Implementation challenges to the adaptive reuse of heritage buildings: Towards the goals of sustainable, low carbon cities

Through interviews from architects, property developers, project managers, heritage consultants, government officials and NGOs, it was found that there were several major implementation challenges associated with adaptive reuse of heritage buildings (Yung, E., \& Chan, E., 2012). Challenges surrounding the uncertainty about economic viability discuss whether or not the building is able to be self-sustainable (Yung, E., \& Chan, E., 2012). Achieving cost efficiency is also another challenge as there are a lot of building regulations, planning requirements and licensing requirements that need to be met. Many times, design compromises must be made to adhere to these requirements while staying within the budget. Due to the previous design of the building, the new building may not be able to accommodate public use, therefore social inclusiveness is not achieved due to a lack of accessibility (Yung, E., \& Chan, E., 2012). Many times, the new use building may act as a tourist attraction for profit gains (Yung, E., \& Chan, E., 2012). This makes it difficult to continue the community life in the area. Since much of the focus is to preserve the cultural significance of the building, environmental performance of the building is not capitalized (Yung, E., \& Chan, E., 2012). Sometimes the context of the historic building in the surrounding environment was overlooked (Yung, E., \& Chan, E., 2012). Several recommendations for adaptive reuse to reduce carbon emissions were also stated. Having government incentives, opportunity for public participation, advocate environmental designs for adaptive