Reasons and consequences of historical buildings and structures fragments' reuse

Abstract

The article examines the peculiarities of the use of secondary raw materials in architectural and urban planning activities. The conducted research showed that the use of secondary raw materials is an established practice in architectural and urban planning activities. Surviving but no longer needed buildings and structures, their ruins, individual fragments of former architectural and urban planning objects, and construction materials extracted from them are subject to reuse. Pragmatic saving of time and materials is not the only reason for the integration of used elements in new buildings. Among the other conditionally positive driving motives of this practice: attempts to strengthen the political ambitions of modern powerful people, to draw symbolic parallels between different religions, to realize their own creative ambitions, to preserve the fragments of destroyed culture, and to perpetuate the collective memory of the inhabitants of certain territories. Unfortunately, the history of architecture preserves evidence that the re-use of architectural fragments can also be motivated by opposite, conditionally negative goals, such as contempt for the conquered state; contempt for another religion; superiority to the destroyed culture; fear of deposed but creepy mythical creatures; hatred of the persecuted people. The outlined motives determine the nature of behaviour with secondary raw materials and the result of its use. Respect and willingness to study lost objects of cultural heritage leads to the emergence of new interesting and meaningful architectural and urban planning solutions. Indifference, self-assertion, and aggression increase chaos and insensitivity to beauty and cause inappropriate project decisions, for which descendants are later ashamed. Because of the application of recycling practices in architectural and urban planning activities, historical buildings and structures do not lose their identity, acquiring a new symbolic meaning; turn into archaeological artefacts with an unknown past, or as depersonalized raw materials dissolve into newly created objects.