“Innovative Economic Model Design for Utilizing Identity-Based Buildings”

“Creating innovative alternatives for indigenous culture with economic justification for utilizing the capacities of identity-based structures, changing the perception of investors and urban managers about the potentials of identity-based structures, and providing innovative investment opportunities and transformation in solution design processes for the management and utilization of identity-based structures are fundamental objectives of this innovative social event.”

The main objective of this research is to address the scientific and managerial weaknesses in dealing with investment tendencies in identity-based buildings in the metropolis of Mashhad. The planned process in this scientific-operational study aims to achieve economic alternatives that simultaneously preserve the identity values and physical structures of old and historical buildings while providing economic attractiveness for investors. Therefore, the objectives of this research can be summarized as follows:

  • Creating innovative alternatives for the underlying culture with economic justifications for utilizing identity-based buildings.
  • Changing the perception of investors and urban managers about the capacities of identity-based buildings.
  • Providing new investment opportunities and transformation in the design processes for managing and utilizing identity-based buildings.

This operational research has been conducted with the participation of 210 experts in the field of urban economics, owners of identity-based buildings as beneficiaries, experts in architecture and urban planning, urban sociology and ethnography, and urban social activists. In this research, various perspectives on patterns of utilizing identity-based buildings have been discussed and debated, including:

  • Principles of investment
  • Experiences of revitalizing identity-based buildings
  • Creative tourism
  • Entrepreneurship in urban management
  • Development of cultural economy
  • Presentation of creative urban ideas
  • Local business model

The online workshop was discussion-oriented and served as a pre-event for social innovation, held in the form of ideation teams at the Mashhad Innovation Factory, with the participation of all stakeholders. In this social innovation event, the necessary platform for discussion, interaction with professionals, communication with investors and owners, and exchange of opinions and ideas among participants was provided through group discussions, and mentors with expertise in civil engineering, sociology, urban economics, and entrepreneurship provided guidance and support.

The result of the discussions and brainstorming of the participating teams in this operational research are innovative ideas that have presented alternative methods of utilization and investment. The main themes of these ideas include:

  • Boutique hotel
  • Museum garden
  • Restoration experience house
  • Co-creative space
  • Language house
  • Knowledge cafe
  • Capital-building application
  • Health house
  • Bank and capital innovation center
  • Urban innovation center.