Retrofitting existing buildings is vital to tackling both the climate emergency and housing shortage – but effective collaboration between architects and engineers is essential, says our Managing Director Damien Sharkey.

It takes imagination and insight to see the potential in existing buildings that have outlived their original function. Many (though not all) offices and other commercial and industrial assets can, in the right conditions, be converted into good-quality homes.

We created HUB’s subsidiary HubCap with this in mind – taking tired, obsolete buildings in city centres and repurposing them to provide living spaces, from co-living to aparthotels. It’s not the solution to the housing crisis on its own, but this approach will create significant supply, offer people more choice and bring life back to these struggling urban areas.

Read more in Architects' Journal