VIRTUAL: Prague Heritages

Abstract

In many countries, the successful sustainability of cultural heritage, specifically in the protection of historically important buildings, is embodied in legislation. Laws like the National Historic Preservation Act (USA) create powerful protection for buildings and ensure any new development is sensitive to its historic context. However, despite the evident benefits, preservation legislation can conflict with other equally well-intentioned laws, to the potential detriment of architectural quality and originality. Copyright laws protect architects’ rights and prevent the unauthorized copying of their original designs, wherein lies the paradox; Rigidly enforced preservation laws can insist on imitative designs in historic areas, limiting original design solutions. Conversely, copyright laws demand designs that are deliberately different from nearby buildings to avoid copyright claims – a recipe for disharmonious development and also one that could clash with the legal requirements of design harmony in architecturally sensitive areas. This paper explores the paradox of ostensibly beneficial but potentially conflicting laws, its influence on originality and its impact on the protection of historically important sites. It concludes with the advancement of contextualism as a mediating strategy capable of achieving both the worthy but seemingly incompatible goals of preservation and architectural originality.