Sustainable Renovation
Retrofitting and reusing existing buildings with lower-carbon materials, preserved heritage fabric, and contemporary performance upgrades.
Sustainable renovation extends the life of existing buildings rather than replacing them, reducing the embodied carbon locked in structure, foundations, and materials. Designers working in this area weigh energy performance upgrades against the cultural and structural value of what already stands.
Projects in this community range from heritage farmhouses and school campuses to small coastal retreats and hemp-based construction. Together they show how reuse, regional materials, and careful adaptation can meet modern living and teaching needs.
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Sertão Arquitetos Reworks a 105 m² Mantiqueira House from the Inside, Leaving Its Footprint Untouched
In São Francisco Xavier, Brazil, a renovation absorbs a veranda into a study and lets color, clay and timber do the work an extension would have done.
CnB Sustainable Market: A Timber Frame That Turns Shopping into Reducing, Reusing and Recycling
An open grid of timber modules, trellised cores and workshop rooms recasts the public market as a place to repair, swap and grow, not just to buy.
Historic Dutch Farmhouse Transformation Blending Heritage Architecture with Contemporary Living
Historic Dutch farmhouse renovation blending heritage architecture with modern extension, glass façade, garden integration, and contrasting spatial experiences.
Campus ACV-CSC-Metea: Sustainable Renovation and Contemporary Educational Architecture in Ghent
A sustainable, wood-structured Ghent campus integrating renovated volumes, green courtyards, glass transparency, flexible offices, and energy-efficient design.
