The opportunity is not simply to retain buildings for sustainability reasons. It is to recognise that value can often be unlocked through a more enlightened combination of planning, design and commercial thinking.
Many Office Buildings Are Not Obsolete | Rethinking Retrofit Through Planning and Design
21 May 26
One of the greatest risks facing the office market today may not be ageing buildings — but ageing assumptions.
Across the UK, the office market is increasingly polarised. Best-in-class new and refurbished assets continue to outperform, while secondary stock experiences growing vacancy and obsolescence pressure. Yet there is a danger in assuming that older buildings are automatically obsolete.
In reality, many office buildings are not obsolete at all. They are simply constrained — by planning policy, design assumptions, outdated specifications, viability perceptions or inherited expectations about what modern office space should look like.
Recent BCO and CoStar analysis reinforces this point. The office market’s “flight to quality” is not necessarily a flight to new build. Deep refurbishment and repositioning are increasingly delivering the quality, amenity and flexibility occupiers demand, often with greater cost certainty and lower delivery risk than entirely new development.
That matters because the economics of development continue to shift. Rising build costs, contractor constraints and limited Grade A supply are making retrofit-first an increasingly attractive route to viability. The question for owners is changing from:
Should we replace this building?
to:
What is preventing this building from performing?
In many cases, the answer is surprisingly solvable.
- Could floorplates be reconfigured?
- Could circulation be improved?
- Could amenity be introduced?
- Could the façade evolve?
- Could planning unlock additional floorspace or alternative uses?
The BCO’s Festival of Enlightenment theme feels particularly relevant here. It encourages the industry to challenge established thinking and look again at assets that may have been discounted too quickly.
The opportunity is not simply to retain buildings for sustainability reasons. It is to recognise that value can often be unlocked through a more enlightened combination of planning, design and commercial thinking.
Many office buildings are not obsolete.
They are simply waiting to be seen differently.
