The paper presents a survey of scholarly literature on the subject of adaptive reuse within the discipline of heritage conservation and...

Purpose: Adaptive reuse processes aim to preserve heritage values while creating new values through the architectural interventions that have become necessary. This claim provokes a discussion about the meaning of values, how we can preserve them in practice and how we can translate them into architectural qualities that users experience. Riegl's understanding of the different perspectives of heritage values in the past and present opens up the possibility of identifying present values as a reflection of current social, material and political conditions in the architectural discourse.Design/methodology/approach: This qualitative and practical study compares two Belgian projects to trace the use of values in adaptive reuse projects from an architectural design perspective. The Predikherenklooster, a 17th-century monastery in Mechelen that now houses the public library, and the C-Mine cultural centre in Genk, a former 20th-century coal mine, are compared. The starting point is Flemish legislation, which defines significance through values, distinguishing between 13 heritage values.Findings: The study demonstrates the opportunities that axiological questions offer during the design process of an adaptive reuse project. They provide an overarching framework for tangible and intangible aspects that need to be discussed, particularly in terms of the link between what exists, the design strategy and their effect.Originality/value: Adaptive reuse can draw on approaches from both heritage conservation and contemporary architecture and explore values as a tool for “re-designing” built heritage.

Façadism is usually described as the practice of preserving historical façades and the construction of new buildings behind them. While it became a frequently used strategy for urban conservation in the 1960s, it was strongly criticised as an architecture of poor quality that also led to a loss of authenticity in building. This article questions this predominantly negative perception of the practice of façadism to demonstrate its potential for contemporary architectural practice, especially in the field of adaptive reuse. As such, it does not strive to justify all forms of façadism, nor does it evaluate its compatibility with local legal frameworks regarding conservation and planning. The article rather seeks to launch a more nuanced discussion of various forms of façadism, based on a conceptual analysis of the subject to elaborate on its potential beyond its merely economic or pragmatic aspects. The article starts with a literature review to offer an overview of the definitions and interpretations of façadism. It then illustrates how four different forms of façadism (façade retention; refronting existing buildings; functional upgrading through façade intervention; and the creation of a coherent streetscape) are implemented in contemporary architectural practice. The ensuing conclusion is that façadism has the potential to become a valuable design strategy.

This paper elaborates on the reuse of architectural fragments in new constructions as a strategy for the conservation of cultural heritage. The ancient practice of spolia is used as a frame of reference to analyze contemporary reflections and examples. The introduction reflects on the tension between the practice of spolia and heritage conservation. Next, a review of relevant literature is presented, including sources from different disciplinary backgrounds, like heritage conservation, architectural history, architectural theory, and interior architecture. Furthermore, two precedent-setting studies are investigated: the decomposition of the interiors of the Generale Bank in Brussels (Belgium) by Rotor and the reuse of its fragments in new projects, and the Lin'an History Museum in Hangzhou, China by Amateur Architecture Studio. The following research questions steered the investigations: (1) what is the origin of the spolia? (2) how are the spolia reintegrated into a new building? (3) is the heritage embedded in the spoliated fragment transferred to or appropriated by the new host? A final reflection highlights gaps in the literature study and proposes directions for future research.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the conservation and contemporary management of three nineteenth-century shopping passages: the Galleries Saint-Hubert in Brussels, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan and the Passage in The Hague. The submission of the Galleries Saint-Hubert to the World Heritage Tentative List in 2008, presents a unique opportunity for studying this typology in its contemporary environment. Design/methodology/approach – The authors’ research questions are: what are the characteristics of passages? what are their authentic values? and how can the authenticity of these buildings be conserved by their contemporary management? The applied methodology is a cross-case-comparison, based on the definition of authenticity as presented in the Nara Document on Authenticity. The analysis is presented in the form of a matrix. Findings – The findings show that the significant value of passages does not only include the architecture of the building but also the versatility of its program and its present urban role. It is only by conserving this combination that these buildings can be conserved in their full richness of authenticity. Practical implications – Criteria for transnational inclusion in the World Heritage List of several nineteenth-century passages are suggested as the matrix used for cross-case-comparison may be applied to analyse other case studies of passages, as well as for other types of heritage where authenticity of the site is threatened by uncontrolled retail development. Originality/value – Although passages have been studied extensively within the field of architectural history, retail history and socio-cultural studies, hardly any previous research had focused on the preservation and contemporary management of this building type.