Adaptive Reuse: Extending the Lives of Buildings

by Liliane Wong

Building in existing fabric requires more than practical solutions and stylistic skills. The adaptive reuse of buildings, where changes in the structure go along with new programs and functions, poses the fundamental question of how the past should be included in the design for the future. On the background of long years of teaching and publishing, and using vivid imagery from Frankenstein to Rem Koolhaas and beyond, the author provides a comprehensive introduction to architectural design for adaptive reuse projects. History and theory, building typology, questions of materials and construction, aspects of preservation, urban as well as interior design are dealt with in ways that allow to approach adaptive reuse as a design practice field of its own right.

Genres: Architecture

264 pages, Paperback

Published November 21, 2016

About the author

Liliane Wong received her BA in Mathematics from Vassar College and her MArch from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. She is Professor and Chair of the Department of Interior Architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design that focuses on architectural interventions to existing structures. Her interest and teaching in this subject led her to co-found the Int|AR Journal on Design Interventions & Adaptive Reuse that promotes creative and academic explorations of sustainable environments through exemplary works of reuse. A long-time volunteer at soup kitchens, her teaching emphasizes the importance of public engagement in architecture and design. Other teaching and research areas include design as social activism, the mathematics of curved space, the low income, modular home and technical textiles. She was recognized by Design Intelligence for 2018-2019 as one of the top 25 most admired educators in the US in the fields of architecture, interiors and landscape architecture.

She is the author of Adaptive Reuse Extending the Lives of Buildings, co-author of Libraries - A Design Manual and contributing author of Designing Interior Architecture.

Reviews

[Hola Holacio · Rating 3 out of 5]

máxima bola, da vueltas sobre la misma paja una y otra vez, pero algunos pasajes eran interesantes

[Nadeen Al Khateeb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I´m an undergraduate Architecture student currently doing my graduation project in the category of adaptive reuse. I found this book to be very helpful, it gave me a good introduction to this area of architectural design.
It talks about adaptive reuse in a comprehensive way using simple language, and the writing is very interesting making it fun to read.
Great book, would recommend it to architecture students if you´re looking for a book to help you get a better understanding of adaptive reuse architecture.

[Colin Sutter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was my introduction to some of the theory behind adaptive reuse. I enjoyed the discussion on history and the terminology interwoven with real-world examples.