From classrooms to care: evaluating long-term adaptability of school buildings to elderly care transformation

Across Europe, declining school enrolment and a rapidly ageing population are producing a spatial imbalance in the public building stock: vacant or underused schools coexist with a growing demand for elderly care facilities. This study demonstrates that contemporary school buildings designed for adaptability can support long-term transformation into assisted living facilities when specific spatial and structural conditions are embedded early in the design process. Using a Norwegian architectural competition as a case study, a prototypical assisted living unit was developed from regulatory standards, procurement data, literature, and field observations. The school proposals were then analysed through plan overlay techniques, qualitative spatial mapping, and a criteria-based comparative assessment to evaluate their transformation capacity. The results show that regular structural grids, modular classroom geometries, distributed façades with adequate daylight access, and robust circulation systems significantly increase conversion feasibility, while compact forms and load-bearing wall systems constrain it. Proposals that ranked highest in short-term adaptability also demonstrated the greatest long-term transformation potential. The findings position adaptability not merely as spatial flexibility within an educational programme, but as a strategic design principle that extends building lifespan, supports resource-efficient public investment, and strengthens the resilience of municipal infrastructure.