Is the adaptive reuse project successful or not? : an assessment methodology for the adaptive reuse of industrial heritage buildings, the case of iD Town in Shenzhen, China

Abstract

China experienced a period that industry develops rapidly and then the pace of development gradual slowed down. During the time of rapid development, large numbers of factories were built, and many industrial buildings were appeared in the city. And then, due to the change of national policies, many of these factories closed down. As a result, there are many abandoned industrial buildings found throughout China in nowadays. Most of these abandoned industrial buildings have been demolished and developed as shopping malls and community residences. However, in recent year, people have gradually raised the awareness of conserving heritages, so that the conservation of industrial heritages has become a hot topic among society. After some of industrial heritage adaptive reused projects were completed and great commercial profit was created, the public began to change their views on the dilapidated industrial heritage buildings. The adaptive reuse of industrial heritage buildings becomes more and more popular. However, at present, there is no relevant law or standard related to adaptive reuse of industrial heritage buildings, therefore, the qualities of each projects are different. An assessment methodology is created in this dissertation and used to assess the industrial heritage adaptive reused projects. The Principles for the Conservation of Heritage Sites in China (Revised 2015) and the criteria of UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation are the references. The criteria of this assessment methodology will help people understand how industrial heritage buildings can be adaptively reused in a compatible way and what kind of projects can be seen as successful one. Also the criteria can be the guidance for architects when they do the design of adaptive reuse in industrial heritage buildings. The iD Town in Shenzhen will be used as a case to practice the assessment methodology.