An analysis of the transformation potential of office buildings in The Hague

Abstract

Sufficient housing supply is one of the most significant issues in the Dutch housing market. The Dutch government aims to realise 15.000 dwellings a year by transforming vacant commercial real estate. However, a discrepancy can be noted between the number of buildings that developers have been willing to transform in the past decade and what the Dutch government deems feasible regarding the transformation of commercial real estate going into the future - a transformation dip. Next to that, office buildings with an energy label worse than C are not allowed to be used as office buildings anymore in 2023 unless they are renovated. This forms an interesting starting point as building owners are required to reassess the potential of the building and choose between different strategies, such as transformation, to prolong the lifespan. Thus, the goal of this thesis is to explore possibilities for bridging the gap between the number of buildings transformed annually on a national scale and the public transformation goals by applying a tool-the Conversion Meter- which aims to locate potential buildings in a city and asses their conversion potential. The Dutch city of The Hague is chosen as a case to apply this method, and the office stock with an energy label worse than C is chosen for the population. The following research question is answered during this thesis: To what extent can the number of office-to-housing conversions in the Netherlands be increased to meet the public goal of realising 15.000 dwellings through transformation a year? Buildings were selected out of an online real estate database using a set of preselected filters- office building in The Hague, with a minimum size of 3000m², not a listed monument and an energy label worse than C. 26 buildings were analysed, and it was determined that approximately 43% of the buildings analysed have a transformation potential based on the results of the Conversion Meter (9 out of 21 buildings-5 buildings discounted) and approximately 29% was deemed to have transformation potential based on the results of the Conversion Meter and the discussions with the expert panel (6 out of 21 buildings). In The Hague, more buildings could be found if smaller buildings are assessed too, as most of the buildings predicted to become economically obsolete (buildings energy label G) are smaller than 500m². Next to that, the normative approach of the Conversion Meter now discriminates against buildings in business parks due to a lack of facilities and location. However, as cities expand, some business parks have become engulfed by the city. The Binckhorst in The Hague is an example of a business park that will be transformed into a mixed-use area where buildings are found. Areas like these in cities provide great opportunities for adding more dwellings through transformation.