Retrofit

There are several definitions for retrofit that are used by different organisations across the industry. Many of these definitions tend to focus on interventions that increase the energy performance of a building, commonly referred to as a ‘deep energy retrofit’.

Deep energy improvements will of course be critical in the fight against climate change. However, despite its seriousness, the climate crisis is not the only issue that we currently face. There are several other social, environmental and economic factors that are, in many cases, equally as important and need to be addressed. It would therefore be insufficient to define retrofit solely around deep energy, as this diverts away from these other issues and the myriad of benefits that can result from a successful retrofit project.

Due to its holistic nature, and the spectrum of issues that it seeks to address, our definition of retrofit transcends that of deep energy and includes any upgrade to a building that increases its resilience, or the resilience of the community or location. This is across eight categories.

• Seismic – strengthening a building to keep occupants safe in the event of an earthquake and to limit damage to the building itself.
• Life safety – alterations to a building for improving the safety of occupants by removing hazardous structures or installing safety equipment such as sprinklers.
• Inclusion and accessibility – adapting a building to ensure equal access and opportunities for everyone. This can be done through the reconfiguration of spaces, entrances and exits, as well as the installation of automatic doors, lifts or ramp access.
• Heritage – the renovation of a protected or listed building to extend its life and maximise its historical value.
• Deep energy – major alterations to the envelope of a building to reduce its energy consumption, often accompanied by the installation of low carbon technologies such as heat pumps or solar PV.
• Regeneration – an upgrade to a building that results in economic, ecological or social regeneration.
• Critical infrastructure – the renovation of healthcare, education, transport or culturally significant infrastructure.
• Climate resilience – upgrades to a building that increase its resilience to climate related impacts such as flooding or heatwaves.