Architectural practice is sometimes challenged by the existence of historically-preserved urban spaces or buildings as the site of new development. In Italy this the norm rather than the exception. Design practice in this area eschews a precise distinction of categories, and allows for creative and original intervention. The crescent of residential buildings which define Milan's Piazza Castello were designed in 1886 as a single urban design device with specific stylistic links - a symbol of renewal for the union, and of the republican spirit Italy was experiencing at the time.
Through a method similar to the concept that originated the Crescent in its relationship with the Castle, the location of partition walls, flooring, and openings would remain in their pre-existing form.
