Under Pressure: Vacancy, Urgency, and the Architecture of Commercial to Residential Conversion

The Department of Architecture presents a Panel Discussion, headed by Associate Professor of Practice and Director of Urban Housing Hina Jamelle, bringing together individuals from the Weitzman School of Design, Gensler, Wharton, Bain Capital, and the Wall Street Journal to expand, gather and and contextualize relevant conversations in commercial to residential building conversions unfolding today across architecture. 

In major cities, both housing and office buildings are under pressure- housing due to affordability, offices due to vacancy. In response to increasing strain on urban resources, there is renewed attention on adaptive reuse, especially the conversion of commercial buildings into housing. This multidisciplinary panel examines how architecture can confront the housing crisis through the thoughtful transformation of existing structures. Featuring the viewpoints of architects, developers, economists, and policy experts-rather than treating vacancy as loss, Under Pressure II positions it as a design opportunity where reuse becomes a tool for shaping more responsive and resilient cities.

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