In Norway, the government protects heritage building's facade but allows for the internals to be rebuilt to modern standards.

Sometimes this makes sense as the old buildings were extraordinarily energy inefficient and preservation rules make it near impossible to insulate using modern materials. Some buildings are uninhabitable or cannot meet modern standards for environmental control yet are protected from demolition for historic reasons.

Unfortunately, the loop holes are exploited to the maximum, making a mockery of culture heritage preservation intentions. The government is responsible for many of the re-development decisions, causing the arbitrariness of architectural styles in some parts of the cities.

We've seen several buildings, in choice locations, be destroyed by "accidental" fires because of cultural heritage preservation rules.