Keziah Noxolo

Adaptive Reuse Potential of Different Building Types

The project:
The demands for different building types are changing, and new buildings are required to better suit the current population. For example, more space is required for residential stock, particularly in urban areas, and in the office sector, higher quality space is needed. New construction requires a large amount of material extraction and the demolition of old building stock produces a large amount of waste. Reusing existing buildings directly addresses many of the concerns associated with material extraction and waste processing, including habitat destruction, biodiversity loss and carbon emissions. However, uncertainties about the buildings’ condition and capacity often make developers hesitant to take this route.

Keziah’s research will focus on creating a model to rapidly assess the adaptive reuse potential of different buildings. The final product will assist in the transition to a more circular economy in the construction industry, helping developers, building owners and design teams to more easily reuse existing building stock. The initial assessment will be based on a basic archetype (using information such as date of construction, frame type and use type), and the user will be able to input additional information to get a more detailed and accurate reuse assessment.

Keziah is a PhD researcher based in the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering at the University of Sheffield. She is supervised by Dr Helen Fairclough and is a member of the Resources, Infrastructure Systems and built Environments (RISE) and Structural Engineering research groups. For her PhD, she is co-funded by Elliott Wood and the EPSRC.

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