A Review on the Design of New Buildings in Historic Settings

Historic urban quarters have a special place in the cultural and historical heritage of any country, since they are coherent entities, which are clearly identified by their traditional character and architectural value. In the last decades new buildings were added into the existing tissue regardless of the offered historic context. In this case there is always a danger that the sense of space and identity of the historic area would be ignored and dominated by the new buildings. On the other hand, new design in historic urban environment should represent its own period, at the same time, as they become part of an existing context; they have to be integrated into the historic context in an appropriate way. The main aim of this book is to discuss new building design in historic settings in the framework of integrating contemporary design into existing historic urban context with an emphasis on the awareness of the historic tissue and the quality of the existing historic environment. Primarily the integration of new buildings as a respond to the physical character of the environment- the visual and spatial qualities of a place- will be discussed.