Cities worldwide are increasingly confronted with the obsolescence of office buildings, particularly those constructed between the 1960s and 1980s. Often functionally redundant and technically outdated, these structures—much like the abandoned factories of earlier decades—now represent a latent resource. This session explores adaptive reuse as a critical architectural and urban strategy, capable of transforming such buildings through minimal intervention and maximum retention. Positioned between heritage conservation and climate-conscious transformation, adaptive reuse offers a meaningful alternative to demolition by engaging with the embodied energy and material continuity of the existing fabric. We welcome contributions, including case studies, theoretical reflections, or interdisciplinary perspectives that address the architectural, environmental, and social dimensions of reusing vacant office stock. Of particular interest are projects that reimagine these buildings for housing, public infrastructure, or hybrid programs through design, policy, or technical innovation. The session aims to frame adaptive reuse as a proactive, low-carbon response to today's urban and ecological urgencies.
Presentations:
Rehabiting the gallery: Recovery of commercial galleries as urban activators of the microcenter of Rosario
Cecilia Carreño Serein
Beyond vacancy: adaptive reuse of office landmarks as a low-carbon urban housing strategy
Mariolina Affatato
Office buildings as hybrid factories
Nina Rappaport
The entangled histories of Belgrade's Western City Gate: a journey from public to private spatial capital
Dalia Dukanac
Office-to-residential conversion in NYC: a critical atlas of adaptive reuse of modernist skyscrapers
Elena Guidetti and Caterina Barioglio
Free
Registration
Registrations must be made here.
Selection will be made in order of registration.
Registration will be open until the start of the activity, on site, as long as there are spaces available.