Towards Sustainable Adaptive Reuse of Traditional Marketplaces

Conservation of traditional markets is crucial since they represent the culture and identity of the related community. In order to sustain these marketplaces, adaptation to the requirements of today's community is necessary; however, the authenticity of these places should be conserved during the adaptation process. In the adaptive reuse process of traditional markets, the new use should be appropriate in order to preserve the authenticity and identity of the place since the loss of identity of the heritage buildings cause the loss of sense of place. For the continuity of traditional markets, socio-cultural values, physical and economic aspects need to be considered holistically. The aim of conservation should be to sustain both the tangible and intangible values of the place. The aim of this study is to explore the reuse of traditional markets and to put forward the key points that need to be taken into consideration in the decision-making process. Three reused marketplaces in Cyprus, which are located in three different cities, have been investigated and compared in terms of compatibility of the new use and the interventions applied. Finally, a model is proposed to achieve sustainable adaptive reuse of traditional marketplaces in light of the evidence.