New Architecture in Historic Settings
Part I
The Past and the Future
Modern architects who intentionally ignore the character of existing neighborhoods and cities are guilty of neglecting the visual heritage and tradition that defines a place and its people. Whether that place is a rural environment or a busy urban street, each place has a story to tell that speaks to our national heritage. Each place in our built environment arouses distinct associations that signify where we as individuals or as a nation have journeyed. Each place with which we are familiar should be viewed as a link to the future not as a barrier to it.
Between the 1930s and the 1960s the Modernist movement in America emphasized an "out with the old, in with the new" attitude. American architects exemplified this attitude with blatant disregard for context and a lack of sensitivity to our nations historic downtowns and neighborhoods. This destruction and degradation of our older built environment was a deliberate attack on our culture and emotions. By designing a building, that evoked a sense of place within a historic context, many architects felt that their individuality would be suppressed. This led many in the architectural field to ignore the values of society and institute their own personal agendas.
Fortunately this trend has subsided with the back-to-city movement that began in the early 1960s. In the article A New Urbanism Respectfully Blends the New with the Old by George M. Notter, Jr., the author discusses the Postmodern movement whose goals share the common purpose of evoking a sense of history and the roots of society.
These goals will continue to challenge cities to retain their older structures as a means of maintaining the excitement of the urban environment. These existing structures will exert even more influence over the character of the new infill architecture as well as enfolding the spaces that remain. The new emphasis on the context of cities and the respect for older architecture will continue to remind people of an earlier age, as they are drawn back into previously abandoned parts of cities that now surge with renewed life.1
Mr. Notter continues by emphasizing the strengths of New Urbanism.
This New Urbanism is the result of the integration of old and new, the culmination of a process that has been developing for more than 30 years….We have discovered with ever increasing clarity that our best spaces, our most pleasing buildings, manage to relate to what is familiar and human. These buildings do not replicate the old; they respect and enhance it. They lead to an expanded understanding of our built environment by letting the public move freely between the old and the new, approaching the varied richness of each.2
Part II
A Notable Architect
Robert Venturi is among the elite in the architectural realm. He has worked under Louis Kahn and also Eero Saarinen in his early career. His architecture is linked to matters of social concern and cultural relevance. History and all of its formal models inspired his creative ideas. His works respond to context, thus each building tends to look very different; each building learns from its surroundings. He has been categorized as a part of the Post Modern movement though he tends to discard a few of its beliefs. In 1991, Robert Venturi won the Pritzker, a prized award for architectural greatness.
Venturi has successfully adapted modern influence and design into historic settings with sensitivity and simplicity. The Franklin Court in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania completed in 1976 is an excellent example of blending modern architecture within a historic environment. Located in the historic Old City, this museum and monument to Benjamin Franklin fits into the surrounding historic context yet stands on its own as a significant structure. Venturi's Trenton Central Fire Headquarters completed in 1999 also successfully combines modern architecture with a important historic firehouse in the Academy/Hanover District in the City of Trenton. Venturi used materials similar to those in the old firehouse and skillfully employs a glass enclosed entry structure that "contrasts with the flanking old and new buildings."
Part III Designing a Building in Context
The Architect
There is no right way to design a building in context and no set of rules that leads us to the conclusion that new architecture fits in with the old. John Ruskin in The Seven Lamps of Architecture says "the man who has eye and intellect will invent beautiful proportions, and cannot help it; but he can no more tell us how to do it than Wordsworth could tell us how to write a sonnet, or than Scott could tell us how to write a romance."3 A feel for contextualism is a must as is having a sense for a historic place. Sensitivity, compromise and respect for the built environment are key components to the successful integration of old and new.
The Public
Addressing the architect's sphere of influence in Failure of Modern Architecture, Brent Brolin suggests that public taste for architecture should not be discarded.
Architects usually place the blame for lack of popular acceptance of the modern style on public ignorance of beauty, functional requirements of the spirit of the times; they do not see that it is more a matter of the architects own failure to recognize that his ideals have seldom coincided with the accepted symbols and values of the public.4
The aesthetic and social preferences of the public deserve serious consideration and should not be discarded. Public concern over new development has increased steadily in recent years. People who care about their historic downtowns and neighborhoods have the power and voices to speak in defense of their community's heritage, tradition and place. Getting what you want is possible with active participation.
The Planner
The Planning Commission, in controlling new development should give special attention to preserving the character of our historic places. The context of a place and its historic buildings requires responsible individuals to be sensitive and informed when new architecture threatens the integrity of the old. While there is no steadfast set of rules for a planner to follow, architect John Wells-Thorpe offers some tentative considerations about contextualism. Such considerations may include an assessment of the following:
1. The extent of old surroundings, e.g: in what condition is the existing environment?
2. The worth of old surroundings, e.g: what is the importance of the neighboring
3. The consistency of old surroundings, e.g: is the area in question coherent and complete, or more fragmented?
4. The uniqueness of old surroundings, e.g: is the neighboring building the only example of its type, or is it typical of its kind?
5. The proximity of old surroundings, e.g: are the neighboring structures near enough to be seen in the same sweep of the eye?
As New Urbanism gives rise to the successful combination of old and new architecture it is imperative that we not lose sight of the distinct characteristics that define our place and our community. With notable architects like Robert Venturi continuing to be selective about context, new architecture in historic settings can serve to strengthen a place and the public's associations to that place. While we have come a long way since the Modernist movement, the future of our sense of place and our visual heritage lie in the hands of the architect, the public and the planner. These three factions have the potential to define the characteristics of our neighborhoods, downtowns, cities and nation for generations to come. The successful integration of new architecture in historic settings brings to the forefront a respect for our built environment and a healthy community that identifies and maintains a sense of place.
1. George M. Notter, Jr. "A New Urbanism Respectfully Blends The New With The Old," Forum Jornal (Spring1990) : p. 1-2.
2. Ibid. p. 2.
3. John Ruskin. The Seven Lamps of Architecture, (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1989), 2:39.
4. Brent Brolin. Failure of Modern Architecture, (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1976), 5:121.
5. John Wells-Thorpe, "From Bauhous to Broilerhouse," Context: New Buildings in Historic Settings (Oxford: Architectural Press, 1998), 10:113.
