The Adaptive Reuse (AR) of heritage buildings is a complex process, which aims to preserve the values of heritage buildings while adapting them for use in the present and transferring them to the future. This paper aims to identify steps in this process and develop a structured model. The model is an ‘ideal’, it needs validation in practice; however, it is expected that following this model can help to preserve and conserve the values of heritage buildings. To come to an overview of the process and to identify its main steps, a literature review at an international level has been conducted. The analysis of the literature revealed that the AR process as a whole in relation to heritage buildings has not been widely studied. Based on the results of this review, a conceptual model representing the AR process of heritage buildings has been defined. This model consists of 10 steps: ‘initiative’, ‘analysis of heritage buildings’, ‘value assessment, ‘mapping level of significance’, ‘definition of adaptive reuse potential’, ‘definition of design strategy’, ‘final decision-making’, ‘execution’, ‘maintenance’, and ‘evaluation after years’. This model can act as a comprehensive theoretical basis for further studies on the AR process of heritage buildings.

Adaptive reuse (AR) of heritage buildings is a complex process due to the involvement of many actions and actors, which influence the results of the projects. The effectiveness of AR projects can be described by various criteria. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the criteria of effectiveness in AR projects with the final scope to guide and improve the AR process. A review of the jury reports of two highly prestigious awards in the Netherlands (NRP Golden Phoenix award) and Europe (Europa Nostra) has been conducted. In total, the reports of 48 cases have been reviewed. The five criteria mentioned in the regulations of the NRP award have been used to categorize the aspects mentioned in the jury reports of both awards. These criteria are: “social value creation”, “sublimation (both architectural and cultural aspects)”, “environmental sustainability”, “economic value creation”, and “innovation”. This review reveals that “social value creation” and “sublimation” are among the most highlighted criteria that the juries considered for the effectiveness of AR projects. Often aspects mentioned for these criteria overlap partially with those aspects mentioned in the criterion of “economic value creation”. This indicates that enhancement of the qualities of heritage buildings and their surroundings and improvement of the social values and the resulting positive economic effects are strictly interrelated. The overview of the criteria of effectiveness, as defined in this work, will serve as a basis for the investigation of the tools and methods which can be used in the AR process to achieve these criteria.

The facades of buildings stand as one of the most influential aesthetic elements in urban and rural districts, serving as a boundary between exterior and interior while historically expressing various cultural and climatic functions. In Mazandaran Province, Iran, historical and rural areas have often been overlooked, leading to inappropriate approaches in reusing and renovating these buildings without considering their values. This study aims to analyze the characteristics of the facades of various historical and rural houses to provide a solid foundation for architects dealing with their reuse and renovation or the design of extensions to the existing buildings. In addition to discussing practical applications, this paper offers a methodological approach for scholars active in the field of rural architecture. The research method includes an analysis of several historical houses, drawing from both literature and field studies. The formal approach has been chosen to align with the research goal. The sixteen selected cases are situated in the historical and rural districts of Alasht, Lafour, Qaemshahr, each built in different historical periods of Iran. Given that many historical houses in this area are not officially listed as heritage buildings and no data regarding them are available, the researchers conducted field surveys and interviews with residents to collect the necessary information. The investigation focused on facade elements, including the pattern of openings and the materials used in the selected houses. This research led to the documentation of the facade shapes in the rural areas of Mazandaran Province, highlighting the necessity of documentation to establish a knowledge base before reuse, renovation, or design within these historic regions. This approach could serve as a model for other regions and countries.

While DSS are designed to enhance transparency and provide structure in complex, multi-stakeholder settings, they also influence actions of participating stakeholders and thereby their strategic choices. This paper reviews the literature on SB and DSS, identifies diverse forms of strategic action, and proposes a five-step framework for systematically observing SB in DSS-supported processes and environments.The framework integrates contextual dynamics, stakeholder motivations, strategic approaches, and resource use, offering a structured and comprehensive lens for analysis. By focusing on how stakeholders engage strategically in practice, rather than prescribing how they should behave, the framework enables a nuanced and realistic understanding of stakeholder interaction, behaviour, and power in participatory settings. This conceptual contribution advances both academic and applied discussions by providing a tool that supports empirical investigation as well as the design and use of DSS in real-world decision-making contexts.

Adaptive reuse of heritage buildings requires stakeholders, and more specifically, architects to navigate interdependent questions of heritage significance, contemporary function, environmental performance, community benefit, financial feasibility, and approval of other stakeholders (developers, investors, and regulators). Process models can structure these questions, yet conventional validation methods reveal only part of how practitioners move between them under constraint. This paper presents the design and pilot testing of Architect's Design Challenge, a tabletop serious-game prototype developed to explore professional decision-making in adaptive reuse and to examine the practical legibility of the Effective Adaptive Reuse of Heritage Buildings (EARHB) process model. Players progress through six stations, allocate limited resources, select action cards, respond to stakeholder requirements, and construct a design proposition using four predefined project-value categories represented by coloured components. Two formative test rounds, involving students and architects, were organised around introduction, gameplay, and debriefing. The tests indicated that the prototype could stimulate explicit discussion of priorities, sequencing, resource allocation, and trade-offs. They also revealed a central design tension: abstraction supported strategic play but sometimes weakened correspondence with professional practice, particularly for expert players. The study contributes a transparent mapping between research constructs and game mechanics, identifies requirements for future validation, and shows how serious gaming could make selected moments of value recognition, translation into design choices, negotiation, and revision observable within a simulated decision pathway. The evidence is exploratory. It does not establish learning effects, behavioural validity, or transfer to real projects.