Adaptive Reuse of Heritage: towards an integrated evaluation framework (R-9459)

The adaptive reuse of heritage – altering existing buildings for new or continuous use – is an important conservational, architectural, and urban strategy today. It is a complex task which, besides practical and technical aspects, includes a process of re-evaluation in which a new balance must be found between different sorts of values, moving from historical and conservational values towards architectural, societal, and economical values. As the existing evaluation frameworks for adaptive reuse are mainly directed towards historic values, this project aims to develop a more holistic and integrated evaluation framework. Rather than freezing a building's historic fabric, this project proposes the ambitious idea that the heyday of a monument or site may also lie in the future. This project focuses on immovable heritage policy in Flanders and Wallonia as to adaptive reuse of heritage buildings and sites. It includes an analysis of current policy and adaptive reuse practice in both regions through literature study, interviews, and case study research. Moreover, the developed evaluation framework will be tested through research-by-design. The project is a collaboration between Hasselt University and the University of Liège.

Keywords:adaptive reuse, heritage policy, value assesment

Disciplines:Architectural heritage and conservation, Heritage conservation management, Historical sites and landscape heritage