Atelier Ten roundtable: if your retrofit is a compromise, you’re doing it wrong
Atelier Ten recently convened a cross-industry roundtable—engineers, architects, QSs, investors, and building managers—to ask a simple question with complex implications: How do we make retrofit the default, not the exception? Chaired by Atelier Ten Director Sarah Peterson, the conversation was refreshingly pragmatic and agreeably optimistic.
The verdict: when retrofit is approached as design intelligence—not damage limitation—it delivers higher-quality projects, better whole-life value, and meaningful carbon reductions. The challenge is not if we should do it, but how we structure the risks, the programme, and the incentives so the best answer wins more often.
“The future of our industry won’t be defined by what we build – but by what we choose to keep.”
— Sarah Peterson, Atelier Ten
Why retrofit, and why now?
The environmental case is clear. Reusing what we already have reduces carbon emissions and environmental impacts, preserves cultural value, and accelerates climate resilience. Yet too often retrofit is framed as risky, costly, or difficult to deliver at scale. Our panel acknowledged the challenges -including financing investigations, navigating evolving safety regulations, and de-risking construction – but also highlighted real momentum: investor stewardship, public-sector leadership, and occupiers seeking both operational and embodied carbon performance.
“Large occupiers increasingly look for buildings that meet both operational energy targets and embodied carbon goals.”
— Richard Applin, Gardiner & Theobald
Retrofit is a spectrum—find the golden point
Retrofit is not a single move; it’s a spectrum—from light-touch upgrades to full structural retention with extensions.
“Retrofit exists on a wide spectrum, from a lick of paint to structural retention. The golden point could be anywhere.”
— Russell Whitehead, Robert Bird Group
That “golden point” depends on the asset’s condition, the business case, the supply chain, and time. Sometimes, doing less is better—focusing intervention where it transforms performance, value, and experience.
“Sometimes doing less is the better option – get in and out quickly.”
— Alistair Hay, Gardiner & Theobald
What’s well-suited? Many post-war commercial buildings: adaptable grids, generous floor-to-floor heights, robustness for lightweight vertical additions.
What’s complex? Listed assets: more choreography than overhaul, balancing conservation with targeted interventions elsewhere on site.
Atelier Ten Retrofit: Space House, London
“‘Ugly’ 1960s and 70s buildings often lend themselves well to retrofit – these are the assets where strategic investment can deliver significant carbon savings.”
— Gavin Miller, MICA
Plan with certainty: invest earlier, de-risk faster
One of the strongest signals from the roundtable: front-load intelligence.
“It’s difficult, but surveys and validation should be carried out as early as possible.”
— Ben Burgess, Atelier Ten
What to do:
- Commission intrusive surveys pre-acquisition where feasible—structure, services, fire strategy, hazardous materials.
- Develop scenario trees early: if X is discovered, the design pivots to Option B or C without losing programme integrity.
- Price risk with evidence, not contingency alone.
- Early investigation doesn’t eliminate surprises—but it shrinks the range of uncertainty, improves pricing, and protects the programme.
Buy time where it matters: extend Stage 2
The RIBA Plan of Work largely mirrors new build and retrofit. But retrofit needs time to think—especially for optioneering and testing interventions against discovered conditions.
“The RIBA Plan of Work applies the same programme to new builds and retrofit – but retrofit needs a longer Stage 2.”
— Mark Foster, Allies and Morrison
Atelier Ten Retrofit: The Burrell Collection, Glasgow
“We have strict embodied and operational carbon targets and all our decisions are made through the lens of long-term stewardship. Taking three months now for a building that will last 100 years is not that long.”
— Drew Roche, The Crown Estaten
Clients oriented to whole-life value already get this:
Actionable shift: protect a longer Stage 2 for iterative design + investigations; it reduces redesign later and uplifts both certainty and quality. Public-sector clients and long-term owners are proving the model: stewardship beats short-termism.
Rethink procurement: balance risk to unlock delivery
A recurring friction point: using design-and-build before sufficient investigation pushes disproportionate risk onto contractors. The response? Price it high—or walk away.
“Design-and-build has become too dominant. It shifts risk onto contractors. We need more balanced relationships where clients are prepared to take on more risk again.”
— Russell Whitehead, Robert Bird Group
Better models include:
- Staged or two-stage procurement that sequences surveys, design, and price discovery.
- Shared-risk frameworks where unknowns are acknowledged, investigated, and addressed collaboratively.
- Early contractor involvement (ECI)—but only after adequate Stage 2 definition—to align buildability without freezing learning.
Manage safety and regulatory uncertainty with continuity
Post-Grenfell, expectations are rightly higher—but interpretation can vary, especially for existing stairs, shafts, or undocumented components.
“District surveyors can interpret safety regulations differently: compliance expectations are constantly evolving.”
— Fraser Rumble, Stace
Scotland’s approach is instructive: assigning a single building standards officer to assure continuity and decisions across the process.
“On-site safety is significantly more complex on retrofit projects.”
— Marta Galiñanes García, Laing O’Rourke
What helps:
- Secure an appointed authority lead for continuity where possible.
- Document a safety narrative early—assumptions, tests, contingencies.
- Prioritise intrusive validation for life-safety-critical elements.
Scale for real impact: celebrate craft, standardise methods
Retrofit thrives at every scale—but most projects are below £40m, with thinner margins and heavy survey needs.
“The dominant retrofit market is below £40 million. Most projects happen at this scale. It’s difficult work requiring lots of surveys. It’s not glamorous.”
— Drew Roche, The Crown Estate
We should keep celebrating crafted, one-off excellence—and develop repeatable playbooks.
“Architects often treat retrofit projects as a crafted, one-off objects. But there’s real value in standardising approaches and scaling them up to make them more viable.”
— Laura Gil Santana, Bennetts Associates
Translate craft into systems:
- Create pattern books for common archetypes (60s slab blocks, steel-frame offices, 80s deep-plan).
- Build assembly libraries for typical enclosure upgrades and services strategies.
- Publish retrofit readiness checklists for faster go/no-go decisions.
Reframe value: from capital cost to whole-life outcomes
Traditional metrics don’t capture retrofit’s full dividend. An industry-wide shift towards whole-life value and carbon accounting over more purely financial benchmarks could significantly strengthen the case for reuse.
Shift the lens to:
- Whole-life carbon (A–D) and operational intensity.
- Time-to-revenue versus headline programme length.
- Adaptability and future fit (how easily will this building be retrofitted again?).
- Occupier desirability driven by ESG, context, and character—not just NIA.
- When we value correctly, retrofit often wins on fundamentals, not just ethics.
Upskill the industry we have; grow the one we need
Experience is rising—and attitudes are evolving.
Atelier Ten Retrofit: Tower Hamlets Town Hall, London
“In the past some contractors saw reuse as too risky and preferred to rebuild elements brick by brick. The industry is far more experienced now.”
— Sam Scott, AHMM
Still, shortages persist in structural assessment, fire engineering, and specialist retrofit techniques. The fix is collaborative:
- Embed continuous learning between design, cost, and construction—especially at gateways.
- Protect design refinement time before onboarding a contractor to avoid premature lock-in.
- Equip project managers to understand the structural and programme consequences of “minor” design moves.
Bring agents into the conversation
Agents can play a significant role in shaping perceptions of what occupiers want, but also play a key role in advising potential occupiers on the choice of premises. They can shape what occupiers see—and what they think they want. Today, conventional spec lists can sometimes filter out genuinely excellent retrofit options that would meet ESG goals and delight users.
Design today for tomorrow’s retrofit
Retrofit is not a one-time fix; it’s a long-life mindset.
“We also need to think about how the buildings we design today will be retrofitted in the future – long life, loose fit may be part of the answer.”
— Henry Squire, Squire & Partners
Design loose-fit, long-life structures with accessible, replaceable systems, generous risers, and façade strategies that can be re-skinned without structural surgery. Make the next retrofit easier.
Conclusion: Retrofit is not a compromise—it’s a competence
When retrofit is framed as a reduction in ambition, it underperforms. When it is framed as an act of design leadership—grounded in evidence, collaboration, and stewardship—it outperforms: lower carbon, richer character, faster adaptation, better cities.
The roundtable’s message is unambiguous: if your retrofit feels like a compromise, you’re doing it wrong. Let’s build the structures—commercial, regulatory, and cultural—that allow the right answer to win.
If you would like to discuss further, please contact:
Environmental Divisional Director, Sarah Peterson – sarah.peterson@atelierten.com
Environmental Design & Strategic Partnerships, Marianne Lowgren – marianne.lowgren@atelierten.com