High-rise residential building makeovers: Improving renovation quality in the United Kingdom and Canada through systemic analysis

The need to renovate high-rise residential buildings maintain or improve indoor environmental conditions and reduce energy use is becoming prevalent worldwide. Climate change concerns have driven the development of policies, regulations, standards for building renovation; however, these are often narrowly focussed on fail consider complexities systems. To understand policy, process, practice barriers improving renovation we first examined protocols, guidelines in UK Canada – two countries which significant stocks aging buildings. This revealed several common limitations across jurisdictions, including a lack consideration non-energy cost-related benefits, failure adopt ‘building-as-a-system’ approach vague inconsistent terminology surrounding scope feasibility renovations provide excessive latitude non-compliance. Next, an example existing processes presented, system dynamics used identify systemic Canada. Causal loop diagrams were developed represent important variables causal interrelationships between using combination grounded theory analysis, validation interviews, workshops involving stakeholders from both countries. Recommendations policies presented including: mandatory IEQ; incentivization integrated design; improvements practitioner education training; implementation feedback mechanisms inform practitioners successes failures; simplification material design certifications.