Contemporary meets old in rehabilitating historic buildings

Abstract

Protection of architectural heritage is a very delicate mission that needs to be supported by a big set of knowledge and experience. Adding a new, dissimilar element to a historic building of big importance in a rehabilitation process is particularly disputed and needs to be addressed with even more research and justification. Contrasting architectural styles in one building can be even a controversial matter. In some cases, modern additions successfully preserve the originals while bringing something fresh and creative, while others fail to do so. The main question is: does a current trend of adding a new, modern extension to the architecture monument distinctly mean that it is obliterated, or can a mixture of contemporary and historic in old buildings produce good architecture?