Reconstruction of central city zones case studies of cities of Leipzig and Dresden

Abstract

Contemporary principles of urban renewal and reconstruction highlight the necessity for a comprehensive approach, and when it comes to the treatment of cultural and historical heritage and architectural legacy, use the term 'retention' which refers to the power of memory keeping and extension of persistence. The authors focus in the paper on the segment of the physical reconstruction of the city core, which is especially important in areas that have suffered some form of discontinuity in the development, sometimes as a result of the historical flow of events, war or natural disaster. The specificity of the German cities is the combination of layers of different periods, cultural heritage that 'survived' the war destruction, renewed structures, more or less according to the originals and reconstructed parts of the urban tissue, in the style of contemporary epochs and trends. Examples of urban renewal and reconstruction of cities Leipzig and Dresden provide insight into which way the process can take place, and give a visualization what can be accomplished: concerning the models ofurban renewal and relationship with the physical improvement of historic heritage, recycling of brownfields, new use and treatment of public spaces, interpolation of contemporary architecture in a historical context, reconstruction in original form or in the spirit of the context, a change oflanduse or the redesign of the architecture and urban development concepts from the previous era. One of the important conclusions, is how we treat urban and architectural heritage, no matter from which period dates, because a content and the beauty of the city is composed of visible layers set in dialogue, as a testimony of duration, lifestyle and adaptability and essential for the identity.

Keywords

• urban renewal
• reconstruction
• recycling
• protection
• heritage
• identity