My thesis critically examines the adaptive reuse of historic warehouses in Glasgow's Merchant City from the 1980s onward, situating this transformation within the broader context of urban regeneration. The adaptation of historic warehouses in Glasgow's Merchant City since the 1980s has been shaped by a series of historical factors, processes, and decisions: the transformation from comprehensive redevelopment to urban rehabilitation; the revitalizing inner city with the embrace of the private sector; the re-evaluation of industrial built heritage from the 1980s; the shifting of the city's image after deindustrialization, which transformed its industrial core into a service-oriented center; and, in line with the neoliberal planning concept, the shifting from urban managerialism to urban entrepreneurialism. Previous research has mainly focused on the housing-led regeneration efforts in Merchant City. My thesis asserts that the adaptive reuse of historic warehouses in Merchant City has played a crucial and increasingly essential role in urban regeneration since the 1980s, exceeding its initially envisioned function in contemporary urban development strategies. This process significantly contributes to the cultural, tourism, and commercial revitalization of the area.
Employing a bottom-up theoretical approach, my thesis investigates the revitalization of the historic city center, drawing on existing literature review, preservation policies, archival data, and site investigations. It mainly use qualitative offer a comprehensive interpreting of the subject. It adopts a qualitative methodology to offer a comprehensive analysis of the subject, with detailed case studies exploring adaptations at the building, group, street levels, and assessing their reciprocal impacts on broader city-wide regeneration efforts.
This study integrates adaptation theories with urban physical regeneration and conservation planning history to analyze the complexities of the relationship between building adaptation, heritage conservation, and urban regeneration. By examining these interactions from a multi-level perspective, the thesis offers a5comprehensive interpretation of both the architectural practices involved and the theoretical foundations of adaptation in historic urban environments.
Consequently, this research not only contributes to existing knowledge on urban regeneration but also expands the theoretical scope of adaptation theory, providing new insights into its application in built heritage conservation and contemporary urban development.
