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SECTION 4:
REUSE OF
EXISTING BULDINGS
Sustainable design recommends, as far as possible, retrofitting and repairing
existing buildings, instead of continuing to build new structures. If existing
structures are beyond salvation, it is important to see if any of the materials can
be reused in the new buildings.
Examples of Good Practice
The Narayani Safari Lodge and Hotel, Nepal was built on low-value agricultural
land. Wooden beams, doors and window-frames from the old houses on the
site were reused for building the single-storey cottages of the hotel and lodge.
Elephant-grass was initially used to thatch the cottage roofs. However, because
these tended to leak slightly, locally-made clay tiles replaced the grass.
The US company Brennan Beer Gorman Architects is in the process of
redesigning a 100,000-square-foot office building in Washington DC, into an
eight-storey, 158-room Marriott Hotel. The company suggests the following
considerations for office-to-hotel conversions:
• BUILDING SHAPE
Does the building have a workable floor plate with column spacing
that accommodates an optimum room width of 12 to 15 feet? Does the
building have a core-façade dimension of 30 to 40 feet? Unusual L, T or
W shapes hinder efficient and flexible office layouts but can work well
for guest room modules.
• WINDOWS
Are existing windows openable? Many codes require openable
windows in guest rooms while many office buildings have fixed
windows. Does the existing window module align with the proposed
guest-room module inside, or will the façade need extensive
reworking?
• FLOOR-TO-CEILING HEIGHT
Office buildings with ceilings that are too low for today’s market may
work well as hotels with eight-foot guest room ceilings.
• STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS
Can the structure easily and economically accommodate stair
relocations and the tremendous number of floor penetrations that
hotels require for ductwork and piping?
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