New Buildings in a Historic Environment

• Category: conference
• Year: 2027

The project, which concludes this conference, seeks to contribute to setting a possible direction of building development in the existing historical environment, the possibility of protecting the urban context.

• Category: scholarly book
• Year: 2027

The publication, published as an accompanying critical catalogue to the exhibition, will include studies on the topic of new buildings in the historical environment and a catalogue section.

• Category: exhibition with a critical catalog
• Year: 2027

The project is a loose continuation of an earlier exhibition project New in the Old: Contemporary Architecture and the Historic City, realized in 2011 at the Jaroslav Fragner Gallery in Prague. The exhibition in the framework of the currently prepared project will deal with new buildings in the historic environment from the perspective of conservation, with a detailed analysis and assessment of the urban context, the suitability of new forms to the existing, established built environment.

• Category: methodology
• Year: 2027

The main objective of the project is to develop a methodology that formulates general principles for the integration of new buildings into a historic environment. Using examples of selected buildings constructed after 1989 within an urban-historical context, the project will evaluate how these buildings have been integrated into their surroundings and whether this approach is worthy of emulation or, conversely, inappropriate in terms of the resulting perception of the whole. The methodology builds upon earlier work (Kuča, Kučová, 2004) and supplements that methodology with new insights, as it is based on a comprehensive, representative field survey of new buildings constructed over the past 30 years in historic areas of the Czech Republic.

• Category: workshop
• Year: 2026

How can we build in historic city centers and other protected areas without damaging their heritage value? How can you recognize a high-quality new building? On Thursday, May 21, 2026, preservationists and architects discussed these and other issues. And they didn’t just talk in general terms; they focused primarily on specific examples from more than a dozen projects completed after 1989.

• Category: peer-reviewed scholarly article
• Year: 2026

This article examines foreign approaches to the regulation of new construction in historic environments. It analyzes documents from selected German- and English-speaking countries that formulate principles for achieving an appropriate relationship between the old and the new. However, it is neither the ambition nor within the scope of this paper to attempt a comprehensive comparative analysis of solutions to this problem in various countries. Its aim is rather to highlight the fundamental approaches evident in these documents and to illustrate them with characteristic examples. The article focuses primarily on documents that serve as non-binding guidelines or methodologies; their purpose is to draw attention to individual aspects of the historical environment and, using specific situations as examples, to analyze the values that should be respected. This approach is characterized by the thesis: To respect does not mean to replicate, but to reflect upon. These documents serve not only heritage conservation institutions but are addressed to all stakeholders involved in new construction, in its design, and in its deliberation. They are intended to serve as a platform for shared dialogue. The local documents cited in the article are placed within the context of current and more general strategies which reflect a shift from passive heritage protection to active change management and the sustainable use of the built environment.

• Category: specialized map with technical content
• Year: 2026

The publicly accessible application - a map of the Czech Republic clearly displaying the surveyed objects - is a practical tool, graphically facilitating orientation and work with the database of surveyed buildings.

• Category: specialized public database
• Year: 2026

A database created as a standalone application titled “Thematic Inventory of New Buildings in Historic Settings” as part of the Integrated Information System for Heritage Preservation (IISPP). The surveyed sites are located using the PaGIS geographic heritage management system, which is linked to the MIS metadata system for storing visual documentation and to the Heritage Catalog application, where historically protected areas are registered.

• Category: workshop
• Year: 2025

On October 31, 2025, a workshop for the project “New Buildings in a Historic Environment” was held at the Prague office of the National Heritage Institute, attended by professionals in the field of heritage preservation from several institutions. The goal of the event was to discuss and identify the examples of best practices for the methodology of new buildings in historic settings.

• Category: peer-reviewed scholarly article
• Year: 2025

Between 1990 and 2020, the Historic Centre of Prague underwent a fundamental transformation reflecting the new situation after the fall of the communist regime in 1989. This transformation is most evident in the construction of the new buildings, which initially sprang up mainly on long-standing vacant plots, creating a new architectural layer. The 1990s in particular saw a remarkable variety of architectural approaches engaging with the historic city in different ways. The decade following the revolution prompted the construction of significant new buildings, such as the Dancing House, and the organisation of public competitions, including those for the Hypobanka and the Four Seasons. These initiatives provided not only a platform for diverse architectural projects, but also sparked professional debates that were crucial in shaping contemporary awareness of architecture and heritage conservation. However, at the same time, the weakening of professional institutions such as the Prague Heritage Institute and the Office of the Chief Architect, alongside with the loosening of urban planning and heritage rules resulted in a long-term absence of detailed regulation of the city centre. Since 2000, the amount of land available for new construction has declined, putting pressure on historic buildings to be demolished. This has been compounded by a lack of public tenders and an increase in investment projects, resulting in the construction of large buildings with a purely administrative and commercial focus (Quadrio, Florentinum, Masaryk Centre 1). However, alongside these controversial interventions, there were also new buildings that sensitively integrated into their surroundings, clearly enriching them, such as the Langhans House and the Metropol Hotel. This article aims to analyse significant new buildings in the context of the historic city, contemporary architecture, and any professional debate they may have provoked. The text attempts to capture the more general trends that developed over the decades, as well as the diverse and contradictory consequences for architecture and the historic centre.

• Category:
• Year: 2024

The care of protected areas (especially heritage reserves and zones) is one of the fundamental tasks of heritage conservation, and the Czech Republic has built a global reputation in this field. This is evidenced, among other things, by the inclusion of nine urban and one rural site on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The article introduces a method of comprehensive research of areas with new buildings, which was established by the project plan and updated on the basis of the first evaluations. It also includes a description of the selection and evaluation approach that helped formulate the criteria and principles for searching for research theses.