EXPERIENCE OF RECOVERY OF DAMAGED HOUSING IN HISTORIC EUROPEAN CITIES AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR

Abstract

Abstract. The purpose of this article is to analyze the experience of recovery of damaged housing in historical European cities after the Second World War. Methods. During the studying the experience of recovery of destroyed housing, we applied the systematic method, as well as the analysis, synthesis and generalization of data from bibliographic sources. Results. Urban ensembles and areas as the result of not only architects’ activity, they most fully express the memory of generations – the social, cultural and technical image of their era. It is worth mentioning that the difficult conditions of the post-war recovery of Poland had a negative effect on the composite images of city areas – the priority was to achieve the highest performance indicators that is economic feasibility, which was supported by the technical possibilities of standard construction, and not by architectural and spatial requirements. As a result of the study of the experience of the cities recovery of the Netherlands we come to a conclusion: a significant drawback is in the long-term lack of dialogue between traditional and innovative approaches, e.g. between the ideas of restoration, preservation of history and fundamental change of the external image. However, examples of recovery in Poland and the Netherlands testify that projects of spatial cities development were successful when they involved analyzing both the appropriate compositional possibilities of recovery and the future economic value of a given area. Conclusions. The article presents the results of the experience research of the post-war recovery housing, damaged in the historic cities of Poland and the Netherlands. During the theoretical research, the reconstruction processes of European countries were analyzed and summarized, and both experiences were compared. As a result, the main factors affecting the recovery of damaged historical areas were formulated. The main ways of recovery of historically valuable formations are highlighted. It is about – recovery, new construction and their combination – a harmonious synthesis of the two previous directions. In the process of study, the methods of destroyed area recovery were also identified, which were formulated by Polish researchers practically equating the concepts of rehabilitation and renovation, but clearly separating them from the concepts of restoration and reconstruction based on the number of simultaneously restored objects. An obvious advantage in cities recovering is the use of a comprehensive recovery approach, which in addition to the analysis of the relevant compositional possibilities of reconstruction will take into account the future economic value of this area. The article results can become the basis for a further recovery research of housing units which were destroyed, help in defining modern rebuilding principles for Ukrainian cities.