Adaptive Reuse Gradient from ‘Autocratic’ to ‘Creative’: A Context-based Anthology of Adaptive Reuse Experience in Tehran (1970-2020)

The adaptive reuse (AR) of buildings in Iran, is a subject that has had disparate cultural backgrounds, compared to the countries that originated the approach. AR has gradually paved its road during the last five decades from an autocratic ad-hoc policy to a quasi-inclusive socio-political approach. Tehran, as the bicentennial capital of Iran, has always embraced pioneering examples of AR breakthroughs. This article provides a concise policymaking context-based narrative anthology of contemporary AR experience in Tehran through the reading out of the contemporary fluctuations of policies, and the comparative analogy of selected cases. The anthological view focuses on the evolution of the socio-cultural conditions, putting forward the role of policymaking procedures on the AR paradigm. The comparative analogy, then, will frame the typological, cultural, and strategic aspects of the projects to demonstrate the context and objectives of the policy. The fusion of these two processes shows that contrary to the altering situation of heritage policies, the AR has had a growing trend towards a pre-creativity phase, and implicit emancipation from autocracy. It seems that despite the continuity of the ‘top-down’ policymaking, the AR paradigm could take a more creative and autonomous role in the coming years.