Building reuse and sustainable behaviours: Nurturing occupant behaviours towards a sustainable reuse of existing buildings

This proposition will address the identified problem of deteriorating built environments through designing a sustainable reinvigoration. This type of reinvigoration instils not only the value of sustainability in reuse, but is known to succeed when designs result in the ‘triple bottom line’ effect of increased social, economic, and environmental values (“Triple Bottom Line”, 2009).  This proposition intends to explore a fourth bottom line. One to engage with people outside of the site, to extend beyond the prescribed boundaries and behaviours, and to go away with people within the mind of the beholder. To introduce the fourth bottom line is to address the psychology of sustainable practice surrounding the built environment. Integrating this principle will deliver a design response that aims to be sustainable, and regenerative in the teachings and demonstrations that can provide inception of sustainable practices within the wider society.  This proposition will explore a discussion between two pre-existing enquiries;   - sustainable reclamation of existing built environments   - pro-environmental behaviour and sustainable psychologies  The existing built environment along the western shore of Watts Peninsula, known as Shelly Bay, was home to the New Zealand Defence Force Base for over 125 years. Since its retirement from government use in 1995, its re-development has been setback by policy, a division of land tenure, and member approval from its governing body (Jackman, 2014). Since the retirement, the infrastructure and existing built environment have been progressively deteriorating.  A sustainable reinvigoration of this site will succeed in savings of the existing culture, expenses and heritage while positioning an adapted environment that could be utilised by the wider society. Moreover, this proposal could be designed to inform sustainable psychology while achieving increased or realised social, economic, and environmental values.  This design as research thesis will explore the existing site to determine contextual and psychological effects that are influencing the degradation of the environment.  The identified problem(s) will then provide parameters for the designed reinvigoration and through an analysis of the pre-existing principles, a proposed design criterion will be applied to the designed concept.