An introduction to refurbishment. Part 2: Maximising the opportunities at the design stage

Part one of this article considered how to explore opportunities for refurbishment over new-build before any design work begins. The second part now describes how to maximise the potential opportunities for refurbishment during the design stage. There are many structural considerations which will be specifi c to each existing building, and the engineer needs to be familiar with a number of topics. Although this article gives a brief introduction, the reader should familiarise themselves further with each area before starting the design (see ‘References’ and ‘Further reading’).