Contemporary Architecture in the Historic Environment

Introduction to the Annotated
Bibliography
The Getty Conservation Institute’s (GCI) Contemporary Architecture in the
Historic Environment (CAHE) project is addressing one of the critical issues in
heritage conservation—the management of change—by exploring the role of contemporary
architecture in historic environments and developing methodologies and
criteria for designing new buildings that are respectful of their historic contexts,
and for assessing the impacts of these new constructions. The ultimate objective is
to improve the quality of new architectural interventions. CAHE is working with
the professional community, including the planning, architecture, conservation,
and development sectors, to develop objective standards that will form the basis of
guidance and assessment tools that can assist in achieving a shared understanding
of appropriate development in historic contexts, improve consistency in the decision-making
process across a wide range of situations, and promote good design.
As a first step in the project, the GCI carried out research and prepared this subject
bibliography. Contemporary Architecture in the Historic Environment: An
Annotated Bibliography seeks to identify the wide range of views within the various
professional communities working in the field as to what constitutes appropriate
new development within a historic area and the existing methodologies and
tools already in use to guide and assess such developments, including policy documents
and design guidelines. This bibliography is intended to be a resource for
policy makers, decision makers, and practitioners working on the planning, design,
and assessment of new architectural insertions in historic environments; it will also
be used to identify any gaps in knowledge and inform the development of future
tools by the GCI.
Scope and Selection of Texts
The bibliography focuses on literature that specifically addresses the topic of contemporary
architecture in historic environments and, as such, does not include the
broad spectrum of general literature on conservation theory and practice. This is
not to say that the conservation principles espoused in these texts do not apply to
the issue of contemporary architecture in historic environments; rather, in most
cases, they constitute the backbone that sustains specific recommendations on this
topic. It is recommended that general conservation literature be studied in parallel
with the titles included here.
The selected texts concentrate on the insertion of contemporary or new architecture,
particularly buildings, in historic environments. While other types of interventions,
including public space improvements such as new plazas or street
furniture, or infrastructure such as bridges, may also significantly impact the historic
environment, the current version of the bibliography is generally limited to
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Contemporary Architecture in the Historic Environment: An Annotated Bibliography - Getty Conservation Institute - 2015