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PREFACE:
Architecture is always connected with time. Buildings are created out of specific circumstances, they are designed to fulfil a particular purpose, and their material and form are determined by the available means, techniques and traditions. Once completed, they are invariably subject to a variety of later transformations.
A proverb reminds us that “the moment the last craftsman has left a house is the moment decay begins”. The process of aging leaves traces.
Surfaces acquire a patina which, depending on the aging properties of the material, can be protective, destructive as well as awe-inspiring.
Constructions and joints loosen as part of the natural aging process, or are affected by outside influences such as fire or alterations.
But more often, it is functional requirements and the needs and wishes of the owner and user that result in changes being made to existing buildings. Building constructions are not made to last forever.
In an analogy with human existence, the built environment demonstrates the delicate coexistence of longevity, gradual aging and sudden destruction.
That these changes can occur in a time span of only a few years or after several hundred years is what makes architecture so fascinating.
The traces and scars of history leave their mark on the building fabric in successive layers, becoming apparent at faults and joints. They are an inseparable part of a building and its qualities.
The building fabric testifies not only to the moment of its creation and the intentions and possibilities of its creators, but also to history itself, the passage of time and the events and developments the building witnesses.
Changeis a natural condition of life. In addition to the natural process of aging, which architecture is also subject to, the changes made by the respective users play a particular role in the continued life of a building.
The quick succession of different historic circumstances, of fashions and styles and the rapid development of new building techniques have brought about the replacement of the old with the new throughout all ages of European history.
The demolition of incomplete building works, the neglect of existing buildings and the removal of parts of them or their destruction can be seen wherever one looks.
Change entails confronting the unknown, heralded in by the new, and calls what is known and familiar into question.
Change can be unsettling, in particular when it is rapid and sudden and its irreversibility becomes painfully apparent. Yet, despite this, change is a constituent element of European culture