Preference of User Groups on Facade Elements of Remodeled Factories in Korea

The transition from manufacturing to service-based economies in highly developed societies during the post-industrial period resulted in the decline of the industrial landscape, leaving it abandoned or underutilized. In pursuit of revitalizing the obsolete industrial space, innovative design techniques based on adaptive reuse are applied to retrofit modern functions to create a new cultural space and preserve the historical, symbolic, and cultural importance of the abandoned industrial facilities. Design considerations based on facade redesign have proven to be one of the most adopted techniques that can help in recreating a new function for the vacant industrial buildings and integrating them into the present-day urban fabric. This paper examines the facade renovation elements used for the adaptive reuse of 15 abandoned industrial buildings presently used as multi-purpose facilities in South Korea. Through a questionnaire survey, this study analyzes the respondents' preference for different facade renovation elements in the 15 sites according to age and gender. The study found that both genders showed similar preference patterns between most elements. But on some elements, females were keener and expressed a stronger opinion than males. There were much more females than males who perceived color and material as the most important exterior elements. The findings of this study can be used for the adaptive reuse of industrial buildings according to user preferences for different facade renovation elements.