ARCHI - Seismic Upgrade Implications for Residential Adaptive Reuse in the City of Adelaide

This project seeks to investigate the implications of seismic upgrade requirements on residential adaptive reuse in Adelaide, with a focus on feasibility, cost, and practical implementation.

Scope:

A review of key challenges and barriers to residential adaptive reuse has been undertaken to support ARCHI’s purpose. Through this work, seismic upgrade requirements have been identified as a significant issue affecting project feasibility.

The consultant team will examine current assessment processes, policy and regulatory settings, and seismic upgrade methodologies across building scales, including low-rise, mid-rise, high-rise and heritage buildings.

The scope includes comparative analysis with other cities, presentation of case studies, scenario testing on selected sites, and identification of potential policy and practical levers to improve feasibility.

Stakeholder engagement through a workshop or roundtable will inform findings, which will be consolidated into a comprehensive report providing actionable guidance, priority reforms and case study material suitable for broader industry distribution.

Scope of Works

Tenderers must outline their methodology to support the project purpose. Key areas of investigation should include, but are not limited to:

Background Investigations:

• Examine relevant government reports, academic research and literature relating to seismic upgrades and adaptive reuse

• Investigate local, national and international policy settings, including relevant regulations and legislation

• Investigate Adelaide’s seismic risk profile, under climate change scenarios, and current strategies for risk mitigation

Existing Seismic Assessment Processes:

• Examine existing seismic assessment processes and methodologies applicable to residential adaptive reuse projects in the City of Adelaide across a range of building scales (low-scale, mid-rise, high-rise, and heritage)

• Examine how seismic requirements are interpreted, negotiated, and applied through planning, building approvals, and certification processes, including areas of discretion or inconsistency

• Conduct a comparative analysis of these processes against those implemented in cities with comparable seismic risk profiles

Seismic Upgrade Methodologies:

• Investigate and present seismic upgrade methodologies and techniques across building scales and construction types (low-scale, mid-rise, high-rise, and heritage)

• Identify key tensions between seismic performance requirements, residential adaptive reuse and heritage conservation objectives, including examples of successful compromise or alternative solutions

• Investigate risk-based and performance-based seismic assessment and upgrade approaches and their applicability to residential adaptive reuse projects

• Investigate new and emerging technologies relevant to seismic upgrades

• Investigate optimal building attributes that minimise the need for seismic upgrade works

• Explore the potential application of AI tools to support analysis, scenario testing and decision-making

Case Studies:

• Examine and present a minimum of six (6) residential adaptive reuse case studies incorporating seismic upgrades, including local, national, and international examples

• Outline key building attributes, seismic upgrade methodologies, and key learnings/observations, including cost and program implications

Scenario Testing:

• Test hypothetical residential adaptive reuse seismic upgrades on four (4) selected sites (low-scale, mid-rise, high-rise, and heritage), demonstrating potential effectiveness, cost implications and impact

• Evaluate the effects of seismic upgrade requirements on the feasibility of residential adaptive reuse, including cost increases, potential changes to development yield, and critical viability thresholds

Identification of Levers for Change:

• Evaluate potential policy and practical levers to mitigate the impact of seismic upgrade works on the feasibility of residential adaptive reuse

Stakeholder Engagement:

• Deliver a ‘Seismic Upgrade Implications for Residential Adaptive Reuse Roundtable’ with relevant key stakeholders and experts in this field

• The session should:

• Present preliminary findings and scenario testing results

•  Gather insights, feedback, and practical perspectives to inform recommendations

•  Include 8-12 participants with relevant expertise, including representatives from the City of Adelaide, the State Government, building surveying and engineering, the development industry, heritage and architecture

•  Produce a concise summary of discussions, key observations, and agreed priorities to be incorporated into the final report

Deliverables

The consultant is required to provide a comprehensive report outlining:

• A clear summary of findings, constraints and opportunities (taking into account stakeholder feedback received through the roundtable)

• Practical guidance or principles to support decision-making for residential adaptive reuse projects

• Identification of priority policy, regulatory, and practice reforms, including advocacy opportunity and levers for change that the City of Adelaide can influence

• Case study material suitable for broader industry/stakeholder distribution