immense opportunity found by extending the life and purpose of viable existing buildings, as they are uniquely positioned to engage our cultural values, memories, and aspirations.

At the same time, architects, owners, developers, government, institutions, and society at large are appreciating more than ever the full potential in our existing buildings for their embodied carbon, cultural value, historic importance, urban fabric, collective memory, and unreproducible craft. This appreciation has proved most useful when paired with an acknowledgment that in many cases continuing the use of some existing buildings may be impractical (the financial and environmental resources required to save a building or its parts are misaligned with required outcomes); imprudent (climate change represents an imminent and insoluble danger to that building); or in some cases, even immoral (existing buildings, like monuments and urban systems, can come to represent or result from systemic racism and social injustice).

https://www.archdaily.com/965934/the-shape-of-our-existing-buildings/61025facf91c81518e000146-the-shape-of-our-existing-buildings-image