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Adaptive reuse of heritage stock has several advantages: retention of culturally and socially significant buildings, as well as the opportunity to consider embodied energy, energy efficiency retrofit measures and other environmental upgrades. The purpose of this paper is to identify the technical issues faced in the adaptive reuse of Australian heritage listed city halls and discuss sustainable strategies to enable further adaptations to be more energy efficient.

Adaptive reuse of a heritage building provides an opportunity to retain embodied energy, improve energy efficiency and enhance durability, which are important aspects of the technical lifecycle of a building. Using a case study methodology and a qualitative approach, this paper evaluates adaptations and the technical issues faced in three heritage city halls in Queensland, Australia.

The analysis shows that enhancing energy efficiency enables heritage buildings to reduce their climate change impacts. However, the installation of equipment for energy efficiency can pose technical issues for heritage buildings. The ownership of heritage building and interest of the local community affects the solutions that are viable. Solutions and further sustainable strategies are proposed through analysis of case studies.

City halls globally adopt different and varied architectural designs, features and scales. They are often heritage listed and locally significant landmarks that have undergone various adaptations; however, they have been overlooked in much adaptive reuse research, particularly in Australia. City halls differ from other heritage buildings in their collective sense of ownership which is important in regard to proposed changes, as citizens have an interest and hold opinions which may affect measures adopted. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge related to energy efficient technical adaptive reuse of city halls.

In adaptive reuse, the importance of place referred to as “genius loci,” whereas authenticity refers to the design, materials, setting and workmanship of a building or place. Genius loci and authenticity are crucial evolving interconnected concepts; however, the concepts are usually studied separately, and consequently, overlooked in adaptive reuse practice. This paper provides precise definitions and a holistic understanding of these terms and discusses complications related to the understanding of the concepts in the adaptive reuse of heritage buildings.

Content analysis is an acknowledged way of analysing information related to a subject area and allows researchers to provide new insights and knowledge in a particular area. This paper applies a critical content analysis of published works related to genius loci and authenticity over time.

The findings show the inter-relationship of genius loci and authenticity, and how these concepts can be considered in the adaptive reuse of heritage buildings, in theory and in practice. Consequently, a checklist is proposed to enable all interested parties engaged with the adaptive reuse of heritage buildings to identify and preserve genius loci and authenticity.

Identity and values of heritage buildings are argued to be the strongest reasons for adaptation. Amongst a wide range of values associated with the adaptive reuse of heritage buildings, place and authenticity are perceived to be the most confusing terms and concepts. Whilst place and authenticity are defined by many authors, their meaning and usage are subjective, which is a challenge in recognising and preserving the values they embody. This study contributes to the greater understanding of these concepts, their meanings and application in adaptive reuse.