How 'reversible building' is rethinking the use of buildings over time

In France, the first building permit with no pre-defined building use has been issued to the Canal Architecture agency for a construction project in Bordeaux. Photo: AFP

In 2022, demolishing buildings to build new ones is no longer a sustainable strategy. From now on, architects should take into account the potential uses of a building over its lifetime, rather than defining them upstream.

This is part of a concept known as "reversible building", and it's a model that is gradually taking shape.