03 — Our Approach
From raw building data to a decision.
Every site EGG evaluates passes through the same four-stage process. The output is a single, comparable number: return on investment.
A living body of work on the economics and logic of industrial reuse.
Why we research
Real estate has economic, environmental, and social consequences that outlast any single project. Our research interrogates all three — asking whether new development can generate positive impact rather than merely extract value. We focus on the intersection of economic viability, material reuse, and housing equity, so that the buildings we build tomorrow improve the cities we already have.
For decades, factories at the edge of European cities sat ignored — too far from the centre to matter for housing. That is changing. As cities expand outward, industrial sites once considered peripheral are being absorbed into future residential zones. The land beneath them is becoming too valuable, and too urgently needed, to leave idle.
Every standard framework for residential development assumes you start with residential data — energy use, structural norms, floor area ratios, zoning classifications. None of it applies to industrial buildings.
When we asked how to evaluate a factory for residential conversion, the answer from the industry was: there is no framework. You estimate. You guess. You rely on experience.
EGG was founded on the belief that guessing is not a strategy. The only variable that reliably crosses both worlds — industrial and residential — is economic. So we built our evaluation around it.
Only economic data translates across both building types. That is where our methodology begins.
The scenario determines how much of the existing building can be kept, how much must change, and what it will cost. It is the most consequential variable in the evaluation.
The existing ceiling height is enough to insert residential floors without touching the load-bearing structure.
Large footprint, low height. A new residential structure is built inside the existing envelope — independent, up to 6 floors.
The building is too large or too structurally complex for conversion. Demolition is required to unlock the site's residential potential.
Every site EGG evaluates passes through the same four-stage process. The output is a single, comparable number: return on investment.
The platform calculates all metrics from a single set of inputs. No manual estimation. No inconsistent assumptions. The same formula applies to every building in the dataset.
All outputs are stored in the database and updated automatically when assumptions change — making it possible to run sensitivity analyses across hundreds of sites at once.
Request access to the platform →A former industrial compound on the northern bank of the Göta älv. 4 200 m² footprint. Low ceiling height, large floor plate — a textbook Scenario 2 candidate. The existing brick envelope is retained. A new cross-shaped residential structure is inserted inside.
The platform applies this methodology to every building in our dataset — automatically, consistently, at scale. Property owners, municipalities, and research partners can request access.