Preservation as Opposed to Modern Developments: Adaptive Reuse

2013

This paper looks into frameworks which aim at furthering the discussion of the role of regenerative design practices in a city's historic core utilizing the tool of urban design to jumpstart urban revitalization in the context of historic preservation and adaptive reuse in historic city centers. The main prong of investigation will consider the effect of proposed changes in the physical infrastructure and fabric of the city and the management of public space, as well as the catalytic effect of sustainable urban design practices. Through this process, the work hopes to integrate the contained potential within the existing historic city center, which includes both buildings and the space between buildings. It also looks at the notion of a community's right to the public space and the public life of the target areas as well as the potential contribution and participation of its population in the local economy. It also examines ways in which this coupling of factors can bring to the front the positive effects of this combined effort on an otherwise sluggish local redevelopment effort, and uses a local case study to illustrate the potential application of preservation and reuse sstrategies in the historic core of the Nicosia suburb or Strovolos on the island of Cyprus. The data for this study is being collected and organized as part of an ongoing urban design and development workshop manned by diploma students from the University of Cyprus. The presentation is organized around a historical background and theoretical framework for developement, followed concluding thoughts that address sets of actions that may have a positive impact on future projects conceived along similar lines by educators and practitioners in comparable regional initiatives.

2018

As a product of the Detroit metro area, over time I have witnessed various attempts, both successes and failures, to ‘save’ Detroit, as if the people of the City did not have the capacity to do the work themselves. Historically in terms of the urban design and architecture, much of the saving has either manifested as demolition or ‘restoration’. Two extremes: either abandoning existing resources in favor of starting over with a blank slate; or not making use of technical advances or community feedback and attempting to recreate an architecture based on outdated contexts. Certainly, some buildings just cannot or should not be saved. But what I intend to address in this paper is a methodology of architecture academic studio projects tying to and building on Detroit’s rapidly changing urban landscape. A series of current and past projects are addressed, both in Detroit and from the classroom. The focus is on specific academic and built projects that are conceptually connected to the et...

Context, 2018

The National Trust for Historic Preservation (USA), founded in 1949, has more than a million members and supporters. Its mission is ‘to protect significant places representing our diverse cultural experience by taking direct action and inspiring broad public support’. The trust’s profile and advocacy provide strong leadership in the sector (https://savingplaces.org/). The trust manages and/or owns a diverse collection of historic sites, including the 900-year-old Native American adobe Acoma Sky City, New Mexico; the mid-18th-century Palladian plantation house, Drayton Hall, Charleston, South Carolina, preserved in near-original condition; and Mies van der Rohe’s 1951 Farnsworth House, Plano, Illinois. Reports published by its programme office Preservation Green Lab include The Greenest Building: quantifying the environmental value of building reuse (2011); Saving Windows, Saving Money: evaluating the energy performance of window retrofit and replacement (2012); and Realizing the Energy Efficiency Potential of Small Buildings (2013). With a compass that is broader than traditional heritage issues, the trust is successfully engaging with new and younger audiences; it estimates that its impact has increased by a factor of 10 in recent years.

IntechOpen eBooks, 2023

This chapter summarizes the development of the global principles of historic building reuse and the theories of fundamental intervention, starting from the end of the eighteenth century down to the related principles' integration into comprehensive sustainable development agendas at the beginning of this century. The chapter raised some research questions and presented three historic churches from the Syrian coast that need reuse and activation. Then, it attempted to answer the questions through a literature review and a case study of international examples of the adaptive reuse of historic churches from America and Europe in an assortment of functions. The presented case studies focused on the abandoned historic churches' original structure and materials and incorporating them into the design for the new usage, era needs and techniques, where their conservation and adaptive reuse emphasize the aging of original surfaces, walls and other components as a form of respect for the place's memory in some cases, as well as using the creative design in other cases to provide the needs of the new functions. The chapter concluded with some guidelines and essential points to be considered in the process of historic building/church' adaptive reuse in Syria and worldwide.

Adaptive re-use can be considered as a tool for urban regeneration. The City of Los Angeles has experienced relative success in applying this tool to regenerate a declining downtown into a thriving city-centre, thus contradicting the very idea of a postmodern dysfunctional city. A major positive aspect of this regeneration initiative from the City’s perspective is the low cost of the operation, as the process relies mainly on the role of developers to take advantage of the Adaptive Re-use Ordinance (ARO) in transforming vacant office buildings into marketable and often high-priced residential lofts. The regeneration has its shortcomings, but overall it has had a tremendous impact in shifting perceptions of a decaying downtown area into a desirable place to live and invest. Urban regeneration seldom delivers sustainability for all three components (economy, social, and the environment) but in theory, it has the potential to do so. From a social sustainability perspective, the implementation of the ARO has led to gentrification and contributed to the expulsion of low-income groups; however, it has been a powerful tool in initiating a shift from a sprawling metropolis towards a denser, walkable, and more sustainable urban environment through reinvestment in the Downtown. The analysis is based on qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews as well as an analysis of planning regulations associated to the ARO. We also mapped the location of adaptive re-use projects in the downtown area.

11th ACAU 2022: Proceedings of 11th International PhD Students Conference, 2022

As recent case studies show, the concept of Adaptive Reuse and its strategies-mainly associated to creative-led regenerations of post-industrial complexes-have been transferred to buildings and urban complexes inside the consolidated city. The analysis of recent strategies of re-activation of historical buildings and their enlarged urban context in European and International case studies shows how these reuse strategies are crucial for sustainable development of contemporary historical city centres. The analysis of emblematic and renowned case studies aims at underline architectural design strategies that make adaptive reuse of the built heritage a resource capable of generating added value for society.

LUGARIT, 2024

This article explores the evolving relationship between heritage preservation and modern urban development, challenging the traditional dichotomy between heritage and modernity. It argues that heritage, often viewed as a static relic of the past, should be integrated into the dynamic, everyday lives of communities to remain relevant and sustainable. The discourse around heritage preservation, currently dominated by elitist and populist perspectives, needs to shift towards a more inclusive and flexible approach that aligns with societal needs and economic realities. The article advocates for preservation strategies that stimulate the organic, ongoing interaction between communities and their heritage, ensuring that heritage sites are not just conserved but actively contribute to the vitality and sustainability of urban environments. This requires moving away from rigid legal frameworks and scientific formalities towards creating economic incentives and adaptive practices that allow heritage to thrive as a living process within the fabric of modern cities.

Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology, Rajshahi, Bangladesh, 2021

Globally, owing to significant impacts of climate change and human-induced natural degradation, archeological sites are increasingly in a vulnerable condition. While possessing the range of solutions, the evolving environmental conditions challenged the traditional management structure and viable strategies to revitalize the built heritage through adaptive reuse. The conservation medium of built heritage has altered from adaptive reuse modules with structural adaptation from natural calamities, human interaction to preserve the hidden treasure of the past. Bara-Bazar, an ancient city situated in Jhenaidha, was developed by the 19 mosques of the Sultanate period which were the core focus point to explore community, losing their pried for lacking of proper maintenance and many other natural calamities. Adaptive reuse can be a catalyst to reinvigorate the site by highlighting the community need. The purpose of this paper is to address the historical strength of the site with its properties, following the distinctive features, opportunities, and obstacles as well as its emphasis on the practice of adaptation. In methodology, the case study approaches critically review local policies and associated climatic problems through the use of several tools to collect field evidence and synthesize it appropriately, for collecting data participatory observation, questioner interview, photography and activity mapping playing the vital role to assess the need for interpretation and the best approach for revitalizing the archeological site.

Granthaalayah Publications and Printers, 2023

History plays an important role in defining our present and future. Architectural heritage is the symbol of our cultural identities, acting as remnants from the past. Respect and values of the architecture heritage affect the identity and vision of the culture. The existence of architecture is defined in both time and space, therefore the need for historical monuments to be adapted and reused suited for current time while satisfying the historical context and cultural values, is the present-day demand to bring people together who are otherwise separated by certain boundaries. With the current technological advancement, the 21st century skyline places focus on glass and metal facades that lack personality, hence there is a need for more effort to conserve and readapt heritage sites that stem from our cultures and our values. The purpose of the study is to create awareness towards a more sustainable approach for heritage conservation by adaptive reuse and understand the influence it has on the various sectors of a society and its residents. Based on a qualitative methodology, with a case study approach, this paper uses observation, in-depth interviews, and textual analysis to explore possibilities of sustainable transformation of architectural heritage in present and transferring the culture and values to future. This research paper will open further opportunities in this field to understand the factors behind the influence of these intangible and tangible variables and can be utilized to raise a country to an international standard of competition in terms of economy and societal norms.