Abstract

This paper will investigate the ongoing struggle between preservation and adaptive reuse in the modern design field today. The origins of adaptive reuse and preservation will be discussed as well as the evolution of these movements throughout time from multiple theorists’ viewpoints. Many see the divide between preservation and adaptability great because of differing ideologies and methods of sustainability. Case Studies will be analyzed to see which ideologies could be more effective in the renovation of buildings in present day. With the continued inability to change with the time of the building and the people within, preservation as a movement, will eventually die out instead of becoming a lifelong adaptive reuse strategy of reusing existing buildings. As Darwin states, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, but the one most adaptable to change.”