Contemporary Architecture in the Historic Environment

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Design Approaches and Philosophies
principle 8 promotes an architecture that “adds to the variety and texture of the
setting.” The website also provides a checklist to be used when appraising new
design proposals, describes the level of design detail that is necessary for
reviewers to properly understand the design proposal, and offers links to a
series of case studies in the UK. (A.P.A.G.)
Fleming, Ronald Lee, Rachel Goldsmith, and J. A. Chewning. 1994. Saving Face:
How Corporate Franchise Design Can Respect Community Identity. Planning
Advisory Service Report, no. 452. Chicago: American Planning Association,
Planning Advisory Service.
This book, an initiative of the US planning community, advocates for the appropriate
local adaptation of standardized franchise design in order to maintain
community character. The authors propose that this principle is relevant not
only for historic areas but also for other types of communities. The book advocates
for the implementation of a design review process or some other form of
design control to ensure that franchise design is adapted to the local character.
The authors promote the idea that using the same architectural language of the
surrounding context is a better solution than using contrasting or neutral
designs. Chapter 3 compares good and bad examples of local adaptations of
franchise design. Chapter 4 presents five examples of communities that successfully
implemented a design review process. (A.P.A.G.)
Also relevant for Section 2.1: Design Control Methodology and Critique, and
Chapter 4: Case Studies.
Galerie nationales du Grand Palais (France). 1980. Construire en quartier ancien:
[exposition, Grand Palais, 5 mars au 21 avril 1980]. Paris: Ministère de
l'environnement et du cadre de vie.
In French. This book is the result of the exhibition Construire en Quartier
Ancien (Building in Ancient Neighborhoods), which took place at the Grand
Palais from March 5 to April 21, 1980. Part I presents examples from the previous
20 years, emphasizing the relationships established between new buildings
and the historic environment, not the particular style of the new building. Each
chapter represents a different type of relationship. Chapter 1, “Le degree zero
de l’insertion,” contains designs that are indifferent to the context. Chapter 2,
“L’intégration,” has examples that show a will to create a building that is as
homogeneous as possible with the context. Chapter 3, “Le contraste,” presents
examples that create a controlled, intentional break with the context. Chapter 4,
“Le dérisoire et le précaire,” includes designs that use an unexpected and almost
caricature-like approach to reinterpret the context. Chapter 5, “L’invisibilité,”
presents projects that have adopted different artifices to blend into the context,
such as transparency, trompe-l’oeil, camouflage, mirror, or underground.
Chapter 6, “L’analogie,” shows designs that seek a balance between identification
with and differentiation from the context. Chapter 7, “Exemples complexes,”
presents designs that are complex in their attitude toward the context.
These design solutions could fall in multiple categories of relationship to the
context. Part II of the book contains case studies. (A.P.A.G.)
Also relevant for Chapter 4: Case Studies.
Contemporary Architecture in the Historic Environment: An Annotated Bibliography - Getty Conservation Institute - 2015