Large construction sites are not only an expression and driver of technical progress but also, as symbolic places, conveyors of political and cultural messages. In the wake of the crises affecting large current projects, such as Berlin Airport and the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, public interest in them is currently enormous. However, this is by no means a new phenomenon. The book presented here provides – for the first time – far-reaching and comparative analyses of the history and importance of large construction sites. Using case studies from different cultural spheres and time periods, the authors discuss the multifaceted degrees of impact large buildings have during construction over the frequently long periods of their creation, and the changes in how they are perceived by society.

Transformation instead of demolition and new construction, continuing development instead of rupture: the principle of continuing the building process as an antidote to the modernist new-build paradigm is increasingly moving into focus in architecture and construction technology. It understands a building not so much as a product to be completed, but as a continuing process; it focuses on the continuity of places and buildings and poses new questions as to their completeness and authentic authorship, their durability and sustainability. The volume focuses on the technical and artistic processes of conversion and adaptation, as well as on the changing values and interpretation patterns of society that are expressed in the new orientation of existing buildings by the continuation of the construction process.