Office-to-Housing Conversion
This pattern is shaped by
Problem
As remote work empties office buildings, millions of square feet sit vacant in city centers that desperately need housing. But the conversion presents a specific architectural problem: deep floor plates — often 20+ meters from window to core — with no natural light in the center.
Evidence and Discussion
The challenges are structural: floor-to-floor heights of 3.5–4 meters (too tall for residential), inadequate plumbing risers for kitchens and bathrooms, massive HVAC systems designed for open offices, and floor plans organized around elevator cores.
The one design move that makes or breaks the conversion is *bringing light to the center of a deep floor plate*. Carving interior courtyards or light wells — even small ones, 3×3 meters — transforms a dark core into habitable space. Everything else follows: the extra floor height allows mezzanine sleeping lofts; kitchens and bathrooms cluster along existing risers; the floor plate breaks into units that each get at least two exterior walls.
Therefore
when converting office buildings to housing, carve interior courtyards or light wells to bring natural light to the center of the building — this is the critical move that makes everything else possible. Use the excess floor height for mezzanine levels. Cluster kitchens and bathrooms along existing plumbing risers. Give every unit at least two exterior walls with operable windows. Break the institutional corridor into smaller, more domestic circulation — shared landings for four to six units rather than double-loaded corridors serving forty.