Multi-criteria decision making for adaptive reuse of Nima Yooshij’s house in Tehran

There is a strong argument among conservation architects that the concept of heritage itself means using the past for present and future needs. Hence, the adaptive reuse of heritage buildings has become one of the most important goals of conservation. Reuse planning requires solving complex problems and deciding how to preserve valuable tangible and intangible features while meeting the current needs of society. To solve these problems, researchers have chosen several methods to reuse architectural heritage. However, in Iran, especially by government agencies in charge of protection, these methods have not been well studied and introduced. Therefore, the present study has investigated the multi-criteria decision-making method to find the most appropriate function in the reuse process by studying the case of Nima Yooshij's house in Tehran. The research method is qualitative when reviewing the literature of the subject and studying the case, which has been done through interviews with experts and library and field studies. A quantitative approach was adopted using questionnaires and Expert Choice software for evaluation of the proposed criteria and alternatives. This research indicates that the conservation of heritage values and increase the lifespan and durability are the most important criteria that should be considered when choosing a new function for Nima Yooshij’s house. Also, according to the evaluations, it was determined that the most suitable use for this building is house-museum. Also, the results show that using this heritage building as a house-museum leads to the fulfillment of economic and environmental criteria to the least extent. According to the case study, this research indicates that multi-criteria decision-making method can help conservation architects as an optimal tool in adaptive reuse of heritage buildings. Based on the opinions of experts, "Nima Gallery Cafe", "Nima Book House" and "Nima House Museum" have been introduced as three proposed alternatives for reusing this house. Regarding a multi-criteria decision-making method based on cultural, architectural, social, economic, and environmental factors, the "Gallery-Cafe," the "Book House," and the "House Museum" scored 6.10, 6.66, and 7.38 of 10, respectively. As a result, among the proposed options, "Nima House Museum" is the most suitable use for this heritage house. According to the analysis of questionnaires regarding the cultural and architectural criteria, this new purpose will preserve its authenticity and is the most compatible option with Nima Yoshij's house with the least intervention measures. In addition, the use of the museum house is more suitable in terms of "social criteria" due to providing services to the community, helping to participate and raising awareness, and increasing the level of interaction between different segments of society compared to two other alternatives. However, the results show that the use of the museum house is less effective in terms of economic and environmental criteria. Eventually, based on the evaluations, this option will keep tangible and intangible heritage alive and indicate contemporary ideas and approaches to adaptive reuse. This house will narrate Nima's life in Tehran, his literary identity, and the socio-artistic activities of his lovers from the past to the future.