 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2011) |
Ruin value (German: Ruinenwert) is the concept that a building be designed in such a way that if it eventually collapsed, it would leave behind aesthetically pleasing ruins that would last far longer without any maintenance at all. The idea was pioneered by German architect Albert Speer while planning for the 1936 Summer Olympics and published as "The Theory of Ruin Value" (Die Ruinenwerttheorie), although he was not its original inventor.[1][2] The intention did not stretch only to the eventual collapse of the buildings, but rather assumed such buildings were inherently better designed and more imposing during their period of use.
The idea was supported by Adolf Hitler, who planned for such ruins to be a symbol of the greatness of the Third Reich, just as Ancient Greek and Roman ruins were symbolic of those civilisations.
- ^ Aygen, Zeynep (2013). International Heritage and Historic Building Conservation: Saving the World's Past. Routledge. pp. 92–. ISBN 978-0-415-88814-1.
- ^ Petropoulos, Jonathan (2014). Artists Under Hitler: Collaboration and Survival in Nazi Germany. Yale University Press. pp. 282–. ISBN 978-0-300-19747-1.