Adaptive reuse of open spaces in historical buildings

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the use of open and green spaces (OGS) of a historical building after the adaptive reuse of the building. The relationship between the use of OGSs and the perceived environments of the users is examined. Design/methodology/approach: To determine the OGS use preferences of the users and to obtain quantitative data, a survey was conducted. The data were evaluated using descriptive statistics in SPSS. Also, observation method was used to determine the frequency measurements of OGS. Thus, the relationships between the results were identified statistically. Findings: It has been determined that the outdoor space features of a historical building should be arranged following its new function. The use of OGSs was affected by the physical properties of the spaces, accessibility and time spent in the settlement. Originality/value: The historical building itself and its interior spaces, as well as the open, semi-open and green spaces of the building, are affected by the adaptive reuse process. However, the fact that only a few studies in the literature focus on the outdoor environment of the re-functionalized historical buildings makes this study original and unique.