Abstract The need to conserve and preserve historical buildings and environments is prevalent in architectural discourse. On the other hand, changes in human habits, preferences, use as well as the contemporary approach to spatial planning and developments places new demands on the built environment. There is therefore the need for a new approach to the architectural design and renewal of buildings in historical contexts such as traditional villages. This new approach should resolve the inherent contradictions of preserving the old, whilst meeting contemporary needs. Extension thought mainly refers to solving contradiction problems through some methods such as transforming physical things and resolving problems. This study uniquely applies the principles and methods of Extenics as a new approach to resolving the socio-spatial contradictions between historic and contemporary built environments. It utilises a case study to showcase how Extenics and modes of extension thinking can be used to rejuvenate the architecture of old buildings in the ancient villages within physical and regulatory constraints. It presents a new thinking process for integrated, logical yet human-centred design solutions design. The findings show that Extenics provides a viable new way to deliver reconstruction and renewal without compromise to human and social needs. It also makes a significant contribution to how designers can be more creative, and make an innovative departure from the previous approaches to the process of protection and renewal of historic buildings.