Developing a model to weigh cultural values in the adaptive reuse of heritage buildings: the case of the Risbaf Factory in Isfahan, Iran

Abstract

As various heritage charters state, any cultural values in a building should be conserved as part of any adaptive reuse process. However, where buildings embody contradicting values, how should they be evaluated? This article applies an integrated ANP–Fuzzy DEMATEL framework based on a value-typology review in order to analyse and correlate the inherent cultural values of buildings to help in the planning of processes to meet the conservation objectives. The authors present a case study of a culturally significant and endangered industrial heritage building in Isfahan, Iran using the proposed evaluation method based on the input of conservation experts. The results of this research demonstrate that the sensory-related values of the Isfahan Risbaf Factory bore a much greater weighting than others, such as those more associative and evidentiary. It also demonstrates that the most influential values were found to be ones related to both aesthetics and age. The authors conclude that the use of the framework could curb those excessively adventurous enterprises while mitigating conservatism in future adaptive reuse projects.