Assessment of Adaptive Reuse Practices through User Experiences: Traditional Houses in the Walled City of Nicosia

Abstract

The conservation of traditional residential architecture is crucial in terms of sociocultural continuity. When the traditional houses are no longer used for residential purposes, new functions should be assigned to them for the continuity of the heritage buildings. However, new functions should respect the originality of the heritage building. This research focuses on the conservation and reuse of traditional houses located in the walled city of Nicosia. The walled city is divided into two parts as north and south with a buffer zone between the two. This paper includes case studies of re-functioned traditional houses from the two parts. The study questions the appropriateness of the new functions that have been assigned to the traditional houses both in the northern and southern parts of the city. This research aims to measure and compare the success of the adaptive reuse practices through user experiences. As the method of study, the literature survey was carried out to identify different aspects of adaptive reuse projects. Then, selected buildings were observed through site surveys in order to discover the current condition of the adaptive reuse projects. The third step was to complete the questionnaires with different users in order to question the success of the adaptive reuse projects through the user experience. Finally, the collected data were evaluated and discussed. The respondents were asked to answer questions about each building, which are organized under the three categories of sociocultural, economic, and physical aspects of the heritage buildings. As observed with the evaluated case studies, heritage buildings that are re-functioned with the public use, such as commercial, cultural, and educational use, are more successful in contributing to the sociocultural and economic development of the city. The preservation and reuse of abandoned traditional houses in the walled city contribute to the continuity and livability of the city. For the continuity of the heritage buildings, sociocultural, economic, and physical aspects should be taken into consideration with a holistic approach.