What is a reconstruction?
A reconstruction is the whole or partial rebuilding of a vanished, destroyed or demolished structure or building element in its historic form, usually in new material, based on documentation, surveys, photographs or archaeological evidence. The object itself is gone. What you get back is a copy or a new build in historic form, not an original.
Reconstruction, restoration, conservation and renovation
These four words are used loosely in everyday conversation. They differ in what still survives and what you do to it.
| Term | What it means | Characteristic |
|---|---|---|
| Conservation | Halting decay and keeping the present state | Stabilising loose plaster, woodworm treatment. Reversible as far as possible, no recovery of lost form |
| Restoration | Repair of a still existing monument to preserve and reveal its aesthetic and historic value | Respects original fabric, the object itself remains the carrier of value |
| Renovation | Technical and functional upgrading for present day use | Comfort, services, insulation. Not driven by cultural history, loss of historic fabric is not an objection in principle |
| Reconstruction | The object is gone and is made anew | The result is a copy or new build in historic form, not an original |
A useful rule of thumb from heritage practice: preserve before repair, repair before restore, and restore before replace. Reconstruction sits at the far end of that sequence.
What the Venice Charter says
The Venice Charter of 1964, produced by the gathering from which ICOMOS grew, is still the reference point for the argument.
- Article 9. Restoration must stop at the point where conjecture begins. Any unavoidable extra work must be distinct from the architectural composition and must bear a contemporary stamp.
- Article 12. Replacement of missing parts must integrate harmoniously with the whole, yet remain distinguishable from the original, so that the restoration does not falsify the artistic or historic evidence.
- Article 15. Reconstruction is ruled out in principle. Only anastylosis is permitted: reassembling existing but dismembered original parts, with any new material used sparingly and identifiable as new.
That exclusion comes with a qualification. Article 15 is formally written for the context of excavations and archaeological sites. Later documents, including the Nara Document of 1994 and the ICOMOS debate on dealing with war damage, have softened the strictness of that line.
Where it gets difficult in practice
The central question in any reconstruction is the evidence. How complete are the surveys, drawings and photographs, and at what point does the work become informed guesswork? The second question is legibility: will a visitor in twenty years still be able to tell what is original and what was added? Always record what was reconstructed, what it was based on, and which choices were made along the way.
Related terms
- Restoration
- Renovation
- Conservation
- Listed building
- Anastylosis
- Heritage value
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