Renovation is the process of upliftment and up-gradation of an existing built space. It can include measures as small as repainting your house, to something more time and resource consuming as revamping the entire ventilation system. In recent times, when we have started inhabiting urban hubs, renovation and refurbishment has become a lucrative field. Especially in commercial areas where companies are constantly re-branding and relocating, as well as in residential zones, where residents are adapting their homes to modern aesthetics and systems. Let’s take a deeper look into what exactly renovation entails and what factors encourage people to renovate.
An important reason for renovation is the simple need to refresh our environment. Humans strive for change and it is natural for us to want to switch things up every few years. Thus, many people end up making additions to the facade of their homes, tearing up a few walls to enlarge the kitchen, or clearing out the storeroom to make a small study. Now that people are constantly looking up new and fun design ideas on Instagram or Pinterest, they want their living spaces to follow certain themes and aesthetics, which can often lead to small scale renovations over the years, like changing wallpapers, getting new furniture, or putting up a new ceiling.
Minimising energy usage is the hallmark of today’s green buildings. A large part of many renovation projects is making buildings more efficient in terms of energy use. This usually involves the use of modern technologies and materials, like specialised window glazing, double skin facades, and motorised shading devices, that regulate the heat gained and lost by the building. An example is this residential building in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, which was built in 1950 and renovated in 2017. A new facade system was introduced that not only gave the building a contemporary look, but also formed an additional insulation layer that controls heat gains and losses.
When the final brick is laid, and the final wall painted, in our minds, we consider the building to be finished. In reality, buildings, like people are constantly evolving and need regular care and attention. Every few years according to the use of the building, it requires some manner of repair, and in times where technology is constantly evolving, there are always better and newer systems in the market. That is why a lot of renovation projects involve up-gradation of HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and fire systems, to bring them up to contemporary standards and codes, like this building systems renovation of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in 2015.
When it comes to buildings with a certain historical significance, the process of renovation gets overlapped with restoration -which is the act of restoring the building to its original working conditions. Restoration is important to retain the building’s historic and cultural significance, and to minimize further deterioration of historic landmarks, many of which are integral to our regional and architectural history. In most cases, restoration and renovation are processes that vastly overlap. An example of this is the restoration of Shigar Fort, located near Skardu, which is a 17th century fort restored in 2004 to a functional museum and hotel. By using pre-existing materials and techniques, the fort was restored in a manner that preserved its natural heritage, while also making it suitable to host regular tourists and visitors.
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