The present thematic collection of scientific articles was compiled on the basis of the results of the 2nd International Conference on Architecture: Heritage, Traditions and Innovations (AHTI 2020) held in Moscow on February 26-27, 2020. The first event under the same title, which took place in February 2019, was concluded with the publication of a similar collection of articles — Proceedings of the 2019 International Conference on Architecture: Heritage, Traditions and Innovations (AHTI 2019).

AHTI 2020 was jointly organized by the Scientific Research Institute of the Theory and History of Architecture and Urban Planning (NIITIAG) (Russia), International Science and Culture Center for Academic Contacts (ISCCAC), Zhengzhou Yingchun Conference Planning Co., Ltd. (China), participated by the Russian Academy of Architecture and Constructive Sciences, the André Chastel research Centre in History of Art of the Sorbonne Université (France), the Faculty of Architecture of the Belarusian National Technical University (Belarus), and the Institute of Arts of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (Armenia).

In 2020, scholars from 10 countries (Russia, China, Ukraine, Poland, Belarus, France, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Iraq) took part in the 2nd International Conference on Architecture: Heritage, Traditions and Innovations.

The abstracts of the scientific conference are traditionally published on the official webpage of NIITIAG (www.niitiag.ru) and one of the leading Russian architectural digital platforms — Archi.ru (URL: https://archi.ru/lib/book.html?id=2146113710&fl=5&sl=5).

AHTI 2020 is devoted to a wide range of problems of the history and theory of architecture. The organizers tried to unite scientists from different countries at a joint discussion platform, in order to link their concepts on the innovative development of architectural creativity with traditional ideas reflected in the centuries-old and exceptionally vivid architectural heritage, to identify ways to solve one of the most pressing issues of our time — the coexistence of the rapid expansion of architectural and urban planning activities with the need to preserve architectural monuments and valuable historical environment. At the plenary session of the conference and its thematic sessions "New Research on the History of Architecture from the Middle Ages to New Times", "Urban Planning: Problems and Prospects of the Development", "Traditions and Innovations in the Architecture of the Newest Times", "The Problems of the Preservation and Reconstruction of Historical and Architectural Heritage", the issues of the preservation of architectural heritage, its systematization; the development of architectural schools, their traditions, and interaction; peculiarities of architectural creativity, the formation of innovative concepts, architectural ideas, and their implementation have been discussed.

The 2nd International Conference on Architecture: Heritage, Traditions and Innovations has received 158 manuscripts and 81 submissions have been accepted by our reviewers. All papers included in this collection have undergone careful peer-review by three experts before being selected for publication.

The core chapters of the collection of scientific articles on scientific debate have also been identified: "The History and Theory of Architecture", "Preservation of Architectural Heritage", "Innovations in Modern Architecture", and "Architectural Aspects of Urban Planning".

The chapter "History and Theory of Architecture" includes articles devoted to the little-studied aspects of the architecture history, and new, previously unknown data on monuments of world architecture are introduced into scientific circulation there. Furthermore, attribution of the number of buildings is clarified, and connections and mutual creative influences of a number of regional and national architectural schools are revealed in this chapter.

The chapter "Preservation of Architectural Heritage" discusses the theory and practice of the conservation of historical and architectural heritage, including its legal aspect as well as issues related to architectural and structural renovation. The issue of the historic city and the preservation of its historical-architectural and urban-planning identity have also been brought into consideration.

In the chapter "Innovations in Modern Architecture", the phenomena and processes caused by the transformations in the modern cultural space are reflected in the architectural and urban planning sphere, and in the meantime new opportunities provided to architecture by digital technologies are discussed. The main emphasis is on the new types and forms of architectural and artistic expression, methods of formation. The chapter also highlights a number of reports devoted to the study of creative concepts of contemporary architects around the world.

The chapter "Architectural Aspects of Urban Planning" is composed of articles devoted to the theory and practice of modern architecture and urban planning, as well as problems and prospects of their development.

We hope that the collection of articles of the AHTI 2020 will contribute to the development of fundamental science in the fields of architecture, urban planning, and art criticism, and the ideas expressed in the articles will find a response in modern architectural and urban planning practice, and in the architectural creative work.

We would like to thank the organization staff, the members of the program committees, and reviewers. They have worked very hard in reviewing papers and making valuable suggestions for the authors to improve their work. We would also like to express our gratitude to the authors for contributing their research results to the conference. Special thanks go to Atlantis Press.

Armen Kazaryan, General Chair of AHTI 2020
Nina Konovalova, Program Chair of AHTI 2020