ASSESMENT OF THE REUSE POTENTIAL OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS IN TETOVO CASE STUDY: "TODOR TSIPOVSKI — MERJAN" TETEKS

Abstract

Old industrial buildings represent an important aspect of our cultural and architectural heritage. Regular shapes, large sizes, their structures and used materials, are witnesses of the development of industrial architecture; the production of goods, machines and equipment speak for the technological advancement; while an increase of wealth and the standard of living testify for the economic and social development. Unfortunately, the production process has been interrupted in most of these facilities. As a result, many buildings are abandoned, and as such they are transformed in areas where crime and vandalism rule or they are demolished to make room for new buildings.
This process of destroying these historic buildings and replacing them with new ones, adds to greater economic costs, energy loss, and unfortunately erases a part of the country's history that future generations will not recognize. Recently, people's awareness of the importance of these buildings, as industrial heritage, has increased, and there has been a growing number of research on how to protect these buildings and sites, but also how to use them again and benefit society.
The subject of this research is the history, the current state and the potential for reuse of the textile plant "Todor Tsipovski — Merjan" Teteks, one of the largest Macedonian textile manufacturers. The historical development is researched to understand the value of this location for the city of Tetovo and its citizens. The field observations of spatial and technological resources create a picture of the existing situation and provide insight into the potential for transformation.
For further analysis, one of the warehouses of the complex is studied based on the 6 building functional layers, and is categorized according to the degree of flexibility, to evaluate its potential for reuse and development.