Final answer:
The term that best describes the adaptation of parts of a building while retaining its original spirit is “restoration”. It involves using non-original materials to return a building to a previous state, ideally in a reversible way, and is closely related to conservation, which seeks to preserve cultural heritage.
Step-by-step explanation:
The adaptation of parts of a building while retaining the essential spirit of the original is most closely associated with the concept of restoration. Restoration generally involves returning a site or objects to an earlier state, using non-original materials that are detectable and whose treatments are ideally reversible. This contrasts with other terms such as renovation, which implies modernizing or updating a building; remodeling, which involves changing the structure or form; and preservation, which aims to maintain the building as it is, often to protect its historical significance.
Conservation is a scientific discipline that also relates to the idea of restoration, focusing on preserving cultural heritage for the future. It can involve cleaning and repairing where ideally repairs are visible but not distracting. In archaeological restoration, modern materials layered onto ancient ones are made to look harmonious in form, color, and/or texture, sometimes making restorations nearly indistinguishable from authentic materials. This practice is essential when the remains of buildings are fragile and exposed after excavation, as seen in historical sites like Knossos.
The topic of adaptation in architecture can also be explored through the lens of 20th-century architecture, where buildings and structures are designed creatively to enhance their surroundings and to be resilient to natural disasters.