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Experience and lessons learned 149

recent years that have turned older, sometimes heritage protected buildings into public
buildings and spaces. For example, railroad workshops have become performance
facilities. In this way, adaptive reuse projects represent a major cultural shift from
an industrial and manufacturing economy to one centered on services, education,
and cultural expressions at large.
The large size of the industrial complexes makes it almost impossible to find a sin-
gle new function for them. There are many definitions referring to different types of
multiuse buildings. By and large they are “centers that accommodate more than one of
the three main functions of human life: work, recreation and inhabitation.” Recreation
may consist of shopping, theater, education, culture, health, and entertainment. In a
well-planned multiuse buildings, the different functions do not only have a good inter-
nal integration, but they also harmonize with the context surrounding the building.
This integration is “just as important, as multiuse buildings must draw on a vital con-
text for their existence.” They “bring people together at different times,” resulting in
efficient use of the space, which makes multiuse buildings cheaper to manage in the
long run (Van Gendthallen Amsterdam, 2015). Several redevelopment projects (a few
are described in more detail in this book) are collected and briefly summarized in
Curbed (2017a,b).
And yet, perhaps it is high time we should look at the large, empty spaces of indus-
trial spaces per se, not just with a view at filling them in. A somehow provocative
approach on this point is given in Arch Daily (2018a,b).

6.2.1 Power plants
As one typical feature that favors reuse, older power plants’ large turbine-generator
halls provide vast open spaces to house new building uses. These turbine-generator
halls are an appealing building feature due to their versatility in new functions.
Preservation and adaptive reuse are still innovative for NPPs, but there are many
examples that show opportunities and advantages. The following are both nuclear and
nonnuclear examples and highlight that flexibility and imagination are required in
this field.
In general, adaptive reuse for buildings is more appreciated by new users when they
require room to expand within an existing building. The reconfiguration of space is
often a more effective solution than relocation, especially because reuse is less disrup-
tive. Success, however, depends to a large extent on the adaptability of the building
spaces. Buildings with low versatility are of less value than a more adaptable alterna-
tive because they require technically difficult and costly refits to incorporate spatial
changes. Conversely, buildings that are more adaptable to space changes require less
frequent and less costly refits and remain sustainable over longer periods (Bullen and
Love, 2011).
The Hanford B Reactor site may be viewed as a preservation model (Fig. 6.6).
The reactor was built to produce plutonium for the US Defense Program. It oper-
ated for over 25 years. The site is owned and maintained by the DOE, and since 2002
has allowed limited site tours. Later on, the B Reactor was planned for entombment,
but many supporters of the site insisted on maintaining public access, including