It seems like proposals to restore the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris came pouring in before the blaze that destroyed its spire and roof was even extinguished. Grappling with devastating damage to a historic and architectural icon, observers around the world immediately began to debate whether the cathedral should be recreated as faithfully as possible in its former image (a serious challenge, considering the contemporary lack of massive old-growth timber) or radically reimagined.

One notable proposal released by Studio NAB takes the latter approach with a visionary reconstruction symbolizing rebirth, new growth and hope for the future. The design recreates Notre Dame’s silhouette in a framework of gold-tone steel and glass, transforming the uppermost levels of the church into a lush greenhouse, an active community space and an educational facility. A new “arrow” spire would house apiaries, producing on a large scale “the honey of Notre Dame de Paris.” The rest of the cathedral beneath this new roof would remain as it has always looked and functioned.

It’s a direct rebuke of the idea that we can or should attempt to recapture the past, adapting instead and acknowledging the need to change along with the world around us.

“On this fire and in the period of crisis that the country and the world are currently going through, we have the chance to build a place of reference where conservation, enrichment of an exceptional heritage and taken into account the challenges of societies ecology and equal opportunities. Protecting the living being reintroducing biodiversity, educating consciences and being in solidarity, all are symbols, faithful to the values of France and those of the church, that we could defend and promote for this project.”

“This is the symbol of acceptance of the course of history and the metaphorical illustration that this ‘forest’ became burnt wood, can serve as a cradle to the new vegetation,” say the architects. “The design will feed the all-important conversation and add an element of reflection as to how the building could be transformed to focus on issues concerning today’s society. The greenhouse is imagined as a place to enable to professional reintegration of the poor by learning urban agriculture, horticulture and permaculture while connecting children to nature and educating them through workshops.”

It’s an interesting way to approach the problem of restoration, and one that will undoubtedly stir controversy. But Studio NAB’s proposal creates a ghostly yet optimistic memory of the lost parts of the cathedral, maintaining the silhouette to which Paris has grown so accustomed, without introducing any garishly contrasting contemporary elements. You can safely bet that proposals recalling Daniel Libeskind’s highly controversial Royal Ontario Museum Extension are forthcoming, along with calls to be far more conservative, using modern technology like engineered wood to replace the burned beams and reinforce damaged structural elements.

Though it comes early in the game, Studio NAB’s proposal will likely end up looking like a compromise between these two extremes by the time France’s competition to redesign Notre Dame selects its winner.

When historic structures have fallen into ruin, should architects restore them to their original glory or acknowledge the passage of time? The answer to that question might depend on the significance of the building (and whether or not it’s legally protected), its condition and the client’s vision for its new purpose, but projects that take on this task run the gamut from painstakingly minimalist interventions to dazzling contrasts of old and new. A variety of approaches give new hope to buildings that seem beyond repair, even when all that’s left is a pile of rubble.

Minimal Interventions

Sometimes, the best solution is to allow the ruins to be what they are while adding some functionality back to the structure. These new additions might only include elements that make the building safer and more usable, or they might exert some architectural style of their own, standing out as contemporary against the aged stone.

In the case of Pi des Catalá Tower, a protected landmark on the smallest of Spain’s Balearic Islands, architect Maria Castelló Martínez made interventions “involving only the parts that jeopardized the life of the building most of all.” Local sandstone almost identical to the original materials fills in some damaged areas without hiding the chronological differences between the original substrate and the intervention process. Corten steel contrasts yet complements, reinforcing the doorways and windows, weathering along with the rest of the structure.

From afar, you might not even notice that anything has been added to these 700-year-old medieval ruins in Eastern Jutland, Denmark. Only from certain angles do the new observational staircase elements by MAP Architects become apparent, poking out of the crumbling brick. Visitors can take in the way time has altered the original structure of Kalø Castle from the zig-zagging staircase and use their imaginations to fill in the blanks. To make sure the ruins were up to the task of supporting the new staircase, the architects digitally scanned every individual brick with a portable 3D scanner, and only attached it to the ruins at four integral points.

The 16th century Blencowe Hall in England was added to the national ‘Buildings at Risk’ register after the roofs collapsed in the towers flanking either end, producing a large gash in the facade. Working with the owners and a local architect, Donald Insall Associates re-roofed the building, stabilized threatened areas and inserted a new facade behind the gash without attempting to close it up or hide it. The result is striking, especially at night.

Preserving Ruins As They Are

A 300-year-old cottage has been saved from falling into total ruin by a highly unconventional renovation you’d expect to see in a museum rather than a functional home. David Connor Design and Kate Darby Architects left almost everything intact, enveloping it all within a protective new shell.

“The strategy was not to renovate or repair the 300-year-old listed building, but to preserve it perfectly,” they say. “This would include the rotten timbers, the dead ivy, the old birds nests, the cobwebs and the existing dust. The ruins would be protected from the elements within a new high performance outer envelope. This means that in most places there would be two walls, two windows and two roofs, old and new.”

Ferran Vizoso Architecture took a similar approach with a church in Corbrera d’ebro, Spain. A new, lightweight contemporary membrane made of ETFE panels covers the vulnerable open roof to keep the building from deteriorating further, but in this case, the protective element is barely visible from outside. The windows have been enclosed, as well, creating a newly re-inhabitable space. Other reinforcements, like metal supports under fragile archways, are subtle enough to escape notice.

Ruins as Facades for New Houses

Whereas that English cottage preservation was virtually turned inside-out, with new construction on the outside, a more popular technique for restoring ruins keeps the outer appearance of the original structures intact while placing all interventions inside. If the dilapidated building is fairly intact, you might barely be able to tell anything has changed at all, as is the case with La Ruina Habitada by Estudio Jesus Castillo Oli. The architects wanted to it to be an “inhabitable ruin,” giving the long-abandoned structure new life but keeping all the markers of its age.

In Dumfries, Scotland, the ruins of a 17th-century stone farmhouse remain exactly as they were when the clients purchased the property despite the fact that a new house has gone up within the original footprint. Lily Jencks Studio and Nathanael Dorent Architecture took great pains to barely touch a single stone on the farmhouse, building the new modern residence inside and around its walls.

The Dovecote Studio by Haworth Tompkins takes a similar course with a dilapidated brick building on a music campus in Suffolk, matching its hue with Corten steel.

Blending Architectural Styles with Sensitivity

When modern and historic architecture meet, the results can be controversial, but whether or not they’re successful might be subjective anyway. Purists bemoan any alternation whatsoever to a historic structure, hoping ruins can be restored as faithfully as possible, but that approach might not be appropriate for the given project, especially when it’s difficult or downright impossible to perfectly match the original materials. That was the idea behind one of the most divisive restoration projects in modern memory: the Vilhariques Tower and Matrera Castle in Spain.

Before architect Carlos Quevedo began, both structures were little more than a couple crumbled walls at risk of collapse. The Spanish government wanted the ruins to become educational facilities, but we don’t know exactly what these buildings used to look like, so Quevedo simply built new structures into what’s left of the originals, matching their approximate dimensions. Many locals were outraged, comparing the results to the infamously botched restoration of Elias Garcia Martinez’s fresco of Christ known as Ecce Homo.

But what about ruins located in more urban areas, or those that are still actively in use, but in dangerously poor condition? When they’re legally allowed to just demolish the ruins and start over, developers often choose to do just that. It’s a lot cheaper and easier. So it’s nice to see projects like the Kew House by Piercy & Company in London, which preserves an old stone wall to keep a modern home in character with the rest of the historic block.

The church of the Convent de Sant Francesc Santpedor in Spain had plenty of life left in it before architect David Closes was commissioned to convert it into a cultural facility, but it was in a rough state. The adjacent convent had already been demolished in the year 2000. The church wasn’t particularly well built in the first place, so Closes had his work cut out for him making it functional again. He identified its most striking characteristics, like the potential for natural light within its collapsed naves, and used new materials and modern finishes to highlight them. The damage to the church, all of its wounds and scars from over the years, is still visible, and the architect makes no attempt to pretend an intervention hasn’t taken place.

A similar story unfolds at the Vilanova de la Barca Church, which suffered bombings during the Spanish Civil War. Barcelona-based studio AleaOlea tells the story of what happened to the church with contrasting modern elements. The interruption and destruction of the historic building is starkly visible, but the new construction achieves an easy harmony with its monochromatic consistency.

Salvaging & Repurposing Fallen Components

Even when ruins seem too far gone to be preserved, they can remain a part of the landscape, infusing new construction with history and character. Bergmeister Wolf rebuilt a fallen wall and integrated it into a new, modern home that follows the same lines and contours as the original building.

For the magnificent ‘Aloni’ home on the Greek island of Antiparos, a residence straddling a valley, DecaArchitecture disassembled ruinous stone retaining walls on the property and incorporated them into the facade. Built into the hillside, the camouflaged holiday home maintains the look and feel of the land before it was changed and adapted for contemporary usage.

A site of national historical importance in rural China was in danger of disappearing before the studio 3andwich was tasked with transforming it into a tourist destination. The architects turned a collection of small deserted agricultural outbuildings and rubble from a fallen barn into a recreation of Yang’s School, which now serves as a bookstore and museum. This stone rubble forms the first floor of the main building of the new facility, with fresh wooden construction enclosing the second floor and roof.

Whichever road an architect may choose to take, it’s nice to see some elements of history preserved and maintained, creating less waste while establishing a tangible connection between past and present.

They could be so dilapidated they’re practically ruins, but old barns have both historical value and rural charm, and when architects dramatically rescue them, they become incredible modern homes, offices, galleries and artist studios. Even an old potato barn, or goat barn, or teeny-tiny barn, or ugly barn that got an unfortunate 1980s makeover. Not buying it? Check out these amazing barn conversions. There’s even a legit party barn!

Converted Barn in Lormes, France by Frank Minnaërt

Architect Frank Minnaërt was tasked by a Parisian couple to turn an old stone barn in Lormes, France into a country home. In addition to a dramatic new concrete-framed glass entrance, the architect transformed the interiors with rustic yet graphic and dynamic timber elements, including slatted storage and a staircase that doubles as a ramp.

Haus P by Gangoly & Kristine Architekten

An old traditional wooden barn in the mountainous landscape of southern Austria becomes a light-filled contemporary home in this renovation by Gangoly & Kristine Architekten. Many of the exterior wooden beams formerly making up the walls of the structure have been removed, leaving behind a screen-like envelope protecting large expanses of glass. Inside, the home retains its barn typology in some areas, like the bathroom, while feeling like a completely different sort of structure in others.

Party Barn Rescued from Collapse by Liddicoat & Goldhill

Who wouldn’t want a party barn? This 18th century structure in Kent, England was almost completely done for when architects Liddicoat & Goldhill were approached by a fashion designer and digital designer couple to give it new life. They wanted it to be equal parts home and gallery, with the artifacts they’ve collected integrated throughout. Two huge rotating windows replace the barn doors to open the interiors to the outside, and they can be covered by a bifold door that becomes an awning. A skylight runs along the pinnacle of the roof. Inside, a spiraling metal staircase wraps around a columnar fireplace chimney.

A Barn in the Countryside by Kwint Architecten

An existing vernacular structure on a farm south of Eelde in the Netherlands becomes a striking wood and glass home as Kwint Architecten transforms it into ‘A Barn in the Countryside.’ The horizontal wooden blinds make it easy to ventilate the new home while also shading it and framing views of the surroundings.

Old Belchers Farm in Oxford by Studio Seilern Architects

A 17th century farmhouse and its outbuildings making up ‘Old Belchers Farm’ in Oxford, England has become a contemporary art gallery that help support the upkeep of the protected historical property. Studio Seilern Architects created exhibition space, offices and a dining room wrapping around a hidden central library containing four secret doors that allow entrance to the surrounding spaces through the bookshelves.

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Raised In A Barn Proud 15 Farm Buildings Converted To Modern Homes More

Without touching a single stone in the ruins of a 17th century farmhouse in Scotland, two architects managed to incorporate it exactly as it is into a modern, ultra-efficient, solar-powered family home. Lily Jencks Studio and Nathanael Dorent Architecture collaborated on a project that literally builds upon history, opting to adapt the ruins for a new usage in a way that highlights their history instead of trying to recreate what the farmhouse looked like once upon a time.

Located in the picturesque hills of rural Dumfries, looking out over a landscape of grassy emerald fields, the ruins might have seemed unusable to many who saw them. All that was left of the original structure was the suggestion of four walls, eroded down to waist-height in many areas. The farmhouse had been modified many times over the centuries, and for its newest incarnation, the architects chose to go bold with a surprising high-contrast design.

There are three layers of walls, they explain, starting with the original stone. Just inside them is a layer of black waterproofing EPDM rubber forming a pitched-roof envelope for the interiors. Then, there’s a curving interior ‘tube’ wall system defining the interior spaces in a way that feels soft and almost cave-like in nature.

“These three layers are not designed as independent parts, rather, they take on meaning as their relationship evolves through the building’s sections. They separate, come together and intertwine, creating a series of architectural singularities, including in some areas a particularly revealing simultaneous reading of these three layers.”

“At the windows and doors the tube funnels out towards the light, creating a ‘porched’ space within the thickness of the tube wall, and between the envelope and the tube, that can be used for furniture and storage.”

A cubic white volume juts out of the exterior wall of a historic church in Belgium, looking a bit like it a dramatic incident of some sort landed it there. But the parasitic appearance of this outer volume belies a larger transformation inside the aging building, in which a series of private offices occupy the space without damaging the original structure. Belgian architecture firm Klaarchitectuur calls this project ‘The Waterdog,’ creating the offices for their own use.

Rectilinear white volumes are stacked atop one another like massive cake boxes, closing off several different individual offices while preserving interaction with the building at large. The clean, glossy surfaces of the additions contrast sharply with the crumbling plaster and brick; the architects wanted to leave the materiality of the church intact.

The architects restored the church’s roof – carefully, in line with the building’s status as a listed historic structure – and subdivided the space with temporary additions that could be removed eventually, if desired. Because of the way the white volumes are stacked, there are even rooftop terraces overlooking the open space. That white cube peeking out of the side of the church is the only sign from outside that anything has changed within.