• flan [they/them]@hexbear.net
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    4 months ago

    I wonder about the cost of conversion vs tear down and rebuild. There are newer buildings being built where it is office space on the bottom and housing on top so I imagine those are relatively easy to convert but man some of those older office buildings are just massive slabs of concrete stacked on top of each other and not much else

    • Barx [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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      4 months ago

      Office buildings built in the last 50 years ago really aren’t easily converted into proper housing. They lack the plumbing, wiring, HVAC, insulation, noise isolation, and basic structural engineering for making those things possible via walls (concrete or wood). They were all optimized for open floor plans into which you can throw people into cubicles or desks with no walls or a few offices separated by light, flimsy walls.

      Unless they can be used for functional office space, tearing down and building housing would provide more societal benefit.