Examination of contemporary additions in adaptive reuse of buildings: The case of Dresen Museum of Military History

In the 21st century, preservation of cultural heritages and helping them to be available for future generations is an increasingly important approach. The repair and use of the existing building support both cultural and economic sustainability. Conservation is also preferred because of the efficient use of resources and the fact that it does not create environmental pollution compared to new construction. One of the preferred methods, when conservation is considered for cultural heritage, is re-functioning. Function change results in using the structure for a different purpose. The crucial point here is that the new identity which building will adopt should be compatible with the old function of the building. For cultural heritage, transformation into a museum causes the least damage to the building's original identity and original nature. This is the reason, it is among the most preferred building type for function changes. Some changes could be observed in the current function of the building as a natural outcome of re-functioning. These changes might not be coherent with the old building in terms of the spatial organization and infrastructure for cultural heritage services, which usually creates a consideration of building extensions. The extensions designed with modern construction techniques and materials are named contemporary additions and have four different types. One of them is contrarian extensions. According to the Venice Charter, every addition could be read clearly and each newly added element should be separated easily from the old building. Contrarian extensions are compatible with this article. Different architectural styles can be chosen by the architect as a reference for the design of the extensions. The architectural approach must be carefully selected to separate the extension from the original building. Designing modern or post-modern extensions for cultural heritage is an effective way to create contrarian extensions. Given reasons create the foundation for examining museum buildings with contemporary additions that can be described as cultural heritage. For this purpose, the Dresden Museum of Military History has been chosen as a research example. The original building built in 1876 with Neo-Classical style, formerly functioned as an armory. Later on, the building was converted into a museum. With the addition of the extension, the museum re-opened in 2011. The study consists of six chapters. In the first part, the concepts of restoration, protection, and re-functioning, in the second part, the need for and reasons for add-ons in buildings that are re-functionalized and converted into museums, and in the third part, the architect of the building, Daniel Libeskind, is examined together with the contemporary add-ons designed with the understanding of Deconstructivism in the cultural properties that have been re-functionalized and converted into museums. In the chapter, Libeskind's architectural career and his relationship with Deconstructivism are examined. The fourth chapter analyzes the situation of the Dresden Military History Museum before and after the intervention. In the fifth chapter, the evaluation of the gains of the intervention, together with the new function of the building, is given based on conservation principles. The sixth and last section summarizes the evaluations and concludes the study.