Transformation of Historic Buildings – an Attempt at Codification

Piotr Molski

Abstract

Civilization development and the related changes in functional, technological, and aesthetic standards are connected with the transformations of the existing buildings, including architectural monuments. Non-conservationist needs and the scale of these transformations influence the reevaluation of the architectural heritage protection paradigm. An important manifestation of this, following the political transformation in Poland after 1989, is the interdependence between effective protection of historic buildings and their utilization. This entails the necessity of modernization and adaptation interventions, i.e. changes of internal divisions and the need to expand the usable area by extending the historic buildings or premises, or construction of new ones in their immediate vicinity. Therefore, the protection of historic monuments requires the integration of activities that preserve the documentary values of the historic fabric with the principles of its adaptation to the current utilitarian needs - as the condition of the monuments' survival. In systematizing the principles of transformation, it is necessary to organize the nomenclature of activities undertaken in relation to historical buildings, which is crucial for the understanding of the principles of protection and dialogue between the participants of conservation and modernization processes. The aim of this paper is: to outline the views on the interference in the monumental structures in the development of Polish conservator's thought as a starting point for the codification of the interference; to diagnose the important conditions which determine the transformation of monuments and the need for dialogue between the participants in the conservation and modernization projects; to try to define the types of transformations with their characteristics, and to formulate conclusions.