Contemporary Architecture in the Historic Environment

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Design Approaches and Philosophies
Byard, Paul Spencer. 1998. The Architecture of Additions: Design and Regulation.
New York: Norton.
In this book, the author attempts to answer the following questions: “How does
one building affect the meaning of another when their expressions are combined
and interact? How should they affect each other when one of them is protected
in the public interest?” (p. 9). Chapter 1 illustrates how successfully designed
additions can contribute to the general meaning and expression of a building.
Chapter 2 advocates that even when additions use radically different architectural
expressions, such as those created during the modernist period, they can
enrich the existing building. Chapter 3 analyzes contemporary examples of
additions to historic structures and strategies to protect the historic values of
the site. Chapter 4 evaluates how architects at the end of the 20th century dealt
with additions. The book includes interesting examples of additions to iconic
modern buildings such as Louis I. Kahn’s Salk Institute for Biological Studies,
in La Jolla, California. (A.P.A.G.)
Also relevant for Chapter 4: Case Studies.
Casson, Hugh. 1976. Old sites and new buildings: The architect’s point of view. In
The Future of the Past: Attitudes to Conservation 1174–1974, ed. Jane Fawcett,
150–52. New York: Whitney Library of Design.
This is a chapter in a book that analyses the evolution of how historic buildings
were preserved in the United Kingdom from the Reformation to the book’s publication
date. In this chapter (VIII), Casson warns against overpreserving an
urban landscape, arguing that a lack of restraint might weaken the case for historic
preservation. Casson defends that the addition of a new building to a historical
context could potentially become a positive contribution as long as the
new building is designed as a response to that specific context. The author does
not champion a particular approach to designing new buildings for historical
contexts; he believes each case demands a different strategy: “The rules are
simple, for there are none. Every case is unique, every situation different.…
There are occasions for the quick return, the wise-crack, the spirited exchange
between individuals” (p. 151). Aligned with that idea, Casson does not agree
with the adoption of strict design controls by authorities. (A.P.A.G.)
Charles, Prince of Wales. 1984. A speech by HRH The Prince of Wales at the
150th anniversary of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Royal
Gala Evening at Hampton Court Palace, May 29. http://www.audacity.org/
downloads/Prince-Charles-01-RIBA-carbuncle-29.05.84.pdf
In this speech, Charles, the Prince of Wales, challenges architects “to be concerned
about the way people live; about the environment they inhabit and the
kind of community that is created by that environment,” urging them to design
in conjunction with and for the approval of the “mass of ordinary people in this
country,” not just to please fellow architects and critics. He suggests this can be
accomplished by a return to the traditional language of architecture, which he
feels the community naturally prefers over modernism. He also argues that
modernism has “ruined” the character and skyline of historic cities such as
London. To support his case, he offers a number of unsuccessful examples of
Contemporary Architecture in the Historic Environment: An Annotated Bibliography - Getty Conservation Institute - 2015