Ryan Anderson reflects on the enduring impact and adaptive reuse of Herman Miller’s first manufacturing facility in Bath, England, developed over 40 years ago. Originally a factory and now transformed into a university, the vision for this building was envisaged through a series of key principles outlined as a “Statement of Expectations”. Underpinning The Bath Brief was the aspiration for developments to serve our communities well after their intended use, ensuring the resilience and adaptability of our cities.

You may have heard a lot of talk recently of vacant offices becoming apartments, but can you imagine a 40 year-old factory becoming a university? That’s exactly what happened with Herman Miller’s first manufacturing facility in Bath, England which has recently been awarded three top architecture awards. Its story of adaptive reuse can serve as a blueprint for the development of any commercial structure in the future.

How was the repurposing of this facility so successful? It’s in large part because the facility was created by then-CEO of Herman Miller, Max De Pree, and architect Sir Nicholas Grimshaw with adaptive reuse in mind from its inception.

The principles that Max outlined in what has become known as “The Bath Brief”, can be used to ensure that developments will serve our communities after their intended use, ensuring the resilience and adaptability of our cities.

Principles:
– Our goal is to make a contribution to the landscape of aesthetic and human value.
– The environment should encourage fortuitous encounter and open community.
– The spaces should be subservient to human activity.
– Commitment to performance for single functions or needs is to be avoided.
– The facility must be able to change with grace, be flexible and non-monumental.
– Planning of utilities has to meet the needs we can perceive.
– We wish to create an environment which will welcome all and be open to surprise.
– The quality of the spaces should reflect the company’s commitment and reputation in environmental arenas.
– Whatever we do must be constructively involved with the neighborhood and civic community.
– Utilization patterns should allow for future options, for growth and for change.
– We would like a building that permits maximum relation of work spaces to the outdoors.

For more information on the Bath Brief, see: https://lnkd.in/gHu6aG9z

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Ryan Anderson serves as Vice President of Global Research and Insights at MillerKnoll. With nearly thirty years of industry experience, Ryan’s work has centered on how the places we inhabit can be better designed and managed to support positive, productive experiences. Ryan hosts MillerKnoll’s Looking Forward podcast on the future of work and has been featured in wide variety of publications such as The Wall Street Journal, NPR, the BBC, Fortune, and Bloomberg.