RIBA highlights adaptive reuse projects by announcing its first Reinvention Award shortlist

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the first shortlist for the newly-established reinvention award, featuring four projects from across the United Kingdom whose work has responded to the need for broad adaptation of reuse and retrofitting schemes in the industry that has become an increasingly popular mandate in recent years.RIBA’s President Simon Allford said he hopes the award could serve as a “catalyst” for pragmatic future change in the profession, adding that its establishment will help practitioners “consider how we can reinvent existing buildings to work even better when they accommodate new uses.” “Looking ahead to the low carbon future, it is vital we always consider how we can reinvent existing buildings to work even better when they accommodate new uses. The careful husbandry of existing resources - including buildings - has a long and noble, if recently forgotten, architectural history that we are relearning - and fast,” he added. “These remarkable projects all demonstrate that the architecture of reinvention requires immense talent, vision, and creativity.”Eligible projects include the reuse of any existing building, demonstrating the structural improvements enacted, and outlining how the effort incorporated at least one of the outcomes in RIBA’s Sustainable Outcomes Guide. The timing of the announcement comes as many UK architects and planners begin to realize the benefits of such projects, and RIBA says finally that the Reinvention Award will "[shine] a light on 'retrofitting', increasing the longevity and energy efficiency of existing buildings, and reducing the need for demolition and new construction."Further details on each project can be found below. Museum of the Home by Wright & Wright Architects (London)Read the full post on Bustler