Adaptive reuse of the existing building stock has significant potential in preserving resources and minimizing the carbon footprint within the building industry. This thesis investigates the hurdles that municipalities in Germany face when retrofitting, updating, and reusing existing public buildings. The survey focuses on analyzing the technical, structural, and financial difficulties that influence decision-making processes regarding municipal building management and construction projects.
To achieve these objectives, the study uses a qualitative methodology that combines an extensive literature review with semi-structured interviews conducted with experts from various German municipalities. The interviews provide valuable insights beyond the findings of the existing literature, offering information through the practical experiences of the experts and recurring patterns within municipal frameworks. Specific attention is given to identifying key obstacles, such as updating building substances to modern standards, insufficient or overcomplicated funding mechanisms, and the complexity of efficiently managing the existing municipal building stock. The results reveal that, on the one hand, municipalities predominantly work with the existing building stock rather than opting for demolition and new construction. On the other hand, they face multiple systemic barriers that hinder planning and building processes. Technical challenges, such as retrofitting outdated infrastructure, combined with structural issues like bureaucratic inefficiencies and difficulties in interdisciplinary collaboration in the early phases of any project, often lead to expensive and time-consuming projects, that limit the feasibility or overall value of preserving and upgrading existing buildings.
The study concludes with practical recommendations to enable municipalities to fully unlock the potential of their existing building stock and streamline the related processes. These include revising regulatory frameworks, developing appropriate funding instruments that support the preservation of the existing buildings, and promoting knowledge-sharing platforms to foster collaboration among all German municipalities. By addressing these barriers, the thesis contributes to the broader discourse on climate-neutral urban development and sustainable construction in the public sector.
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Adaptive reuse of the existing building stock has significant potential in preserving resources and minimizing the carbon footprint within the building industry. This thesis investigates the hurdles that municipalities in Germany face when retrofitting, updating, and reusing existing public buildings. The survey focuses on analyzing the technical, structural, and financial difficulties that influence decision-making processes regarding municipal building management and construction projects.
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