City of Adelaide

Revitalising city buildings for sustainable housing

A City of Adelaide initiative is turning underused buildings into climate-smart homes, tackling the housing crisis while cutting emissions. The Adaptive Reuse City Housing Initiative (ARCHI), delivered in partnership with the Government of South Australia, champions adaptive reuse – a practice that can reduce embodied carbon by up to 50% compared to demolition and rebuild. The initiative aims to preserve heritage, reduce waste, and support the circular economy through material reuse and flexible design.

ARCHI offers an innovative contribution to addressing Australia’s housing crisis by promoting the sustainable adaptive reuse of existing buildings. With the City of Adelaide’s population targeting to grow to 50,000 by 2036, ARCHI aims to deliver 50 adaptive reuse dwellings annually, contributing to sustainable growth and diverse housing options.

Launched following the joint City of Adelaide and Capital City Committee's Adaptive Reuse Forum in May 2023, ARCHI was initially established as a two-year program, targeting smaller-scale residential adaptive reuse projects to demonstrate early success and establish proof of concept. Since then, ARCHI has delivered key project work, appointed a project lead, provided tailored case management support, and launched a dedicated incentives scheme.

In recognition of its early impact, the program has been extended for an additional three years and expanded to support larger commercial conversions, contributing to broader housing supply and climate resilience goals.

The ARCHI Incentives Scheme was designed to help overcome key barriers to adaptive reuse, particularly the high costs associated with development and construction. Seeded with an initial $250,000 State Government grant, the scheme provides grants of up to $75,000 per project, depending on building type and scale. Funding can support professional advice and documentation required for Development Approval, as well as eligible construction works. Larger projects delivering 20 or more dwellings may also be considered for support on a case-by-case basis. A free case management service is available to assist applicants throughout the adaptive reuse and approvals process.

Community and industry interest in ARCHI continues to build, with over 60 enquiries received to date. The ARCHI Incentives Scheme has supported 10 projects, allocating more than $166,000 in funding. To date, five new adaptive reuse dwellings have been delivered, with a strong pipeline of 49 additional homes in progress. Larger-scale projects are also on the horizon, with ARCHI providing funding support for feasibility studies and pre-lodgement advice. 

ARCHI is actively addressing key barriers to adaptive reuse through collaboration with built environment experts. Shop-top adaptive reuse guides clarify and simplify the process for building owners, with retrofitting actively promoted to enhance building performance and climate resilience. 

Adaptive reuse significantly reduces embodied carbon and aligns with the City of Adelaide’s Integrated Climate Strategy 2030, which targets net zero emissions by 2035. Recognised by the World Green Building Council as the most effective strategy for addressing embodied carbon — “build nothing” (adaptive reuse of existing assets), followed by “build less” (refurbish and extend existing buildings) — adaptive reuse prioritises retention and repurposing over demolition and new construction (KPMG – Tackling Embodied Carbon within Australia’s Construction and Infrastructure Sector, 2023).

Research, including Hassell’s Radical Re-use: From Office to Home, demonstrates that adaptive reuse can reduce embodied carbon by up to 50% compared to conventional demolition and rebuild approaches. Beyond emissions reduction, adaptive reuse also promotes circular economy principles by keeping materials in use, designing out waste, implementing regenerating systems, and enabling modular and flexible design that supports future adaptation.

ARCHI is fostering research including collaborations with the University of South Australia (AFRAN collaboration for sufficiency and adaptive reuse), AHURi (Sustainable Office-to-Housing Conversion: An Evaluation Framework) and RMIT (Innovation in Local Government Housing). A dedicated research internship integrates ARCHI into PhD studies, positioning City of Adelaide as a leader in adaptive reuse and providing valuable learning experiences for emerging professionals.

Please note that the information provided has been submitted by the organisation and has not been independently verified.