Reuse Instead of Demolition: 2nd Hands on Public Buildings

For over a year, more than 30 experts from six countries worked as part of Connective Cities‘ learning process ‘2nd Hands on Public Buildings. Repurposing Modernist Public Buildings from the 1960s and 1970s ’ on solutions for aging public buildings from the 1960s and 1970s. How can they be sustainably reused or repurposed instead of being demolished? At four events and two working meetings between September 2024 and September 2025, they learned about current trends in this area, deepened their knowledge, heard details about possible solutions from external experts, and inspired each other with their respective experiences, approaches, and ideas.

But the participants didn‘t just exchange ideas, they also took action. They further developed the project ideas they presented at the dialogue event in Berlin in September 2024 or, in some cases, implemented them directly, taking up suggestions from the other participants. The innovative and very diverse projects impressively demonstrate the potential of the paradigm shift away from rapid demolition toward well-thought-out reuse and conversion.

The documentation provides insights into the key findings.