David Gianotten

The construction industry is increasingly turning to adaptive reuse to minimise its environmental impact, breathing new life into outdated and disused buildings. The premise is simple: why start from scratch when we can transform existing structures to meet contemporary needs? But retrofitting existing structures presents a unique set of challenges.

OMA is a world leader in revitalising and transforming existing districts and heritage buildings, creating new projects with fresh purposes and energy.

At Design Experience in May 2025, OMA Managing Partner-Architect David Gianotten shared OMA’s global experience, taking a deep dive into projects that demonstrate how districts and buildings can transcend their pasts to serve contemporary needs, exploring some of the challenges and the concepts of cultural and environmental sustainability along the way.