Architecture Research 2018, 8(4): 129-137 DOI: 10.5923/j.arch.20180804.03 Evaluation of the Impact of Sustainability Principles on Adaptive Reuse Interventions: The Case of Qatari Heritage Experience Silvia Mazzetto Department of Architecture and Interior Design, School of Architecture and Design, Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon Abstract In recent years, due to the oil discovery and exportation, Qatar a small country in the Persian Gulf has typically experienced accelerated and complicated problems of urbanization. Affecting the direction of the rapid urbanization, there is a perpetual dispute, between the construction of new, modern identity and the promotion of traditional architecture as a possible way to establish new relations with the local history and culture. The paper presents some significant examples of adaptive reuse projects, recently completed in Qatar, and shows the increasing demand to strengthen recognition of the local architecture and regenerate the consciousness of the national heritage values. The interventions have been analyzed and compared concerning environmental, socio-economic and socio-cultural aspects derived from the adaptive re-use projects. Sustainability, as a cultural, social, environmental, and energy-saving value, is one of the most distinguished principles that should be applied to the whole process of heritage restoration. The results show that there exist many common points between the re-use of Qatari heritage, the conservation of ancient natural materials, the promotion of cultural values, the synergism with the landscape, and the adjustment to the climate, to be applied to the restoration strategies and processes compatible with the heritage buildings and the environmental approaches. The concept of sustainability is thus addressed through its meaning of unity and harmony in a broad sense, including materials, use, ecosystem respect, social aspects, investments, costs, although different approaches, strategies and solutions at the urban, architectural, and archaeological scales. The aim of the presented research, which is still under development, is to promote strategies, solutions and good practice that could be adopted in an innovative way for the restoration of the Qatari heritage. The aim is to define an approach that is persistent and will enhance the Arab culture about restoration while respecting sustainable principles. Keywords Architectural Heritage, Conservation, Change of use, Sustainability’s Assessment 1. Introduction In the Gulf Regions, due to the recent discovery and exportation of oil (1960-1970), the urban growth and expansion of many cities, have generated massive investments. Among the Arab Countries, Qatar is one the most influent protagonist of the scene that has been subjected to an unprecedented economic boom, and its capital, Doha, is becoming a new global city. As a consequence, the rapid urbanization has produced a negative impact both on the spontaneous growth of the city center, and on the conservation and restoration of the national heritage [1]. In fact, in Doha the rapid urban expansion definitively altered the historic center, damaging the remains of the urban * Corresponding author: silvia_mazzetto@yahoo.it (Silvia Mazzetto) Published online at http://journal.sapub.org/arch Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Scientific & Academic Publishing This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ fabric and some traditional buildings. Thus a permanent conflict afflicts the growth direction of Doha: on one side the construction of a postmodern global city, represented by advanced infrastructures, innovative materials, and spectacular architectures; on the other hand, the safeguarding of Qatari heritage, reusing the neglected urban fabric, and the abandoned buildings, with the aim of establishing new relationship with the past and the local culture. Additionally, the old urban settlements and the historical buildings present a high degree of flexibility and functional capacity of adaptation to the environmental, social, economic and cultural conditions of the contexts in which they develop, permitting a more sustainable approach and providing an alternative growth for the city [2]. The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization [3] (UNESCO) has described in 2002 the value of the sustainability for safeguarding the heritage of the countries, anyhow without providing clear definitions or rules to be adopted [4]. There have been always conflicts between the UNESCO heritage buildings and the sustainable developments of growing countries [5], due to the fact that in