Architektur in Transformationsgesellschaften
Theorie, Geschichte und Gegenwart des Umbaus

Architecture as a Resource in Transformational Societies

Conversion ranks first among the issues currently facing construction policymakers, architects, and the real estate industry. The debate around climate change, discussions about shortages of raw materials, and the resulting proposals for moratoriums on demolition and new construction, in particular, make refurbishing and converting existing buildings and sites look like an absolutely indispensable alternative. 

Meanwhile, the subject has taken on a timely significance given the current conditions of architectural production: before the twentieth century, the practice of conversion was typically a slow-moving process and a simple economic, technical, and social necessity in the affluent and consumer societies of the time; by the mid-twentieth century, however, if not earlier, this continuity of architectural transformation processes had been severed by the rise of the consumer society. In light of this singular disruption in architectural history, which was marked by the imperative of new construction, the systematic perspective laid out here through the concept of transformation solicits a discussion of strategies that can evolve into approaches to solving current and future challenges. 

The handbook Architektur in Transformationsgesellschaften presents a pioneering comprehensive theoretical and historical examination of the subject, bringing together twenty essays by authors specializing in architectural history, architectural theory, historic preservation, and history of technology as well as practicing architects and landscape architects.