Directing Reused Industrial Heritage to Public Taste: The Case of 1933 Old Millfun, Shanghai

Abstract

Industrial heritage carries the task of not only preserving and inheriting historical culture, but also solving the homogenization of the historical area. The culture cannot be passed on without public participation; people are not only creators but also transmitters of culture. Thus, it will be an important issue to direct industrial culture to public taste. This study is conducted with regard to 1933 Old Millfun, Shanghai, focusing on the visitor’s cultural experience, and exploring the public’s assessment of cultural expression in combination with the Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation Method. Through establishing an industrial culture quality evaluation system, the results suggest that the Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation Method is effective in clarifying the public needs for industrial culture from the tastes of most visitors, and is able to propose a clear development direction for the assessment subject. The research demonstrates a methodology for evaluating the compatibility between heritage culture and public acceptance, weakening the conflict between building designers and users in the future.