Evaluating the Cultural Sustainability of the Adaptive Reuse of Al-Nabulsi Traditional House into a Cultural Center in Irbid, Jordan

Abstract

Adaptive reuse maintains cultural sustainability by adapting heritage buildings for new functions while retaining their original structure. The al-Nabulsi’s traditional courtyard house in Irbid, northern Jordan, represents the city’s dominant residential heritage building typology from the 1920s. It has been adapted and reused to preserve cultural sustainability by providing a visitor experience pertinent to the local tangible and intangible cultural heritage. This article evaluates the effect of the house’s adaptive reuse into a cultural visitor center on the local community’s cultural sustainability between 2018 and 2023 through the user experience. Through a review of the literature on cultural sustainability and adaptive reuse and deploying mixed qualitative and quantitative methodology of field observation, statistical analysis, and critical reflections on interviews and Google Travel’s reviews of the building, the research presents the project phases, resolutions, and challenges, contextualizing them in the modern debate on tangible and intangible heritage. The article used the Quintuple Helix Model as an analytical framework to explain the interactions between societal systems that directly and indirectly affect the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The findings revealed that in 2018, the center’s conservation and adaptation relatively enhanced the local community’s cultural sustainability and feeling of its identity. However, in 2023, further actions are needed to enhance the visitor experience and spread awareness of its significance. Enrichments in government, education, and civil society systems have been moderate, and further improvements in economic and environmental systems are essential to meet the potential goals of the SDGs. No research to date has evaluated the cultural sustainability of the adaptive reuse of this significant house/center, providing insights into a notable example of the conditions surrounding adaptive reuse in Jordan and Arab Middle Eastern countries.