Understanding Your Building

This section highlights the important first step in conducting sustainable retrofits or rehabilitations: acquiring a clear and comprehensive understanding of the existing building prior to commencing design. This understanding, crucial for any building in terms of sustainability regardless of its heritage value and/or character-defining elements and regardless of its intended use, can be gained by the following:

• Determining the heritage value and character-defining elements to be protected, if any;
• Thoroughly investigating and documenting all of the existing conditions;
• Assembling an integrated team that will harmonize disciplines for the planning, design, and construction of the retrofit or rehabilitation while sharing all pertinent understanding;
• Determining current energy, water, and overall resource consumption to establish a baseline measurement for evaluating proposed interventions;
• Determining the base impacts of new or adapted use;
• Determining the base spatial, material and performance impacts on the building of the proposed project requirements;
• Ascertaining and mapping out where conflicts occur and considering balancing the various project requirements;
• Prioritizing the sustainable measures that optimize performance improvement while maintaining heritage value.