Adaptive Reuse as a Strategy for Demolition-Waste Reduction in European Post-Industrial Regeneration

Introduction

Construction and demolition (C&D) waste accounts for roughly one-third of EU solid waste, with demolition causing major material and embodied-carbon losses. While recycling and recovery remain important, circular construction must also prioritize prevention. This paper examines adaptive reuse (AR) as an upstream strategy for avoiding demolition and extending the service life of existing buildings.

Methods

A qualitative comparative case-study design combined within-case trajectory reconstruction and cross-case synthesis of seven European post-industrial AR projects: Tour & Taxis, Zeche Zollverein, Van Nelle Factory, Tabakalera, Manifattura Tabacchi, Gasometer City, and Can Batlló. Publicly available documentary evidence was assessed through an analytical grid covering asset conditions, governance, finance, circularity, design, policy, and transferability.

Results

The cases show that retaining structures, envelopes, spatial systems, and material assemblies can reduce C&D waste compared with demolition and new construction. However, circular value depended less on retention alone than on how reuse was governed, financed, phased, and kept adaptable. Shell-and-infill strategies, box-in-box decoupling, phased activation, and civic stewardship strengthened long-term adaptability. Reversible CLT pavilions, modular participatory structures, and loose-fit spatial frameworks operated as Design for Deconstruction analogues within existing fabric. In contrast, fragmented ownership and accelerated delivery increased lock-in and future restructuring risks.

Conclusions

Adaptive reuse should be positioned before recycling and recovery in circular economy and C&D waste policy. Its waste-prevention role depends on selective retention, reversible design, and governance models that keep buildings adaptable over time. The findings offer transferable configuration knowledge for demolition-avoidance frameworks, circular procurement, and embodied-carbon reduction at building and district scales.