The Adaptive Reuse of built Cultural Heritage: the design of a cultural toolkit based on sustainability

In this research, a consultation toolkit for decision makers of cultural heritage is developed, so that sustainability can contribute to the current societal challenges. To do so, theoretical and empirical evidence are compared and combined. First, the concepts of adaptive reuse, sustainability and circular economy are reviewed, from which it can be concluded that their intrinsic correlation justifies the development of the cultural toolkit. Additionally, a conceptual model, which classifies the adaptive reuses under the four pillars of sustainability, is developed. Following, a multi-criteria evaluation of past projects of adaptive reuse is presented, in order to gather empirical evidence. The application of the toolkit takes place for a specific case study and leads to the appropriate suggestions of sustainable adaptive reuse. The overall result of this thesis is a comprehensive and objective toolkit which leads decision-makers into autonomous, well-founded, efficient and effective conservation interventions.