During the second world war, Middelburg was destroyed by a major city fire and much of the historic, romantic Dutch architecture has been destroyed. The aim of the thesis is to get more information about the differences and comparisons of aesthetics of streets including morphology and materials between before and after the war. First, multiple sources will be analysed. Old pictures, drawings and façade views can be studied at municipal archives. Construction drawings of restorations from architects, articles and studies published on the internet about the restoration of the city centre will be analysed. There will be an average analysis of the most common differences and similarities between the facade aesthetics between before and after the war. Presumably there is a chronological connection between buildings and/or streets of changes in materials, form or window arrangements. This thesis can be used as a guideline in the restoration and preservation of façade images in Middelburg for the future. By giving answer to the research question: How did the bombing during the second World War change the aesthetics of historic buildings in the city Middelburg? architects can bring back and design elements of the past in future renovation or new construction projects.
Suppose this research has shown that there is a rhythm in the use of materials, brick bonds, rod divisions, roof mouldings, etc. can provide a guideline for restoration architects in Middelburg. The expectation is that many historic buildings have been restored to the original destroyed building. The city centre still has a historic character with old ornaments. Even though the city was destroyed, its romantic, characteristic appearance has been retained. Therefore during the case study it is expected that many elements of the destroyed facades have been restored to the new facade.