ADAPTIVE REUSE INSTEAD OF NEW CONSTRUCTIONS – ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION AT CONSTRUMA
On 30 March 2023, a roundtable discussion was organised by Építészfórum about sustainable adaptive reuse.
Is it really necessary to construct new buildings, or can we adapt the existing building stock for future use? The roundtable discussion organised by Építészfórum focused on the topic of sustainability in light of the adaptive reuse of buildings. The event took place as part of CONSTRUMA, Hungary’s largest internationally acclaimed construction exhibition. Participants included Andrea Szakál of BLOKK Architect Studio, András Dobos of LAB5 architects, and our CEO, Dr. András Reith PhD. The discussion was moderated by Máté Hulesch of Építészfórum.
As a lead-in for the topic, András Reith presented eye-opening insights that highlight the trends regarding Hungary’s shrinking population and its growing rate of new constructions. In the last 42 years, Hungary’s population diminished by more than a million (-1 105 463 compared to 1980); while Budapest lost 377 226 of its inhabitants compared to data from 1980. At the same time, +211 565 new flats were built in the last 42 years. In 2016, there were 107 000 empty flats in Budapest (12%), while 13% were vacant in the whole country.
Looking at the CO2 footprint of new constructions, a building’s main supporting structures account for 50% of its total embodied carbon. In addition, when regarding energy demands for construction versus operation, a new building requires one fifth of all energy just to materialise, compared to its 4/5 of operational energy demand over 25 years of operation.
During the discussion, all experts agreed that the existing building stock would be more than enough for our future needs and adaptive reuse is the only sustainable path for us to take. It was enlightening to see the audience join in the discussion with such vehemence – we are grateful for this opportunity!
