Method of Developing Conservation Guidelines for Revitalisation of the Historical Urban Ensembles Cultural Landscape

The environment in which humans live has a significant influence on their state of mind. It can have a positive effect on the psyche by inspiring, motivating or calming down if it is harmonious, balanced and taken care of; conversely, it can act destructively, if it lacks balance, composition or order. Therefore, visual impressions recording the image of the surrounding space are not indifferent to our lives: on the contrary, their importance is invaluable.

In 1990, the Polish Act on the Protection of Cultural Property introduced a provision recognising the cultural landscape as a cultural asset and determining the forms of its protection [1]. In 1992 UNESCO recognised landscape as a heritage and the World Heritage Convention became the first international legal act to recognise and preserve the cultural landscape [2].

The landscape – that is the image of the world around us – is an inseparable background of our life. There are many different definitions of landscape and cultural landscape depending on the field of science. The concept of landscape initially appeared in geography [3]. Geographer Otto Schlüter was the first to use the term at the beginning of the 20^th century [4]. The French geographer Paul Vidal de La Blache perceived the landscape as a synthesis of relations between people and nature [7]. The cultural landscape, understood as “… a section of the natural and human environment” became the subject of German geography research at the turn of the century, Alfred Hettner formulated the first scientific definition which is the “… visible expression of facts and phenomena occurring in any part of the Earth’s surface” [5]. In the United Kingdom, this concept provided the basis for the development of historical geography. The main representatives of the American school centred around Berkeley were Carl Ortwin Sauer, who introduced the term cultural landscape into English-speaking countries, and Philip L. Wagner and Marvin Mikesell. According to this concept, landscape was identified with the region, with characteristic connections between natural and cultural elements, which are a testimony to the presence of man on Earth over the centuries [6]. Since the 1960s, the term cultural landscape has been used in other fields (e.g. architecture, landscape architecture, ethnology, archaeology, history, botany and zoology, etc.) and has become part of environmental management [8]. In the circle of Polish landscape architects, Janusz Bogdanowski’s definition is most often used. The term “landscape” refers to “the physiognomy of the earth’s surface, being a synthesis of natural elements and human activity” [9]. His typology differs from that proposed by geographers. It is also worth to quote one of very meaningful expressions: “The landscape is a national asset…” [10]. It is not without reason that Professor Zygmunt Novák, the founder of the Kraków School of Landscape Architecture, formulated this idea.

People have always recognised the value of beautiful landscapes. This is evidenced by the medieval and later engravings of city panoramas. The works of painters from many epochs with views prove this. Literature contains numerous references to the beautiful landscape. Adam Mickiewicz contained in the Pan Tadeusz Invocation, where the author expresses his yearning for “those little wooded hills, those fields beside the azure Niemen…” [11]. This is how the poet writes about the beauty of Lithuania’s natural landscapes. Zygmunt Gloger in his work Dolinami rzek (Along the River Valleys) described the impressions of his trip along several rivers, where he saw various landscapes of Poland [12]. Another author of a similar subject, Wincenty Pol, recalled his first railway journey from Gliwice to Wrocław in 1847 and expressed his great positive emotions [13]. He also devoted his later work to the Polish landscapes, Song of Our Land [14]. In the interwar period an excellent series was created: Miracles of Poland. The Beauty of Nature, Industrial Monuments, Historical Monuments it is a multi-volume work illustrated with numerous photographs [15].

The scientific literature of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries also dealt with the issues of the landscape, especially the cultural one, i.e. the one shaped by the human hand. This topic was taken up by such urban planners as Camillo Sitte [16], Ebenezer Howard [17], Joseph Stűbben [18], Paul Schulze-Naumburg [19], and Polish authors, among others Józef Polak, who created in Polish the first outline of how to learn to build cities [20], as well as Arthur Kűhnel [21] and Ignacy Drexler [22]. Also, Polish researchers took interest in the landscape (among others: M. Dobrowolska, L. Krzywicki, K. Potkański, F. Bujak, W. Semkowicz). Maria Dobrowolska wrote about the landscape: “The cultural landscape is a synthesis of society’s activities in its geographical environment” [23]. After the Second World War, the foundations of the new direction of landscape architecture were created in Poland by the aforementioned Professor Zygmunt Novák. In 1950, he wrote a work on the participation of architects in space planning [24]. In 1963, he became a manager of the newly created Landscape Planning Department. His last work on landscape architecture, written in cooperation with Janusz Bogdanowski and Maria Łuczyńska-Bruzdowa, was published in 1979, and became an excellent textbook [25]. Professor Novák’s work was continued by his students and collaborators: Aleksander Böhm, Krystyna Dąbrowska-Budziło, Z. Myczkowski [26]. In the mid-1980s Marian Sztafrowski from the Gdańsk University of Technology published an interesting work, based on broad scientific research [27]. Aleksander Böhm, Wiesław Wańkowicz Agnieszka Ozimek and Paweł Ozimek deal with the economic value of the cultural landscape [28]. In the aspect of geography similar subject was the field of study by Urszula Myga-Piątek [29]. Research on the landscape is also carried out by scientists from other perspectives [30].

In 1982, Edmund Małachowicz published a valuable work entitled: Protection of the cultural environment in Wrocław [31]. This rich and comprehensive book, written in cooperation with other authors, was written for the students of the Faculty of Architecture at Wrocław University of Science and Technology, in accordance with the system of education created at that time in the subjects “Conservation of architectural monuments”, “Revalorization of architectural complexes” and “Protection of the cultural landscape”, conducted by the employees of the Department of Conservation and Restoration of Architecture under the guidance of the said professor. In the early 1990s Prof. Małachowicz handed over the lecturing of the subject “Protection of the cultural landscape” to his successor, who together with the team and on the basis of numerous research and practical experience developed and improved the teaching of the subject. It was taught by an archaeologist and an art historian. The team developed the detailed method of research (as presented below) and formulating conservation conclusions concerning the protection and revitalisation of the cultural landscape, useful in the didactic and professional work of architects and urban planners.

The conservation proposals concern the protection and revalorisation of selected fragments of the cultural landscape created by several centuries of human development. It is advisable to include the development of places where culturally valuable architectural and construction objects or forms of space organisation have been created, which have been partially destroyed or deformed as a result of various circumstances.

Accurate knowledge of the cultural values of the area is based on studies of the history of urban transformation, the identification of the permanent features of the system and the principles of its transformation in subsequent periods of use, and the most valuable objects created over the centuries and in some form preserved to this day [32]. The preparatory works consist of many studies, require literature research, identification of source materials, analysis of maps and plans, as well as field inventories. The analysis of the current condition of the investigated complex allows us to determine the formal architectural, urban and landscape values, the current manner of use and the condition of the objects. This makes it possible to formulate recommendations, orders and prohibitions to be applied in planning and designing in the service of landscape restoration. Information from studies and analyses is collected in a graphic form, which is also the form of conservation conclusions. This facilitates, on the one hand, the overall presentation of the issue and, on the other hand, the very precise addressing of detailed conclusions for individual sites.

The presented method of preparing conservation proposals is of universal nature. It can be used to determine revaluation tasks for small elements of the cultural landscape – small urban complexes – small towns, palace and spa complexes, etc., or individual urban interiors – squares and streets. The panoramas of towns and cities may also be a specific subject of studies. Such a technique can also be successfully used for expounded architectural complexes, e.g. large cities, or even for works in the field of revitalisation on a planning scale.

In their teaching practice, the authors focused mainly on regional issues, and the works concerned the preparation of conservation proposals for towns and cities of Lower Silesia, valuable urban complexes, mostly located in the Middle Ages, significantly damaged as a result of the Second World War and destructive activities in the following decades of the 20^th century. However, despite the transformations, these complexes have preserved valuable monuments and most of the outlines of the original urban layout. The studies are of academic and theoretical nature and do not consider economic criteria. They assume the necessity of defining a permanent and indisputable vision of the protection of the cultural landscape of urban complexes, taking into account the possibility of its implementation over the decades.

Edmund Małachowicz points out in his textbooks that “one of the most important tasks in the preparation of revalorisation is the comprehensive knowledge of the cultural values of the complex under study. (…) One of the most important studies to learn about these values are the historical, urban and architectural studies of an architectural complex” [33]. J. Bogdanowski recommended the use of the “historical cross-sectional method”, i.e. the compilation of successive available maps. The overlapping “sections” should give a picture of the dynamics of terrain transformation and reveal the directions of development of the studied area [9]. It is important to learn about the city’s spatial transformations, from its foundation through all stages of its development, and to collect information about the history of the buildings that are of the most importance for the complex. Archaeological and architectural research as well as archival studies made it possible to elaborate quite precisely the origins and history of urban transformations in most large cities of Lower Silesia. In the case of Wrocław, literature on both urban planning and architecture is abundant [34, 35]. With regard to smaller towns, all monographic studies are valuable. Cross-sectional studies [36] are facilitated by such as The Historical Atlas of Polish Cities [37]. In the case of Lower Silesia, F.B. Werner’s graphics in Topographia oder Prodromus Delineati Silesiae Ducatus etc. are a very valuable source material [38]. Recently, it has been common for all graphic and cartographic materials to be digitised and made available online by various institutions, making access to sources much easier. However, in many cases, especially with regard to small towns and villages, archival cartographic material is the basis for research into the past of buildings. They make it possible to trace the development of a town to the present day, with particular emphasis on the condition before degradation of the area under study. In the case of Lower Silesian cities, the greatest damage was caused by the Second World War. Later on, no urban fabric was added, leaving the old city parts neglected, or the space was filled with architectural cacophony. Maps and plans reveal the most important moments in the process of development of urban complexes, i.e.: the foundation of the urban organism (in our region most often the medieval location), the development of market square parcels and those further and further away from the centre, the construction of monumental buildings of the parish church, monasteries, town hall, the construction of city walls, the creation of brick buildings, the most important transformations and regulations, the demolition of fortifications and extension of the city, railway construction, war damage and the reconstruction, etc. In the case of the 19th century areas, the city centre and settlements from the first half of the 20^th century, the available materials make it possible to determine the forms and characteristics of the spatial system and its possible deformations. For larger cities, precise cadastral plans from the 1930s showing the status quo before war damage are helpful.

The information is supplemented by iconographic materials: sketches and photographs. They make it possible to determine the character of the urban complex which fills the given urban layout at a specific moment in its development, with particular emphasis on the most important buildings, which are often the dominant ones, i.e. town halls, churches, gates, castles, palaces, monasteries, commercial and public buildings.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

When analysing the changes in the landscape and the degree of degradation of a given area, a method of comparing archival photographs with photographs taken today in exactly the same shots is valuable. Such comparisons make it possible to determine how much the landscape has been changed, whether these changes are positive or, on the contrary, whether they adversely affect the space. It also allows us to determine the possibility of returning to the state before the damage.

The basis for the synthesis of the assessment of the current status are detailed field studies and detailed inventories, including photographs. In order to fully characterize the unit under development, detailed analyses should be carried out for each building or other structure and object as well as for all other forms of land development. Regarding the resources and usage, it is proposed to collect information in four basic analyses: functional, technical, stylish (dating of existing objects) and cultural values. Summaries should start with thorough fieldwork, evaluations, supported by sound knowledge, and a graphical presentation of the results. The results should be presented on a map background, with at least the accuracy of the cadastral map, in the colours described in the legend, in the colour tones corresponding to the codes from the local plans.

The functional analysis shows the degree of differentiation between the purpose of the buildings and the use of the space by the inhabitants. Thanks to the conducted research, it is possible to determine which functions dominate the area of the old city, as well as their deficiency and inadequacy to the form or value of cultural urban development. In the case of functional analysis concerning individual objects, it is important to notice the fact that the form of the object, in most historical periods, depended to a large extent on its purpose. For this reason, a fairly detailed distinction should be made between functions, also on the basis of detailed records, for a church, town hall, theatre, school, university, stone mansion house housing estate instead of too general ones such as “cultural, administrative, educational, multi-family housing”, etc.

Figure 3.

Figure 4.

Figure 5.

It is important to determine the date of the buildings and their historical value. This makes it possible to assess the historical and architectural resources of the buildings. The age or architectural style of buildings and other objects should be determined, mainly on the basis of exterior appearance and stylistic characteristics. Such valorisation may be supplemented and extended by information from the literature on building structures and architectural elements of historic interest. The time frames should consider objects with similar style characteristics, but due to the greater number of buildings and the variety of formal solutions, the closer the timescale is to our time, the more detailed its distinction should be (shorter time frames). All the details and changes should be recorded of the objects that have been rebuilt many times, those whose parts are in different styles and those with minute traces proving their earlier origin.

The technical condition is analysed on the basis of field observations and a photographic inventory of the façades. The condition of construction and finishing materials should be taken into account when assessing the objects. The walls and roofs of buildings, façade cracks indicating threats to structural stability, the condition of the façade with special attention to the degree of the preservation of details, window and door joinery, plaster or paint coating preservation are examined. In order to systematize the division, a system of five value classes is used reflecting the technical condition of the objects, ranging from very good to critical condition. Classification on the basis of such a scale is purely subjective, so it is advisable to provide a photograph of example objects from each category.

The most important analysis is the assessment of landscape values, assessed from the cultural and aesthetic point of view. This is the most subjective part of the analysis. It reflects the author’s taste and worldview. It is related to connected with the moment of its creation. The author’s assessment also highlights the potential aspects of specific buildings in future restorations. They distinguished the elements that make up this evaluation: preservation of the historical line of development and parcel, adaptation of the building dimensions to the historical context, the degree of preservation of the historical division and articulation of the facade (division into a base, a body and a finial, layout of doors and windows), the amount of original detail and woodwork preserved, matching colours and finishing materials, the correctness of roof shapes in relation to the tradition of the location, and the representativeness of the building in the context of the era in which it was created. The basic criterion for this assessment should be the way in which an object is fitted into context, adapted to its surroundings, while maintaining its individual features. Apart from architectural heritage objects, the landscape of the historic complex also includes: road surfaces, various forms of greenery, small architecture, elements supplementing the buildings, i.e. fences and gates, technical structures etc. These elements should also be inventoried, specifying their entry into the area under study, their technical condition or value for the entire restoration. In many cases, analyses describing formal structures of urban systems are also very important, i.e. height analysis of buildings and structures, analysis of compositional elements or communication etc.

Figure 6.

The analyses should be complemented with a photographic inventory showing, in the most complete way possible, the whole architectural complex or the interior through a set of views or panorama. J. Bogdanowski recommends static representation of the landscape. This can be achieved by a description, plan, view and model. A description is the simplest way to formulate a landscape, but it also presents a specific view in the smallest way. A plan shows the landscape in two dimensions. It should be complemented by perspective views and panoramas allowing for a three-dimensional presentation of the interior [9]. It is important that they show a broad context. A great material are façade extensions, showing the whole frontage of a street, a square or a quarter. Photographs should have complemented analyses, showing the most representative examples as a reference for the subjective assessment of the author of the elaboration.

The local spatial development plan, which is a provision of the local law, should be the basis for urban and architectural design in the territory of Poland, and this act is of particular importance for culturally valuable areas [33]. In fact, many areas of towns and cities and historical villages still do not have such plans. Despite the principle that lex est commune praeceptum, many administrative centres still rely on previous legal solutions, and architectural and urban planning is carried out on the basis of decisions on development conditions issued by offices, prepared for a specific investment and not being an expression of a consistent spatial policy in culturally valuable areas. Even in the case of local plans currently in force in Poland, of which conservation guidelines should be an integral part, it is possible to have overly general provisions of the proposals, allowing for a fairly large freedom of interpretation in architectural design. Compared to the Western European legal systems (Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Italy), where in the case of protected areas not only the solid forms of architecture are defined in detail, but also the method of finishing and façade materials or architectural detail: from the shape of windows to the forms and colours of woodwork, in Poland the most frequent regulations concern only roofing materials. Details and forms of woodwork (apart from the shape of windows, which is usually specified in conservation protection zones), ornamentation, painting and colours of facades remain the exclusive responsibility of the designer, although these elements, to the same extent as solids or forms and architectural divisions affect the contemporary appearance of the landscape of towns and villages.

In the case of architectural and urban design, attention is drawn not only to the ever-changing construction law, subject to constant amendments, but also its ambiguity, allowing for free interpretation of the provisions, on the one hand, by designers and, on the other hand, by the administration. Graphics and text should completely exclude design freedom in certain areas. The clarity and unambiguity of the conservation proposals contributes to the organisation and protection of the cultural landscape values.

The last two decades have seen a process of evolution in the approach to protecting urban cultural heritage and in the way new buildings are introduced in historic city districts, which is also reflected in the discussions in the classroom. Old town complexes were protected and had general provisions concerning newly designed buildings as early as in the 1990s. The Act on Spatial Development of 7 July 1994 introduced for the first time in the post-war period new planning documents used to this day. Earlier legal solutions: the Act of 12 July 1984 on Spatial Planning [39] and the Decree of 2 April 1946 on planned spatial development of the country [40] did not protect historical urban structures to such an extent, allowing for a number of interventions in the space of old town complexes. In recent decades, there have been plans to protect city districts dating from the19^th century and the years 1918–1939. The provisions defining the method of designing new buildings for these areas and for historical areas of the villages are still imprecise. A detailed record of conservation proposals, currently considered as the basis for the protection of urban complexes and architectural objects, should emphasise and protect not only the value of preserved spatial structures, but also create the right environment for them. The process of implementing the conclusions extends over the next decades and must be understood as a multiannual and multi-stage programme with consistent levels of action. An important issue is to determine the stages of activities in the field of revitalisation of buildings and structures, as well as the possibilities of designing or introducing new spatial and architectural forms depending on the preserved cultural context. The aim is to keep decisions valid even in the distant future, allowing only for adjustments, in accordance with current knowledge and technical possibilities. The manner in which conservation proposals are written must be unambiguous so as to preclude any freedom of interpretation. The conservation proposals are to be recorded in the form of text (detailing a number of issues or being individual issues) and graphic documentation. Both ways are in the form of prohibitions and orders which emphasize the main orders and necessarily recommendations and postulates (however, due to the nature of the recommendation, which is not a binding action, forms of direct actions or decisions are preferred).

In the process of revitalisation of the cultural landscape, recommendations affecting the character of entire complexes of buildings are particularly important, i.e. conclusions concerning urban issues, interiors of streets or squares, whole quarters and even more widely, districts or cities. According to the recommendations of the Washington Charter: when it is necessary to reconstruct buildings or adapt existing ones, the existing spatial layout should be respected, especially in terms of scale and lot size as required by the nature and value of the complex [41]. Urban interiors need to be adapted to modern functioning, but with the preservation of tradition and cultural continuity.

Figure 7.

While over the centuries the architectural costume of the buildings in the old town centres, especially in Lower Silesia, changed with the prevailing fashion, the original urban layouts remained unchanged until the Second World War, usually or only to a small extent. (One exception is the reconstruction of cities after the First World War in Poland, e.g. Kalisz or Wiśnicz or East Prussia, where lines of development were geometrised, and parcels were unified). It was not until the second half of the 20^th century that completely new urban design rules were applied in place of destroyed old town or downtown quarters, completely changing the cultural landscape that had been shaped for centuries. E. Małachowicz [33] points out that the layout and city-specific connections of the interiors of streets, squares, courtyards, and plots create a skeleton, which makes the character of the landscape. On the basis of the research, it is important to reconstruct as closely as possible the urban layout: the location layout in the case of old urban areas, the original layout of downtown quarters dating back to the 19^th or early 20^th century, or the plans of housing estates from the first half of the 20^th century. When determining the applicable line of development, one should consider the condition as close as possible to the moment of damage or complete destruction of the historic urban complex as a result of armed conflict, natural disaster or improper planning decisions (in particular after the Second World War). In the case of cities, it is justified to introduce a building line based on the exact course of the line before the Second World War, excluding regulatory changes (street widening) at the beginning of the 20^th century and early modernist ones, and maintaining irregularities resulting from transformations of the urban fabric during its development.

In systems of medieval origin, it is important to preserve small street widths and, if possible, the urban cross-section of these interiors. It was often disturbed by “block” buildings dating back to the time of post-war reconstruction). These objects were often designed in a way that did not respect the historical layout. The problem was also caused by postmodern construction interventions, although usually buildings from those times were erected along the frontage, quite often they were withdrawn in relation to the original line of development in order to widen the street, or their facades had avant-corps added. It is necessary to restore old streets or squares. It is worth noting that the streets of the nineteenth-century districts had much larger cross-sections. They also had cut down corners of tenement houses at the junction of two streets, which were introduced to the communication solutions of city interiors in the second half of the 19^th century, and which should be taken into account already at the level of urban planning. When determining the course of frontage of streets and squares, it is necessary to apply the order to take into account the current line of development as obligatory for the entire facade of the designed building. There is a danger that the designer will not fit his design to the neighbouring historic building or will repeat the mistakes of the last decades and will place the designed object on the plot incorrectly, withdrawing part of the object into the depth of the plot (this mistake is unfortunately made in some of the current local plans). The requirement to use impassable development lines may be introduced from the side of courtyards, riversides, villa estates and rural areas, where the buildings have traditionally been shaped in a discontinuous manner with greenery fillings.

In addition to the historical architectural layout, in accordance with the UNESCO Recommendation on the Protection of Historical and Traditional, adopted in 1976, particular emphasis should be placed on “the size of the parcel so as to ensure that the right rhythmic frontage pattern is formed for the urban interiors, with appropriate regulation and control of the new building, to ensure that its architecture blends harmoniously into the spatial structures and atmosphere of the historic complexes” [42]. It is important to define very precisely the width of facades, which is expressed in the parcel divisions of the area. The simplest method is to refer to the divisions immortalized on the archival plans from before the Second World War. They show the architectural condition of the complex when it was still intact. Another way to reconstruct the site division is to archaeologically examine the relics of the cellars, which were often buried as part of the post-war “cleaning” process. This approach is applied in large cities (Głogów, Elbląg, Szczecin) or in central zones of smaller cities.

It is quite probable, however, that the preserved cellars were much older than the no longer existing aboveground parts of the tenement houses. In this case, there is a danger that a much earlier division, e.g. the medieval one, with a greater regularity and fragmentation than the one in the last phase of the city’s evolutionary existence, will be reconstructed. The materials used to recreate the rhythm of frontages can be archival photographs, including aerial ones, and as a last resort, in the absence of source materials, the principle of introducing a heterogeneous division of the plots of land in the old town areas and modular in the nineteenth-century districts.

Different width of tenement facades is a typical feature of old town centres, due to changes over many centuries of use. However, if these divisions are too small for modern forms of use and design, the plots may be merged. This can be done, according to the principle of the evolution of the bourgeois tenement house, by constructing one object on two of three narrow plots of land (such treatments were quite common in modern times). The second possibility, to a certain extent debatable, is to build one object with clear vertical divisions of the facade, reproducing the original borders of the plots on several parcels or even a whole quarter. In such a case, differences in the level of cornices, windows, windowsills or lintels, and above all in the height of façade fragments and forms of finials, allow (although it is rarely possible, among the last realizations one can distinguish the reconstruction of the Altmark environment in Dresden or the quarters of old town buildings in Nuremberg) to achieve the desired effect of diversity, characteristic for the city developing throughout its history. The situation is different in the case of inner-city districts. In the case of revaluation of quarters from the 19^th century urbanisation, a modular parcel division may be introduced, if possible analogous to the original one.

The regulation on the shape of the walls is equivalent to the formation of solids of individual buildings. The necessity of defining the solids of buildings requires defining their width (in the form of a parcel), height and shape of the roof and its positioning in relation to the street. The evolution of the tissue filling the old city space should be taken into account. Throughout the centuries, a specific diversity of buildings has been created through further transformations, their enlargements, extensions and various settings on the plot. The character of the place, which it obtained until the first half of the 20^th century, was influenced not only by the urban planning defined at the time of its location, but also by the gradual replacement of the buildings and, as a result, by the neighbouring tenement houses of different epochs, of different sizes and stylistic costumes. E. Małachowicz [33], in accordance with the principles of the Venice Charter [43], stresses in his textbooks that “in the revitalisation of historic urban complexes, there is generally no question of stylish unity, i.e. striving to give the face of the city forms from some narrowly defined period”; and that “it is a common principle to preserve and expose all stylish layers, formed throughout the entire development of the city, in a harmonious urban composition”. The structure and character of the filling tissue should be preserved and restored so that the monument, in this case the whole city, can regain its full form. The historical architecture of this particular city, which has undergone development and transformation in various ways, should be the source of inspiration for the revitalisation of the complexes of old town buildings. According to the Cracow Charter, “historical cities and villages, linked to the territorial context, constitute a significant part of our universal heritage and should be seen as a whole made up of space and structures resulting from human activity, which remains in a continuous process of evolution and change” [44].

The situation is different in the case of inner-city districts built in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries. At that time the plots were divided quite evenly and filled with objects of similar dimensions, roof shapes and façade divisions, which gave the effect of a fairly monotonous and rhythmic development, without clear dominance. The character of such a development should be emphasized by introducing similar values of height or width for new buildings, forms of finials and facade divisions.

An appropriate selection of the scale of new buildings designed in the historic complex has a significant impact on the reception of the entire concept. On the one hand, the existing provision “to adjust to the height of the neighbour” [45] is to guarantee the adaptation of the newly designed building to the existing tissue. On the other hand, it poses a danger of levelling out the buildings and quite accurate mapping of the levels of cornices or ridges from neighbouring buildings. The result may be an excessively monotonous urban layout. There is also a possibility that the designer will copy incorrect dimensions of objects created after 1945. It seems more appropriate to apply quite strict provisions regarding both the maximum and minimum height, expressed both in metres and in the number of storeys, so that the new buildings do not disturb the cultural landscape of the urban complex. When setting these criteria, the author of the provision should refer to the nature of the whole street frontage after its analysis. Each city should be approached individually, in terms of both the existing historic buildings and the condition from the interwar period, especially in areas where there is little original architectural tissue left, taking into account the possible lowering of buildings along with their distance from the city centre and adjusting their height to the neighbouring buildings with respect to the principle of applying slight differences. In the case of old towns, the rule of diversity also applies to the height and form of buildings. As regards the city centre quarters (from the 19^th and early 20^th centuries), it should be assumed that the new tenement houses may differ from the existing ones in a minimal way. The regulation should specify the numbers of metres and storeys. This will prevent the façade from being fragmented by too many small window strings as a result of the construction of a building with lower floors, allowed by the applicable standards, but significantly different from the heights used in previous centuries (or, in exceptional cases, the reverse). It is also important to respect the principle that the highest buildings in the old towns were on the market square and on the main streets, while the lower buildings were on the side streets. When drafting new conservation provisions, this height gradation must be maintained.

The shape of the solid is connected with the roof forms and its arrangement in relation to the frontage line. For quite a long time, tenement houses in towns and cities were erected with the gable orientation in relation to the street. From the seventeenth to the eighteenth centuries, the gable orientation system was replaced by a ridge line orientation system, and the following centuries brought new settings and forms: from mono-pitched to flat. It was not until the end of the nineteenth century that frontages of housing estates of uniform heights and finials appeared. While restoring the historic complex, it is important that the diversity of solid systems resulting from roof forms is respected, which should be done by applying the mandatory provision that demands a specific roof shape to be designed or that determines the percentage of buildings with specific roof solutions in a certain area (e.g. in a quarter of development). However, the individual approach to a given place is important and guidelines should be supported by thorough historical research. It is rare to find cities where the tradition of using gable-oriented settings is strong enough to justify such solutions on a wider scale. In the case of Lower Silesian cities, there are many where before the Second World War this system existed in a negligible number. In downtowns of 19th century origin, low roofs usually dominate, hidden behind massive cornices crowning the façade. Tenement houses dating back to the turn of the century very often had mono-pitched roofs with additional elements in the form of gables, bays or turrets. In downtown areas, it is possible to introduce buildings with quite uniform finials, practically without sloping roofs.

Figure 8.

When planning conservation guidelines for historic complexes, it is necessary to take into account the determination of building density, peculiar to local tradition. It should be remembered that in small urban centres in the old towns, market frontages and main streets were built without or with little spaces. In the streets of lower rank there can be only fences or more modest buildings, even farm buildings. Therefore, in small towns, it is possible to allow for interruptions in the frontages, filling them with gates and walls. Taking into account the principle of the proper development of the city, it is possible to divide the areas which were previously empty into plots and use them for development. The inner-city districts were usually designed as dense structures with homogeneous and compact development. Such complexes should not have spaces, but rather full walls should be preserved and reconstructed as an optimal solution for the principles of revitalisation of the cultural landscape. In the case of housing estates dating back to the interwar period, villa districts or villages, there should also be a provision about the permissible cubic capacity of the buildings, façade widths, heights, etc., in order to ensure that the new buildings are appropriately incorporated into the characteristic cultural landscape of areas with a predominance of greenery.

Multi-stage activities spread over a longer period of time, envisage the removal of disharmonious, contemporary buildings which contribute to the disturbance of the spatial order in historic urban systems. This process is becoming increasingly a topical issue, all the more so as in the future there will be a real problem of adaptation to contemporary norms and lifestyles of the society of objects built after 1945. In the case of many post-Corbusier modernist buildings, it is all about “destroying the harmony of the zone” [42]; thus, their demolition is connected with the ordering and restoration of the historical spatial order and cultural values shaped by the preceding several hundred years.

The need to preserve the modern, contemporary architectural heritage for future generations must be based on the criterion of protecting objects that are novel, unique with original detail and form that do not conflict excessively with the preserved urban structures of previous generations. Objects from the last decades, which introduce disharmony to urban interiors shaped in the course of history, with their cubic capacities, forms and manner of creating space around them, especially those typical of “catalogues” (in particular the so-called “pointers”), which collide with historical transport routes must be removed in the near or distant future. If contemporary objects interfere directly and negatively with the surroundings of a monument, their removal may be a reference to Article 6 of the Venice Charter. The conservation of the monument presupposes the conservation of the surroundings on its scale. If the old environment survives, it will be protected and any extension, demolition or alteration that could change the relationship between solids and colours will be prohibited” [43].

In most cases, historic buildings are already subject to conservation protection (list of monuments). The ultimate goal is to protect all buildings and historical sites (built before a certain date) in order to guarantee their preservation and, in most cases, to restore their original architectural and plastic appearance. To this end, a provision is included in regulations on reconstructing the original architectural detail and decorative elements (restoration of cornices, pilasters, window and portal bands, stucco decorations, etc.). Sometimes it is necessary to restore the original shape and arrangement of openings on the facades of tenement houses. These provisions are accompanied by a requirement to reconstruct historical forms of window and door joinery and, after stratigraphic examination, original colours and textures of plaster. At the same time, there is a need to clean the buildings of disfiguring additives – most often it is the requirement to remove superstructures and often chaotically located and oversized dormers.

The principle of the restoration of the original appearance of buildings is problematic in the case of multi-century buildings with layers of reconstruction and valuable design elements from various eras. This difficult issue was solved by conservators in various ways, and it is obvious that in the case of each such architectural monument decisions have to be made individually and with the participation of a wide range of specialists. Therefore, it is not justified to resolve such issues at the stage of conservation recommendations for an urban complex, where, in addition to the protection provision, there should also be a recommendation of the described course of action.

The problem of levelling out differences in height is one of the outstanding issues of revitalisation of urban architectural complexes. The height diversity of multi-style buildings in old towns should be protected. However, in the case of much more homogeneous inner-city buildings, it is possible to introduce a harmoniously fitting superstructure. This process must be closely monitored as it affects the appearance of architectural monuments and should be based on the principle of harmonising architectural forms rather than on contrasting them.

A special zone is the ground floor with shop windows, which is best visible and perceived by passers-by. It is also usually that fragment of buildings which changed most often, and these changes in the seventies and eighties of the 20^th century often had a very destructive character. In accordance with the spirit of modernism, large sheet glass shop windows, which contrasted drastically with historical facades, were made at that time. It is advisable to request that these openings were bricked up. However, the proposed or ordered method of ground elevation development must be subject to a detailed decision. Usually, the original architectural form of the ground floor façade was the window opening and the gateway (both in modern and older tenement houses as well as nineteenth-century ones) placed in a wall which was visually lightened by rustication. Only in a few cases from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries did the project introduce shop windows. In the city centre, however, at that time, richly decorated shop windows were redesigned in older tenement houses. In the interiors of busy shopping streets, it is unjustified to restore the layout of window openings in the ground floors of the tenement houses. In some cases, it is possible to order or recommend the reconstruction of a 19^th or 20^th century iconography shop window with interesting architectural forms. In other cases, it is necessary to design a modern form of shop windows with a limited glazing area (50–60% of the wall area or even less), adapted to the layout and architectural and decorative detail of the entire historic façade.

Unfortunately, few buildings from the last few decades can be accepted uncritically in the image of historic districts, which most often concerns only some of the projects from the last twenty years. It has already been written about objects that do not meet basic urban planning principles, in relation to which the only reasonable solution is their demolition. However, a group of buildings was created, which were inscribed in the urban layout. In their case, a precise assessment is particularly important, as mentioned in the analysis section. If architectural values are demonstrated, even to some extent inconsistent with general principles characteristic for a given urban complex, it is justified to preserve their forms as a kind of testimony of the epoch. However, if the formal value of the design is negligible or there is a drastic conflict with the architectural rules in force in the surrounding environment, it is necessary to order the recomposition of the façade if possible and economically feasible.

The conservation proposals should guarantee the introduction of new forms of architecture adapted to the neighbouring historical buildings and, above all, to the principles established for centuries of their shaping in the developed urban complex. However, it is important that they do not inhibit the creativity of the designer in any way. They must therefore be limited to the necessary provisions concerning injunctions and prohibitions on the composition, structure and architectural detail of the façade. They should be unambiguous and detailed. The validity of these indications is based on the abovementioned UNESCO Recommendation: “(…) an analysis of the urban context should precede the start of any new construction, not only to define the overall character of the complex, but also to analyse dominance, harmony, height, colours, materials and forms, fixed in the arrangement of roofs and facades, the relationship between free and unbuilt spaces” [42].

Determining the mandatory building line does not mean that flat, unsculpted facades must be formed. Such a requirement is necessary for old town complexes (city centres and located towns). The ban on the use of loggias and balconies, as well as on all forms of avant-corps, stems from a centuries-old tradition, from which there were only a few exceptions. In Central European cities (unlike in many Western European cities), the public space of the street and the square was rigorously protected against the temptations of private investors. The issue of sculpture of facades in downtown districts is slightly different. Buildings created until the nineties of the nineteenth century had similar rules as those in old town centres and it is necessary to preserve them in newly built buildings (prohibition of balconies, loggias and risalits). Frontages created at the turn of the 20^th century were shaped in a different way. The central or lateral risalit, flanked with balconies, was often used in the storeys of the building. This is how contemporary additions should be shaped. A problem in the provision on the permit or even the requirement to use balconies became the protection against abuseing this form (facades with rhythmically arranged balconies or box bays) by contemporary architects. It is therefore necessary to clarify the provision on the number of applicable elements and/or their percentage of surface area on the façade.

Facades of buildings supplementing frontages of urban complexes of medieval, modern and nineteenth-century origin, i.e. complexes of tenement houses, must also meet the requirements of the composition of facades of tenement houses. It is therefore necessary to require a three-zone composition of these facades, distinguishing the ground floor, the body and the finial in a form showing analogies to the top or the cornice crowning the building. In the case of objects introduced into 19^th-century complexes, usually originating from a very similar period, with very uniform architectural forms, it is necessary to apply strict provisions (significantly limiting the designers who, as can be inferred from projects from Lower Silesia, skilfully adapt to this later development) about the requirement to use the wall base decorated with patterns of the layout of bossages or belts, articulating individual storeys with the equivalents of cornices or pilasters (network decoration of the façade), determining the minimum height of the crowning cornice. Such detailed orders are much less frequently needed in the case of old-town complexes, only where there are also historic buildings of a similar origin, and therefore fixed forms, e.g. the market places of the Sudeten regions with late Baroque buildings.

In the studies prepared for the purposes of conservation guidelines, there is almost always a suggestion that rectangular windows should be used in the vertical positioning and multi-field, usually with precisely defined divisions of window joinery. From the analyses of the projects, in which this principle was not taken into account, it can be observed that respecting it is not absolutely necessary in order to achieve a result consistent with the historical development of forms of contemporary architecture. However, it seems that the application of this principle provides greater security for obtaining a good result. On the other hand, it is absolutely necessary to limit the glazing area in relation to the façade surface to the indicators traditionally used in the given urban complexes. Avoiding large glazing surfaces eliminates the very adverse effects of dead homogeneous glossy or dark surfaces, which are unfavourably distinguished from the fragmented structures of details on the facades of historic tenement houses.

It is also important to ensure that materials adapted to the historical surroundings are used in the new building to finish the façade and make it look colourful. It is worth noting, on the basis of the realizations made in Wrocław, that contemporary architects do not always assess the context of the newly created objects accurately. They do not distinguish between buildings of tissue filling the urban layout – tenement houses – and outstanding objects, such as monumental churches. When designing quarterly buildings, they use façade materials characteristic of representative buildings, which are in Wrocław clinker bricks (Gothic churches, neo-Gothic administrative buildings) or sandstone cladding (18^th–19^th century official buildings), instead of applying the principle of matching them with plaster textures and small stone and stucco details typical of both old-town and central-city buildings. It is also common to use completely foreign materials, such as wooden cladding. Care should be taken to ensure that conservation provisions include requirements to adapt façade finishes and cladding materials to those traditionally used in historical buildings. This can be achieved by using analogous materials or similar contemporary substitutes. The same applies to the indications concerning the correct colouring of the introduced architecture. The colour consistency of the urban complex should be maintained. In the case of old-town buildings with a very diverse character and quite numerous modern buildings with elevations painted in quite intense colours (especially from widely available earth and mineral pigments in various shades of red, but also black, yellow and green), it seems advantageous to provide for a ban on the use of pure synthetic colours and the resulting shades (the old towns with the buildings built in the 19^th century should be excluded here). In downtown buildings with much more subdued colours (the so-called colours of natural stone, etc.), it is necessary to continue this principle guaranteed by an appropriate requirement in conservation proposals. Even different treatment should be given to groups from the turn of the 19^th and 20^th centuries and early modernist housing estates, where painting had more intense colours.

The period after the Second World War was dominated by views expressed in the 1933 Athens Urban Charter and the 1964 Venice Charter [46, 43], which largely criticised the method of reconstruction. Since the 1990s, reconstruction has become one of the culturally equivalent ways of restoring the urban fabric of cities, both in Poland and in European countries. Dresden, Potsdam, Berlin, Szczecin and Elbląg, among others, can be considered as examples of the reconstruction of façades and entire buildings which have increased the value of reconstructed urban complexes. The criteria for the justifiability of reconstructing the sites destroyed as a result of the last world wars and the subsequent years are now being redefined. The quality and value of the choice of a particular stylish costume, which has already been confirmed by history, over the stylizations and forms that follow contemporary architectural fashion is emphasised. This is particularly important in the case of entire or very badly damaged old town complexes, where only reconstruction can ensure stylistic diversity].

Landscape interiors are special landscape units, both natural and cultural. Their specificity is a closed space which appears to the viewer as an area separated from the rest of the world. The sense of security and order that begins in your own room or apartment is also felt in the city landscape – in markets, squares or streets. Historical market interiors, downtown squares, old town streets are a sensitive area – the preservation of traditional forms, dimensions, proportions, colours, lines of development make us feel harmony and balance. “Small architecture” as an element of interior design is an essential aesthetic factor, often also functional (forms of lighting, benches, waste bins, bicycle racks), and often ideological (religious figures, monuments). Historical forms of small architecture can interact with modern forms on condition that cultural continuity is respected (e.g. controversial blocks or fountains in old-city markets or other squares where previously such functions or forms did not exist are unacceptable). It is similar with high greenery introduced into the area of medieval market squares, into areas where it did not exist before. Planted in the fifties or sixties of the twentieth century, especially in the markets of the cities of Greater Poland (Małopolska), they now form a “forest” filling the interior of the square. This greenery contradicts the tradition and idea of the market square. This is not the case with markets or other squares built at a later stage, where the greenery was designed from the outset. The principle that greenery in the cultural landscape should not dominate or obscure architecture is always valid; it should only complement and revitalise the composition. Flooring – especially in interiors of ancient origin – should complement the interior design while respecting cultural continuity by preserving traditional materials (stone), colours and patterns. When formulating conservation conclusions, it is important to take into account such issues as proper illumination of buildings that need to be distinguished, appropriate exposure of preserved significant relics of buildings, conservation and sometimes reconstruction of details and small architecture (gates, showcases, old signs or plaques, carpentry, street lamps, fences). It is often important to restore or protect preserved dominant points or heights. (Distinguishing solids of town halls, old town gate towers, churches, court buildings, schools, theatres while organizing the space or closing the view axes created in the interiors, make these interiors original and unique.) It is also possible to introduce contemporary elements that organize the space: they must, however, be carefully thought out, adapted to the existing architectural tissue and consistent with the entire composition of the interior.

The method of revalorizing the cultural landscape presented above was created on the basis of many years of extensive experience of the team. It was developed not only for theoretical and didactic purposes, i.e. for research and education of students. Over the years, it has been used and improved during practical activities, in works commissioned by conservation offices. Their positive reception and long-term cooperation with conservation authorities in this area may be a recommendation for the value of this method. At the same time, at the Faculty of Architecture of Wrocław University of Technology, numerous scientific papers, diploma and course papers were prepared on the cultural landscape of Lower Silesian towns and cities, as well as for other voivodships.

The advantages of the method include the complexity of research that takes into account the history and tradition of the place, the state of preservation of the buildings, their current function, dating and cultural evaluation, which allows to formulate a complete, exhaustive list of conclusions and postulates for conservation. The summary description of research results and conservation conclusions is clear and easy to read, especially for designers (as opposed to long, often complex elaborates written by art historians). The value of the method is also its traditional communicative writing tools (a certain difficulty related to the communicativeness of the message is sometimes a large number of markings, necessary to put on the plans of applications, which is especially related to larger teams, with a large number of values and conservation problems; a solution is to divide the issues into several sheets of applications, which makes it easier to read the message), as well as the reference to the oldest urban planning and to the subsequent stages of urban development.

Limiting oneself primarily to the formal side of landscape problems without a further development of sociological and functional problems may be questionable. It should be stressed, however, that both the functions (communication, nuisance of certain development functions) and the needs of the residents (the role of interiors in residential quarters, the purpose and use of public interiors) are not neglected in the considerations. However, it seems necessary to focus on the formal and aesthetic side of the issue, as the essence of the matter is the protection of cultural continuity, historical and aesthetic values of the urban landscape and the preservation of order and balance in the old urban space so much threatened by excessive investments.

It should be emphasized that both conservation office employees and students and scientists of the Faculty of Architecture willingly and without difficulty use the presented method in their activities. Among the successes of the method are the adjustments to the landscape made on the basis of studies