THE IMPACT OF RE-USE OF HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL BUILDINGS UPON THEIR SUSTAINABILITY STANDARDS STUDY OF HISTORICAL BUILDINGS RE-USED IN THE CITY OF TRIPOLI

Abstract

The cultural factor of the user has an impact upon buildings, and when maintaining, reusing and preserving historical buildings, especially when there is a change in users, the cultural impact of the user is particularly significant. The cultural factor of the new user has a great effect on the nature of architectural terms of the old building to be preserved and reused, and often his changes cause the building to lose the architectural identity which emanated from the original or former user’s culture. Do historical factors also have an impact upon the sustainability of the building? What is the relationship between this impact and the sustainability of historical buildings? The architect may find it difficult to show the architectural value of the historical building when there is a contradiction between the historical identity of the building and the identity and culture of the current user. The problem is evident in regions and cities with different types of historical buildings that witnessed occupation and colonialism or succession of political systems with different cultures that produced an architecture with various terms belonging to the cultures of the owner of the building or the user during the period of construction such as in the city of South Tripoli. The decision of re-use that neglects the impact of the cultural factor has an effect on the architectural heritage value of the building and makes it lose its sustainability as a nourishing source of authentic culture. This research paper deals with the concept of architectural sustainability, particularly in the field of architectural and urban heritage. It aims to show the impacts of cultural factors of the user on the building and the guidelines to be followed to achieve a sustainable architectural and urban heritage before making the decision to reuse and maintain through the examination and analysis of previous experiments and selected case studies from different regions of the city of South Tripoli,as well as other local cases such as traditional architecture in Libyan coastal, mountain and desert cities. This research paper attempts to answer the following question: If sustainability means continuity and preservation of resources and their sustainability, what is the impact of cultural and historical factors on the sustainability of historical buildings in the city of South Tripoli on reuse controls?

Keywords

• Culture,Historical building,Sustainability,Architectural heritage,Traditional architecture

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