Factors affecting adaptation potential for public housing in Singapore: Decision makers' perspective

Abstract

Although the contribution of building adaptation to deferring building deterioration and delivering building sustainability has been stressed, the key factors that influence building adaptation potential (BAP) remain disputable. They were investigated using a face-to-face interview approach involving 49 decision makers in public housing management in Singapore. Four factors are considered to be instrumental in the determination of the BAP. At the heart of those with positive impacts is building sustainability performance, followed by building occupants' attitude and prospective impacts brought by adaptation activities, while housing obsolescence exerts a negative impact. These findings provide a fundamental basis for the development of a holistic and quantifiable building adaptation decision-making approach. It would enable decision makers to obtain accurate results of adaptation potentials for existing buildings, and to prioritise them according to their potentials.