This session will be an honest discussion about the multitude of decisions and trade-offs encountered during a complex building renovation project. Together, the design and construction team will give attendees a realistic understanding of the overall process, trade-offs made in choosing materials, and the challenges of balancing different priorities—such as energy conservation and emissions reduction vs. historical accuracy—alongside budget, schedule, and programming constraints. We will look at how to economize and maximize space in an existing footprint in a tight urban campus that needed to grow and provide more student housing. The team was able to add much-desired social space in new glass lightwells inserted between the original building’s three “fingers,” forming double-height common spaces, as well as added bed capacity on the 13th floor, built in behind an existing parapet. The project was also one where the design team engaged with our 3D fab lab on exploring ways to use technology to deliver innovative solutions. By commissioning a digital laser scan to capture façade details and defects down to 0.025mm, the resulting representations directed the creation of physical models and molds using 3D printers and a 5-axis CNC mill. This gave the team an opportunity to refine defects and directly share models with the fabrication company. Ultimately, the session will illustrate an argument for re-using/repurposing existing structures as a means for reducing embodied carbon.