Assessment of the perception of cultural heritage as an adaptive re-use and sustainable development strategy Case study of Kaunas, Lithuania

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a model which can measure the effect of perception on the assessment of cultural heritage by analysing the facades of buildings for adaptive re-use and sustainable development strategy. Design/methodology/approach This paper focusses on the correlation between adaptive re-use and sustainability of cultural heritage, by analysing the invisible social context which has an impact on the establishment of adaptive re-use strategies. The method adopted included literature review and applied experiments for extending the methodology of Langston on the adaptive re-use potential model in order to establish a new tool which can be applied to cultural heritage. The assessment process followed the integrated cultural heritage management approach to identify the indicators which can be implemented on cultural heritage, and, furthermore, for the sustainability of the environment. Findings The results demonstrate that the perception of the society can rely on different indicators which affect people to assert an artefact as cultural heritage. Furthermore, these indicators can have an impact on the adaptive re-use strategies regarding the interaction with society. Societies' perception should not be omitted, and they need to be integrated while evaluating and developing the strategy of adaptive re-use. Therefore, a holistic approach to this process can bring continuity and sustainability to the environment. Originality/value No similar prior studies on the perception of cultural heritage as an approach to adaptive re-use strategies have been carried out. Therefore, it is hoped that this model can lead and guide, and, furthermore, be adopted in other similar situations in the assessment and decision-making process of adaptive re-use.