A two-step approach for assessing the revitalization capability of historic buildings

Warsaw University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, The Institute of Building Engineering, ul. Lecha Kaczyńskiego 16, 00-637 Warsaw

^* Corresponding author: w.terlikowski@il.pw.edu.pl

Abstract

The assessment of the revitalization capacity of historic buildings is an innovative method of interdisciplinary diagnostics, in which the condition of the building is analyzed in a context of a revitalization process. This context enforces an approach which takes into account nontechnical issues, the analysis of which gives the opportunity to draw up appropriate revitalization concepts. These issues are usually described in communal revitalization programs, taking into account social, educational and health problems of the local community. Properly carried out interdisciplinary diagnostics can show how non-technical problems can be solved by technical actions concerning a building located in a revitalized area. The two-step approach for assessing the revitalization capacity is aimed at showing the current state of the existing historic building, which has a certain potential in both technical and non-technical areas, which may directly affect the process of revitalization of the area in a crisis situation. In the first stage of the analysis, we obtain the values of partial factors - legal and formal state, historical and cultural value, structural aspects, impact on human, external environment, energy efficiency, innovation and impact on the local community factors. The difference between the acquired value of the factor and its maximum value shows a potential of the building concerning a given issue. Taking it into consideration, non-technical factors can be used to increase the building’s value by planning specific revitalization activities which utilize the building's potential. The article discusses the method of effectively shaping revitalization activities by raising the partial assessment factors.