Throughout the nineteenth century, architectural conservation was dominated by the doctrine of "stylistic restoration," which held that deteriorating historic edifices should be actively rebuilt to reflect an idealized, unified aesthetic—even if doing so required replacing original structural materials with modern conjectures. Critics such as John Ruskin, however, contended that this interventionist approach stripped monuments of their authentic historical integrity, effectively producing modern replicas rather than conserving genuine heritage. Modern conservation philosophy has increasingly affirmed this critique: the primary duty of conservators is not to imaginatively reconstitute a hypothetical original state, but to safeguard and maintain the existing physical fabric of historical structures as authentic witnesses to time.
Based on the passage, what is the central thesis advocated by the author regarding architectural conservation?
Answer: Authentic physical preservation should be prioritized over stylistic restoration / To advocate for preservation over stylistic restoration / Historical structures should be preserved in their authentic state rather than rebuilt to an idealized form / Preservation of existing physical fabric over imaginative reconstruction / Preservation over restoration / To argue for preservation rather than restoration