Hazel Rounding, Managing Director at shedkm, explores retrofit’s role in creating social value, sustainability, and affordable urban spaces across the UK. 

At shedkm, our history with retrofit stems from a deep connection to social value and a mission to breathe new life into derelict structures, particularly in the north. Decades ago, we found ourselves working on projects where regeneration was more about hope than sustainability. These sites – often former industrial land in cities like Liverpool, Manchester, and Birmingham – were communities in decline but with buoyant pasts. The reuse of existing structures became a critical component of our work, not just because of the cost savings it provided, avoiding the need for new foundations on land fraught with industrial contamination, but because it represented a tangible sign of changing times.  

 

Our early projects, such as Matchworks in Liverpool, Chimney Pot Park in Salford, and Fort Dunlop in Birmingham, showed how transforming derelict stock could anchor regeneration efforts. Back then, retrofit was not driven by sustainability agendas as it is today but by the need to revitalise communities, bringing opportunity and new purpose to areas that had been left behind. Today, the urgency of the sustainability challenge strengthens the importance of retrofit more than ever, but the roots of this practice lie in something equally meaningful – regeneration and social value. 

 

Our experience working across cities and towns in the regions sharpened our understanding of how to adapt and reuse structures. This was a northern and midlands issue – dereliction and the need for regeneration were critical problems, whereas London, with its high-value sites, rarely faced the same challenges. For years, new builds dominated London's landscape, with retrofit remaining a more niche consideration. But as the need to tackle our industry’s contribution to the growing climate crisis dawned, the importance of retrofit grew beyond mere regeneration. In London, retrofit is now more than a buzzword – it's a necessity, rightly driven by the carbon agenda. 

 

Our work in the south, including current projects like Zodiac House and Wandsworth Gasworks in London, demonstrates how we’ve applied retrofit lessons from the north. Here, we’ve honed a refined approach to retrofit that is as much about preservation as it is about striking interventions. Our three key design considerations for such projects are:  

 

 

In the past, we transformed factories into modern workspaces, as seen in Matchworks, Fort Dunlop and Soapworks. Today our focus is shifting, with offices, and even carparks, transformed into residential conversions. The post-COVID landscape has led us to envision longer-term transformations, such as shopping centres becoming mixed-use, place-led masterplans that can once again serve the community. 

 

As we move forward, the challenge of retrofit extends beyond these individual buildings to entire areas of cities. London's affordable housing crisis is just one example of how retrofit can address pressing urban problems, and it allows us to reconnect with the social value roots that have shaped our approach for nearly 30 years. While the carbon agenda is certainly extending the lifespan of existing stock in the capital, it’s crucial to remember that retrofit is more than just a story about carbon reduction. 

 

In London, beyond the commercial centres and tourist hotspots, there are established communities – just like those we’ve worked with in the north – that need affordable, sustainable places to live. Our work aims to ensure that these communities can continue to thrive in a world city that has become increasingly financially challenging. Ultimately, retrofit offers a way to do more than preserve buildings – it offers hope and opportunity for future generations, just as it always has.