Conversions, conversions, conversions.
Potentially converting office buildings to apartments, hotels or retail is top of mind for some real estate professionals attending the American Institute of Architects' annual conference this week in Washington, D.C. Owners and landlords are wrestling with the problem of stubbornly high office vacancy rates and exploring whether such a conversion is an option, architects told CoStar News.
Sam Forman, an architect at the D.C.-based firm 3877, frequently finds himself delivering bad news to property owners.
"The issue with the office floor plate is that it's not conducive to apartments or hotels," Forman said. Those properties need windows in every bedroom, and "you can't do that with the large floor plates."
Office conversions are far from the only topic of conversation at the AIA conference, held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Presentations ranging from the use of sustainable building materials to federal historic tax credits are on the agenda. The conference's expo floor has a smorgasbord of booths from building suppliers, including elevator designers, building code consultants and makers of elevators, paint, roofing materials, windows, doors and metal sheeting.
But it's easy to bring the discussion back to office conversions.
The architecture firm Moody Nolan recently completed a project in Versailles, Ohio, for Midmark, a maker of medical and dental products, said CEO Jonathan Moody. It involved converting an outdated manufacturing plant with some office space to a modern office building that could attract workers with hybrid work schedules.
"We had to create an environment that people wanted to come to and wanted to be a part of," Moody said.
The Midmark project started before the pandemic, so Moody Nolan had to improvise midstream, he said.
"When we started, the concept of a flexible, collaborative work environment was still kind of out there," said Moody. "Then during the pandemic we thought, 'This kind of makes sense.'"
Though some outdated office buildings will no longer work as office space, some of those buildings shouldn't be demolished, said Claire Maxfield, a sustainability expert at architecture firm Atelier Ten in San Francisco. Some property owners want to demolish the properties, but they can still be salvaged, representing a more environmentally friendly approach, she said.
"We've worked on some projects where you're thinking these are real dogs of a building," Maxfield said. "But you can keep the structure and just replace the systems on the inside."
The AIA should work with the construction industry to find new ways to convert outdated structures for multifamily developments, said Murphy Antoine, president of the D.C. architecture firm Torti Gallas and Partners.
"Our nation’s housing needs have perhaps never been greater," Antoine said. There needs to be "innovation in the design of new and adapted housing typologies, housing delivery methodologies and, most importantly, housing that betters our neighborhoods and communities," he said.
Conference attendees have the option to participate in guided tours across the Washington area. On one tour, Elaine Wine from commercial real estate advisory firm Seneca Group led participants around Amazon’s East Coast headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.
The AIA, a D.C.-based nonprofit trade group that licenses architects and design professionals and lobbies elected officials and government agencies over national policies, has more than 98,000 members.
The organization is undergoing a renovation project of its headquarters at 1735 New York Ave. NW, transforming the Brutalist, 1970s-era building into an international hub for design innovation and excellence.
The project is one of the first fully decarbonized renovations in the United States and is expected to have net zero emissions once it is completed in 2025, according to AIA's website.
AIA plans to hold its 2025 conference in Boston.