Luna, Isabelle A.

Ar134/E20

2015141511 Seatwork 1

CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE IN HISTORIC URBAN ENVIRONMENTS

- That change, however, is inevitable. Buildings, streetscapes, and urban areas evolve and change
according to the needs of their inhabitants.
- the design quality of new insertions in a historic area is important.
- there is a need to provide guidance or establish well-understood standards to assess new
development occurring within treasured streetscapes, neighborhoods, or historic landscapes, in
order to meet the three Cs.
- The acceptability or fashion for attention-grabbing buildings means that difference is applauded
and is celebrated over contextualized design—the approach the preservation community
generally advocates.
- As with any conservation work, understanding significance of the place is crucial.
- Conservation is a balance between preserving the special character, quality, and significance of
the historic place and facilitating change in a way that sustains it into the future.
- Sometimes it is the homogeneity or unity of the architecture that is important; sometimes it is
the combination of historic layers and parts that contributes to significance.

Summary:

The article is about the appropriateness of contemporary architecture in historic urban areas.
Preservation of each culture is important but it is mentioned that change is however unavoidable.
Different methods and approach are being used by the professionals in developing or designing.
Conservation of special characters and quality of historic environment that communities have
recognized is important to conserve for future generations.

Analysis:

It is important to preserve our cultural heritage, because it keeps our integrity as a people.
However, we cannot totally preserve culture because every now and then we discover new ways of
designing structure that is convenient to many. We can apply new methods but at the same time
considering the special characters of each places.

Related Articles:

Contemporary architecture in historical contexts: for a system of values(Giovanna Franco,2016)

- The views on architectural and contemporary urban patrimony and our consequent actions to be able
to fully live, maintain, assimilate or, to the contrary, seek to deny and destroy it are based, however, on
complex and disorganised selection processes that still do not find widely-shared coding and keys.

- it is reasonable and necessary to ask ourselves if there exists a “cultural memory” for twentieth
century architecture, as a fundamental element of its presumptive value or patrimonial significance
- The old and the new interact together: the traditional block structure is divided into inclined segments,
to mitigate the volumetric impact of the new complex in such a delicate context, into which it is
harmoniously embedded.

Summary:

The article proposes a reflection on the relationship of new construction in an old context
focusing on the recognition of the value of contemporary work which, historically, was introduced
starting from post-war reconstructions. The article presents the methodologies and results of research
that was first financed by the ministry of cultural heritage and activities.

Analysis:

Highlighting the values of cultural heritages needs to be considered for the purposes of its
future protection and enhancement. Reflecting on our cultural heritage is one of the important
considerations

New Designs in Historic Context: Starchitecture vs Architectural Conservation Principles (Damla

Mısırlısoy,2017)

- Most buildings will change their use through their lifetime; this will invariably necessitate changes to
the internal layout and fabric of the old building.

Summary:

Analysis:

Contemporary architecture can benefit urban heritage and vice versa.