The subject of the article are issues related to investment activities in urban zones under conservation protection. The author presents the problem of the interference of contempo-rary architectural forms in the historical layout of small towns. The consequences of intro-ducing new facilities into existing urban structures may be positive or negative. They can contribute to making cities more attractive, improving their infrastructure and improving the quality of life of residents. They can also increase chaos and cause the destruction of assumptions created over the centuries. The author is particularly interested in tourist centers. These are places where we are dealing with a process of dynamic transformations related to high investment activity. City spaces are supplemented with objects of various quality and scale. In their tissue, there are original solutions on the one hand and foreign ones in the context of local conditions on the other. They are often detached from the local building tradition and cultural heritage. The issues of spatial order and compositional continuity as well as aesthetic considerations are in many cases ignored. The climate of the cities and their historical character do not matter. The author presents his own experience related to design works carried out in the space of a small tourist town which is Karpacz.