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Retrofit Construction : Understand This Project Type
Canada’s major cities face a triple challenge: an ageing building stock, a growing population, and increasingly strict climate targets. Municipalities and property owners are now adapting their strategies by promoting retrofit construction.
According to a CORPIQ report, 71% of rental buildings in Quebec are over 40 years old.
Retrofitting, or modernizing the building envelope, appears to be a strategic solution for extending the life of buildings, improving their energy performance, and reducing their carbon footprint, while preserving their architectural value. This process of improving buildings is not limited to the technical modernization of a building that retains its original function, as it also involves conversion and change of use.
Thus, the transformation of a factory into a residential building or an office into an institutional space requires a building envelope that meets new regulatory and functional requirements. This often involves the integration of larger, more energy-efficient glazing, improved insulation, and the architectural redevelopment of the entire structure.
In this context, façade renovation is an essential lever for adapting existing buildings to contemporary standards of comfort, performance, and sustainability, while supporting the evolution of urban uses. This approach is becoming increasingly important in a context of major demographic and environmental changes. In 2023, Canada experienced its strongest population growth in 66 years, with an additional 1.27 million inhabitants (+3.2%), bringing the population to 40.77 million.
Faced with such expansion and current climate challenges, building and renovating intelligently is a strategic priority to ensure the resilience and sustainability of the building stock.
What is Retrofit?
In simple terms, retrofit (sometimes referred to as refurbishment) is the modernisation of an existing building to reduce its environmental footprint. It’s an essential investment in the life cycle of many structures.
Technically, this is a renovation that incorporates high-performance thermal, acoustic, and aesthetic systems, while respecting the building’s specific constraints. Technically, this is a renovation that incorporates high-performance thermal, acoustic, and aesthetic systems, while respecting the building’s specific constraints. Depending on requirements, a retrofit project can also enhance specific elements of the building or facade, improving their performance or architectural integration while preserving the identity and value of the existing structure.
Unlike new construction, retrofit must work with the existing structure, which may mean:
- Irregular structural elements
- Missing or inaccurate building plans
- Occupied buildings during construction
- Heritage or regulatory constraints
- Adapting modern technical design to an existing structure and envelope, which may sometimes be old.
When retrofitting targets the improvement of a single part of the building envelope. This involves correcting the weakest element without having to demolish or rebuild the entire structure. For example, the structure can be preserved and only the windows or facade modernized to meet current standards. Projects such as the Charles-Lemoyne Primary School, Sorel Tracy’s High School Bernard-Gariépy, and Harold Napper are examples of this: the schools were improved by upgrading the exterior envelope, while keeping the interior intact and the facilities fully functional during the work.
Why Retrofit is Becoming Essential
- Urban durability – Modernising instead of demolishing reduces construction waste and the carbon footprint.
- Optimising urban space – In dense downtown cores, retrofit allows redevelopment of buildings and land that cannot be expanded or rebuilt.
- Environmental targets – Reduces thermal losses (up to 60% before renovation) and cuts GHG emissions.
- Immediate added value – Improves comfort, appearance, and performance, increasing both market and rental value.
- New Function of a Building: Take into account changes in building use (e.g., factory converted into condos), which requires a more efficient envelope adapted to the new functions.
Retrofit projects always have specific characteristics that distinguish them from new construction. Teams must deal with existing structures that are often irregular, materials that are at the end of their life cycle, and incomplete technical documentation, which requires constant adaptation in the field.
The Sheraton Laval project illustrates this reality: the hotel remained fully operational during construction, requiring work that respected the existing architecture while significantly improving thermal and acoustic performance.
Through careful planning, prefabrication of modules, and optimised site logistics, STEKAR successfully addressed these challenges while minimising impacts on guests and operations—demonstrating the added value of specialised building envelope expertise.
Retrofitting helps preserve the value of buildings while enhancing it, restoring them to what they should be in order to blend harmoniously into their environment. It allows architecture to be harmonized with the existing built landscape and reinforces consistency with the urban ecosystem. Thus, façade renovation is not limited to technical improvements: it also contributes to aesthetic and contextual redevelopment, ensuring that the building fits fully into the continuity and identity of its surroundings. Canada has 16 million homes and 500,000 other buildings, the vast majority of which are expected to still be in use in 2050.
Deep dive into the world of retrofits and building enveloppe with 25 real world facades examples!
The Façade: The Heart of Retrofit
A façade is much more than an aesthetic feature—it accounts for 25 to 35% of a building’s thermal losses, and up to 60% if poorly insulated or sealed.
A façade retrofit can include:
- Replacing or upgrading curtain walls,
- Installing high-performance prefabricated systems like Multifaçades,
- Integrating varied materials (glass, aluminium, sintered stone) into a single, harmonious façade,
- Improving air and water tightness with new membranes and insulation.
Key Steps in a Successful Retrofit Project
- Analysis of existing conditions – Precise surveys (including 3D scanning) to identify technical challenges
- Feasibility studies – Energy simulations to assess potential gains
- Custom design – Solutions tailored to building constraints and aesthetic goals
- Prefabrication – Factory-built modules to reduce site time and errors
- Fast, safe installation – Minimising disruption to occupants and the urban environment
- Quality control – Verifying performance and compliance with standards
In retrofit projects, the use of lightweight, modular, and prefabricated custom systems facilitates adaptation to the structural constraints of existing buildings. This type of solution reduces on-site installation time, limits disruption to occupants, and improves execution precision.
Thermal and acoustic performance is enhanced thanks to a design that incorporates continuous insulation and eliminates thermal bridges. Upstream work, including the creation of prototypes or mock-ups and energy efficiency studies, makes it possible to anticipate technical challenges and optimize the final result. Close integration between design, engineering, and installation also helps to ensure consistency between performance objectives and the desired architectural outcome.
Retrofitting can be carried out flexibly, adapting to the constraints and needs of each project. The example of Port-Royal Condos in Quebec illustrates this approach: a condominium tower was modernized without tenants having to leave their homes. The facade was improved without disrupting the daily lives of the occupants, demonstrating that it is possible to work on a specific aspect of the building while maintaining its normal use.
This adaptability makes retrofitting an effective solution for enhancing performance and aesthetics without major disruption.
Related reading: on facades: The Multifaçades: Everything You Need to Know
Measurable Benefits
- Up to 60% reduction in energy losses,
- 40–70% reduction in GHG emissions related to heating and cooling,
- Noticeable improvement in thermal and acoustic comfort,
- Extends building lifespan by several decades.
A Growing Market
Currently, about 10% of major construction projects are retrofits, but this could reach 30% within the next five years. Buildings from the 1960s and 1970s are reaching the end of their technical life and require upgrades to meet today’s standards.
Conclusion: Retrofitting is Solution for All Stakeholders
Retrofit is a winning approach for architects, developers, and general contractors seeking to combine performance, aesthetics, and environmental responsibility.
By investing in modern, high-performance solutions tailored to existing structures, it’s possible to transform ageing buildings into durable urban landmarks, ready to meet the challenges of the coming decades.