Abandoned industrial heritage

Abstract

The abandonment of industrial buildings, driven by global economic changes and deindustrialization, has led to a growing interest in their adaptive reuse as a strategy for sustainable regeneration. This paper explores how disused industrial heritage can be transformed from waste into a valuable resource, aligning with circular economy principles. The main objective of the research is to propose an evaluation framework capable of assessing the multidimensional impacts (environmental, economic/financial, and socio-cultural) of adaptive reuse projects for industrial heritage across various project phases. To achieve this, a systematic literature review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines, identifying key criteria and indicators used in previous evaluations. The review highlighted the complexity of balancing heritage conservation, community needs, and sustainability goals. While numerous studies propose multicriteria evaluation frameworks, few explicitly address the circular economy perspective. In this context, the European Commission’s Level(s) tool (currently the only officially recognized framework for assessing building sustainability in a circular economy perspective) was selected as the basis for this research. The Level(s) tool was integrated and expanded to account for the unique characteristics of industrial heritage, including historical significance and socio-cultural values. The resulting evaluation framework consists of six thematic-areas, nine macro-objectives and a comprehensive set of 48 criteria and 100+ indicators. Indicators are categorized by evaluation phase (ex-ante, ongoing, ex-post) and lifecycle status (renovation activity, in-use, future adaptation potential), ensuring relevance across the building lifecycle. They also distinguish between impacts on the building/site itself and those on its urban context. The framework allows stakeholders, including designers, investors, policymakers, and communities, to evaluate the sustainability of adaptive reuse projects in a structured, transparent, and comparable way. It supports decision-making through multicriteria analysis and encourages stakeholder collaboration. Moreover, it emphasizes the integration of qualitative and quantitative data and accommodates varying levels of technical expertise. This study provides a replicable, flexible, and interdisciplinary tool for evaluating the circular regeneration of industrial heritage. Future research will focus on applying this framework to real-world projects to validate and refine its components.