An Assessment of Tourists’ Perception of Traditional Lifestyle in an Adaptively Reused Historical House in the City of Kashan, Iran

Problem Statement: 

Through time, Kashan’s historical houses and lifestyle have had a reciprocal relationship. In contemporary times, however, lifestyles have changed very much; to the point of being forgotten. The Adaptive Reuse of some historical houses presents an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the lives that people once lead in them.

This study seeks to discover the characteristics of lifestyle in Kashan’s historical houses, as well as the extent to which tourists understand this lifestyle during their stay in historical houses retrofitted as hotels. What are the characteristics of the lifestyle in the historical houses of Kashan? To what extend do tourists understand this lifestyle during their stay in historical houses retrofitted as hotels? Gain a better understanding of traditional lifestyle components and analyze tourists’ understanding to better address shortcomings in future adaptive reuse projects are the research objectives.

The research methodology of this study is mixed qualitative-quantitative methods. First, the lifestyle in Kashan’s historical houses was analyzed through literature reviews and field studies, such as participatory observation and in-depth interviews. Next, after extracting and codifying the most repetitive components previously obtained, tourists’ perceptions of these components were examined through 102questionnaires in 8hotels.

The repetition of the expressed characteristics of interviewees from different socio-economic groups displays a dominant lifestyle across different cultural-economic groups in traditional society. Moreover, the extraction of lifestyle components in Kashan’s historical houses in three categories, namely cultural, social, and economic components, reveals the multidimensionality of this lifestyle. Despite their connection to physical spaces, tourists’ perception of this lifestyle’s nature, characteristics, and intangible features are fragmented and incomplete. While many lifestyle components manifest in customs and behaviors, furniture and appliances can play an important role in introducing a lifestyle when effectively integrated in experiences rather than being mere decoration.