As we settle into 2025, retrofit strategies continue to evolve in order to meet the pressing demands of sustainability, technology, and user well-being. Here are five key trends driving our current and future work — where innovation meets practicality to future-proof existing spaces.

Using machine learning to analyse existing buildings, forecast energy use, refine embodied carbon strategies, and enhance sustainability measures.

Building Information Modelling was utilised in our HUB Victoria project to identify potential clashes within the retrofitted structure, simulate energy consumption, and optimise the building’s overall performance.

The accelerated arrival of innovative measures and metrics that describe how physical spaces are optimised for experiential, emotional and functional value rather than just revenue or occupancy. 

The adoption of user-experience indices for example Impact / Engagement / Experience per ft², Collaborative Density, Agglomeration Quotient or Serotonin-to-Cortisol rating. 

For the refurbishment of our office in 88 Wood Street, we used Atrium’s diurnal lighting system which adjusts the colour and intensity of light throughout the day to mimic the natural light cycle.

Take-back programs such as cullet glass recycling which focus on recovering valuable materials from construction sites for sorting and re-use will proliferate. 

Fiscal policy will encourage the circular economy by using government spending and taxes to incentivise businesses, consumers, and others to adopt sustainable practices. 

Strip out works have begun at our Ebury Gate site, where existing glazed internal partitions are being crushed and prepared for collection under Saint Gobain’s Glass Forever initiative. The scheme seeks to recycle glass waste in the production of new, high-performance glazing panels, allowing the glass to be infinitely recycled without deterioration of quality. This process will be repeated off-site for all existing windows.

The market will polarise between repairability where buildings are designed to be easily maintained and repaired without needing to dismantle the entire structure and a circular leasing model where the building’s value will be based on their reuse and refurbishment instead of ownership, the natural conclusion to Buildings as Material Banks.

In vogue characteristics such as improved internal air quality and sustainable non-toxic materials will become the base level for health & wellness-oriented retrofits. In the future smart, adaptive environments will seamlessly integrate technology, nature, and well-being to create next-gen spaces that actively promote physical, mental, and social health.

Biophilic immersion, mental health sanctuaries and reimagined community hubs that feed the soul will transform buildings into natural sanctuaries, reducing stress and enhancing creativity.  

VOC sequestering materials were used for the new communal areas we designed in Capital House, to promote health as well as social wellbeing.