A Model For Assessing Adaptability In Heritage Buildings

The various aspects of the diversity within communities can be highlighted by heritage buildings and the traditions they represent. Adaptive reuse of heritage buildings can be seen as a strategy to protect these buildings and their associated values. However, in practice, adaptability assessment of heritage buildings and making informed decisions related to adaptive reuse remains a challenge amongst stakeholders. A comprehensive review of published works on adaptive reuse shows existing models to assess adaptive reuse are mainly focused on commercial and office buildings, and are only partially applicable to heritage buildings. As such, the development of a new, simple model is proposed to assess the adaptability of heritage buildings, at different stages of buildings lifecycle, would benefit all parties engaged with heritage buildings and their ongoing use. By reviewing previous adaptive reuse assessment and decision-making models, as well as identifying the challenges to adaptive reuse, a new model applicable to heritage buildings is developed. The model is applied to two heritage listed city halls in Queensland, Australia, as illustrative case studies. Application of this model in practice over time may result in its further extension and strengthen its validity