Photo: Nikreates/Alamy Stock Photo
Historic and modern architecture don’t come together too often. Even though they’re seen as vastly different, but still equally important, our built environment is often defined by distinctly separate old and new buildings. Historic architecture has its own charm and beauty—think about lasting palaces like Versailles or ancient temples across the world—and it’s no secret that, at its best, modern architecture inspires: Many buildings designed by figures such as Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, Santiago Calatrava, and Frank Gehry, among others are some examples.
Older structures can inform us about the culture, history, and values of the past; new ones, much like a force of nature, have the ability to transform a neighborhood (almost always for the better). Many refer to this as the Bilbao effect, a term coined after a Frank Gehry–designed Guggenheim museum helped turn around the Spanish city’s economy.
Economic boost aside, what happens when these modern marvels are built on or within the existing buildings themselves? Although it’s not the norm, there are times when architects decide (mainly due to preservation) that instead of building around or in place of historic structures, it’s better to build in or atop the original foundation. When these two worlds of old and new come together, the result can be awe-inspiring. From Zaha Hadid’s extension to the Port House in Belgium, which looks as if a spaceship were attached to a 19th-century building, to Daniel Libeskind’s beautiful clash of new and old in Canada’s Royal Ontario Museum, AD lists the 19 best examples of when historic and modern architecture come together to produce something better than the sum of their parts.
Historic and modern architecture don’t come together too often. Even though they’re seen as vastly different, but still equally important, our built environment is often defined by distinctly separate old and new buildings. Historic architecture has its own charm and beauty—think about lasting palaces like Versailles or ancient temples across the world—and it’s no secret that, at its best, modern architecture inspires: Many buildings designed by figures such as Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, Santiago Calatrava, and Frank Gehry, among others are some examples.
Older structures can inform us about the culture, history, and values of the past; new ones, much like a force of nature, have the ability to transform a neighborhood (almost always for the better). Many refer to this as the Bilbao effect, a term coined after a Frank Gehry–designed Guggenheim museum helped turn around the Spanish city’s economy.
Economic boost aside, what happens when these modern marvels are built on or within the existing buildings themselves? Although it’s not the norm, there are times when architects decide (mainly due to preservation) that instead of building around or in place of historic structures, it’s better to build in or atop the original foundation. When these two worlds of old and new come together, the result can be awe-inspiring. From Zaha Hadid’s extension to the Port House in Belgium, which looks as if a spaceship were attached to a 19th-century building, to Daniel Libeskind’s beautiful clash of new and old in Canada’s Royal Ontario Museum, AD lists the 19 best examples of when historic and modern architecture come together to produce something better than the sum of their parts.
Photo: Novarc Images / Alamy Stock Photo
Museum of Military History (Dresden, Germany)
Built originally as an armory in 1876, the structure officially became a museum in 1897. By 1989, however, the German government decided to close the public structure due to its uncertainty as to how it wanted history to remember its military positions. The space reopened in 2011, but not before a renovation was executed by Daniel Libeskind. His vision added a modern façade, which juts out from an otherwise traditional neoclassical building.
Photo: Getty Images
Kunstmuseum Moritzburg (Halle, Germany)
Situated in east Germany, the Kunstmuseum Moritzburg originally started as a castle built in the late 15th century. Designed in the Early Renaissance style of architecture, the structure was eventually converted into a museum at the end of the 19th century. More than a century later, a museum renovation included the addition of a sleek modern building. The new construction was necessary, as certain parts of the original structure had completely fallen apart due to time and both world wars. The modern addition was designed by Fuensanta Nieto and Enrique Sobejano (Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos), a European firm that’s won many awards including the 2015 Alvar Aalto Medal, the 2010 Aga Khan Award for Architecture, and the 2009 International Architecture Award, among others.
Photo: Getty Images
Brooklyn Museum (New York City)
With roughly 1.5 million works, the Brooklyn Museum houses New York’s second largest art collection (the Metropolitan Museum of Art holds the top spot). Completed in 1895, the Beaux-Arts building was designed by McKim, Mead and White. (Note: McKim, Mead and White was the same firm responsible for the design of the city’s original Pennsylvania Station, and the arch in Washington Square Park, among other structures.) In 2004, a beautiful $63 million glass entrance was added to greet visitors. Designed by Ennead Architects (previously known as Polshek Partnership), the 15,000-square-foot pavilion provides a striking juxtaposition to the more traditional backdrop of the museum façade.
Photo: Alamy Stock Photo
City of Fashion and Design (Paris)
Paris's City of Fashion and Design is located along the banks of the Seine River. Designed by local firm Jakob + MacFarlane, the structure was built within old general stores. What used to be a site that lacked a discernible character is now instantly recognizable by the ultracontemporary, bright-green structure on its exterior.
Photo: Getty Images/Ross Helen
Port Authority (Antwerp, Belgium)
Designed by the inimitable mind of Zaha Hadid, Antwerp's Port Authority building is quite literally like no other building on the planet. When completed in 2016, the renovation and extension took a once-derelict fire station and transformed it into a new headquarters for the port. Today, the new structure houses the port’s 500 staffers, all of whom previously worked in separate buildings around the city.
Photo: Getty Images/William Fawcett
Elbphilharmonie Hamburg (Hamburg, Germany)
When it opened in 2017, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg was considered by many to be the most exciting venue to hold a concert in the world. The Herzog & de Meuron–designed structure sits atop an old warehouse that was built in 1963, and in a short span of time has already become the most internationally recognizable building in the city.
Photo: Alamy Stock Photo
St. Antony’s College (Oxford, England)
Leave it to Zaha Hadid to design an ultramodern structure within the campus of the oldest university in the United Kingdom. But that's just what she did with this stainless-steel façade that bridges buildings within Oxford's Middle East Centre, a department that studies the humanities and social sciences in the modern Arab world.
Photo: Nikreates / Alamy Stock Photo
Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto)
The Royal Ontario Museum has a rich past that can be studied by the building's architecture. It was first built in 1914 in a neo-Romanesque style, only to be later renovated in an Art Deco–inspired form. By 2007, Daniel Libeskind added a multimillion-dollar extension made primarily of glass, aluminum, and steel.
Photo: Bruce Damonte
Stealth Building (New York City)
Designed by the New York–based firm WORKac, the Stealth Building is a residential structure that is located in a city with strict architecture codes. When the renovation of this beautiful cast-iron building was being debated, New York City’s Landmarks Commission required that any rooftop be completely invisible. That's where the skill of the architects came into play, as they withdrew the rooftop so that it could not be discerned by any bystander for several blocks.
Photo: Patrick Bingham-Hall
Space Asia Hub (Singapore)
Designed by the Singapore-based firm WOHA, the Space Asia Hub was built within and around two former homes. These villas stand in stark contrast to WOHA's ultramodern, all-glass cubelike structure that's connected to it. Today, the space is an upscale retail and gallery hub.
Photo: Jordi Surroca
Sant Fransesc Church (Santpedor, Spain)
Originally built in the early 18th century by Franciscan priests, Sant Fransesc Church was abandoned by the 19th century. By 2000, the structure was in hideous shape. That was until architect David Closes redesigned it, adding, among other elements, an eye-catching entrance to the building.
Photo: Getty Images/Michael Kappeler
Jewish Museum Berlin (Berlin)
Opened in September 2001, the extensions to Berlin’s beautiful Jewish Museum were designed by architect Daniel Libeskind. In total, the museum comprises three buildings, making it the largest museum dedicated to Judaica in Europe. While the original structure was completed in 1933, the two additions were designed by Libeskind. The architect used a zigzagging, disrupted design to further push the theme of how extremely difficult and uprooted the Jewish experience was during the Second World War.
Photo: Maurice Savage/Alamy
York Theatre Royal (York, England)
Renovated in 2016 by the London-based firm De Matos Ryan, the York Theatre Royal added a new front to its street façade. While the original structure has been an active theater site since the mid–18th century, the building has gone through a series of additions. This most recent addition goes a long way in proving the marriage between new and old can be a beautiful one if done right.
Photo: Getty Images/Milan Maksovic
The Union of Romanian Architects (Bucharest, Romania)
Located in heart of the Romanian capital city, the Union of Romanian Architects building was originally built in the late 19th century in the French Renaissance architectural style. When it was agreed the building was to be renovated, the architects were required to build on top of the original structure, since it was a historical landmark. The end result shows how much architecture has changed over the centuries, both in style and in preferred materials.
Photo: Oscar Gonzalez/NurPhoto/Getty Images
Dancing House (Prague, Czech Republic)
Prague’s playful Dancing House, constructed in concrete and glass with two curved deconstructed pillars, was a joint project between Czech architect Vlado Milunić and Frank Gehry. Built for the investment bank Nationale-Nederlanden, Gehry’s original name for the building was Fred and Ginger, referring to the famous Hollywood dancing couple, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The dynamic structure sits between 18th- and 19th-century buildings, though some have criticized they way it stands out among the city’s many Baroque, Gothic, and Art Nouveau buildings. These twisting cylinders—nicknamed “The Dancers” and designed in 1996—house a museum, offices, and a restaurant. There is also a rooftop terrace with a breathtaking panoramic view of Prague’s Old Town.
Photo: Luc Boegly and Opus 5 Architectes
L’École de Musique et de Théâtre (Louviers, France)
Designed by Opus 5 Architectes, this music school in Louviers, France, was designed and built in 2012 over the ruins of a monastery. The site of the former Convent of the Penitents is now home to a contemporary stone-and-glass structure that includes an orchestra hall and auditorium. For the architects, the building’s glass ceiling was an important element of their vision for the school. Their aim was to preserve the building’s history while introducing a touch of modernity.
Hotel Marqués de Riscal (Elciego, Spain)
This luxury hotel in Álava, a province in the Basque Territory in Spain, was designed by architect Frank Gehry in 2003 as an expansion of an earlier building dating from 1858. Initially dedicated to wine production, the Spanish owners and Gehry transformed the project into an extraordinary hotel complex—in fact, to this day, it’s the only hotel the starchitect has ever designed. Built atop the earlier winery, the avant-garde sandstone and titanium hotel opened its doors in 2006 and has become almost as famous as another building in northern Spain by Gehry: the Guggenheim in Bilbao, which is roughly 90 minutes by car from the hotel.
Photo: Prisma by Dukas / Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Museum de Fundatie (Zwolle, The Netherlands)
In the Netherlands, a modern dome from the future was added to the roof of the Museum de Fundatie. The imposing addition on top of a 19th-century building creates a unique juxtaposition. The museum’s original building was designed by the architect Eduard Louis de Coninck between 1838 and 1841. It served as a courthouse and then government offices before being transformed into its current use in 1994. When the dome addition was unveiled in 2013, the building became a symbol for the town and an icon of contemporary architecture.
DARIA SCAGLIOLA,© 2016,Daria Scagliola & Stijn Brakkee,Rotterdam
Crystal Houses (Amsterdam)
Not just a combination of historic and modern architecture, this Hermès store designed by MVRDV, represents the evolution of historic to modern architecture. Wanting to honor the character of the original building, which sits on a historically residential street, the architects used glass bricks for the lower half of the building. The top follows the traditional architectural vernacular of the area, and the bottom conforms to common retail aesthetics with its transparent façade.