Adaptive Reuse of Industrial Heritage in the Perspective of Circular Economy: A Tool for Sustainable Development

The adaptive reuse of industrial heritage has represented a solution included in the sphere of circular economy that meets the challenges of sustainable development. Furthermore, researchers and professionals recognize the need for in-depth analysis of the conservation and adaptive reuse of industrial heritage in the context of deindustrialization, urban dynamics, and globalization standard solutions. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the abandoned industrial heritage sites in Bucharest from the perspective of adaptive reuse in accordance with the principles of the circular economy, emphasizing their conservation and optimal valorization and responding to environmental, economic and socio-cultural challenges. This study answers the research questions: what are the factors that generated the large number of abandoned industrial monuments? What are the barriers related to planning the adaptive reuse of industrial monuments? The case study method and the multi-criteria model specific to industrial heritage were used to evaluate the heritage values and optimal reuse. Two case studies were carefully selected according to the criterion of representativeness, highlighting their heritage valences (historical, architectural). Also, the case studies are examples of abandoned industrial heritage that show different stages of degradation, a fact that justifies their conservation and reuse. This study has an applicative character due to the fact that research results can be transferred to the socio-economic and decision-making environment. The proposals based on multi-criteria analysis of adaptive reuse of industrial monuments can be replicated to other case studies located in large cities where the pressure of urban dynamics on heritage buildings is high.