AtkinsRéalis reflect on the Retrofit Summit, highlighting collaboration, sustainability, and solutions to future-proof buildings and cut carbon emissions.

The first Retrofit Summit saw London’s built environment community gather to showcase a variety of interesting and exciting retrofits in the capital. The Summit addressed the importance of retrofit, focusing on the reasons and methods, with an emphasis on future-proofing and collaboration, whilst celebrating and preserving existing buildings.

By 2030, 70% of our existing building stock will not be fit for purpose, in terms of energy performance, conformance to regulatory targets, and occupier requirements. We are also in a housing shortage, which when compiled with the change in working patterns, increases the need for retrofit and regeneration. We are in a time of transformation and transition, with building adaptation necessary to suit our usage needs following an increase in demand for high-quality, sustainable spaces with local amenities. 

Many positive cases for retrofit were discussed, notably the market demand (coupled with supply shortage), improvements to operational energy and carbon, embodied carbon and material re-use as part of a circular economy. Risks such as warranties, income loss, logistics where buildings are in occupation, and contractor familiarity were also outlined. The challenge of retrofitting historic buildings or those in conservation areas - a prominent hurdle for central London buildings - was reiterated by several of the presenters.

AtkinsRéalis recently supported a client to begin to retrofit their portfolio, applying a holistic, systems thinking to create climate resilient and sustainable solutions. These reduced the environmental impact of their mixed-use buildings whilst promoting biodiversity and ensuring the buildings were not only fit for purpose, but also fit for the future.

A common theme throughout the Summit was fostering a community of collaborative and cooperative actors. This was echoed through encouragement of all within the built environment to share retrofit data at both regional and typology levels. The significance of structural information in retrofit decision-making was highlighted by several presenters. Through increased availability of reference material, we can improve industry knowledge and the accuracy of benchmarking and targets to support the delivery of net zero buildings. 

The importance of passion for the retrofit was a crucial golden thread, with a Champion of each and every retrofit project necessary to reinforce the light at the end of the tunnel of the better building to come.

Numerous project examples demonstrated that sustainability credentials of retrofitted buildings rival those of new builds, including the retrofits of New Zealand House by The Crown Estate and House of Fraser by Studio PDP. Despite this, retrofit cannot be siloed into having a single purpose to improve building performance. Effective retrofitting yields further community benefits, creating something larger than the project itself in terms of social and economic value. 

Roughly 20% of the total UK built environment carbon emissions are attributed to embodied carbon. The Summit highlighted the need to invest in up-front, high-quality professional support across design, sustainability and engineering to deliver the best retrofit outcomes for buildings. The importance of tracking building materials was also emphasised, streamlining decision-making in future retrofit.

It is reassuring to see carbon included alongside the time, cost, quality debate. The Summit drew attention to common retrofit challenges and the importance of viable and engaging solutions to not only reduce operational and embodied carbon, but create future-proofed buildings to deliver wider value.