Design Ethos of Subtraction and Addition: 10 Adaptive Reuse Projects for Commercial and Social Spaces in Asia

"While adaptive reuse has been increasingly acknowledged as a vital architectural strategy worldwide, its discourse and implementation in Asia are still expanding -driven by growing ecological awareness and a shifting understanding of architectural knowledge. Rather than accelerating a developmentalist model centered on demolition and new construction, architects today are confronted with a different approach to the built environment: treating the existing structure as a resource-an archive of materials, spatial organizations, and informal histories."

"Adaptive reuse is often associated with the preservation of historic buildings and culturally significant heritage. Yet the vast field of seemingly 'less-valued' structures-abandoned houses, standard yet old dwellings, non-conforming office buildings, and overlooked urban voids-has become ground for experimentation. These sites challenge architects and designers to reconsider prevailing standards of efficiency and market-driven development, and to imagine spatial and ecological practices that avoid the continual loss of embodied material and cultural knowledge inherent in constant rebuilding."

"Often, the practice of repurposing requires an operation within restrictive regulatory frameworks and aged material conditions that encourage inventive, low-impact construction strategies. Given these limitations, the design approach operates through a careful balance of subtraction and addition. Subtraction-removing partitions, stripping finishes, opening facades, and exposing timber frames-creates opportunities for light, ventilation, landscape, and social interaction to re-enter. It reveals the anatomy of old buildings and reclaims spatial clarity from layers of accumulation or decay."

Adaptive reuse in Asia is growing alongside increasing ecological awareness and evolving architectural knowledge. The existing built environment is treated as a resource—an archive of materials, spatial arrangements, and informal histories. Less-valued structures such as abandoned houses, aging dwellings, obsolete offices, and urban voids offer experimental opportunities to challenge efficiency and market-driven redevelopment. Practitioners navigate restrictive regulations and aged materials, employing low-impact construction strategies that balance subtraction and addition. Subtraction uncovers structure, improves light, ventilation, landscape, and social interaction. Addition inserts new circulation, contemporary materials, and refined functionality to achieve nuanced, sustainable outcomes.

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