Contemporary Architecture in the Historic Environment- Issues and Options

Contemporary Architecture in the Historic Environment- Issues and Options

·??????Jit Kumar Gupta

·??????[email protected]

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Art, Architecture, built environment and human settlements have always been evolving, devolving, never static and never finite. Following this pattern and governing principle, human settlements and historic environment has been redefining itself, in each era of growth and development marking human existence . Buildings, streetscapes, and urban areas ?have always remained dynamic places which are constantly ?changing and adapting to the needs of their inhabitants, with each generation contributing distinctly and differently to this evolution.

Onset of industrialization in the nineteenth century, coupled with rapid increase in human population and large number of people opting for migration from rural areas to urban settlements, has led to bringing distinct changes not only in the built environment but also in the shape, size, growth and development ?pattern of urban settlements. Demand for new?spaces for catering to the needs of increasing population and growing ?urbanization has led to ?the construction of ?different and distinct typologies of buildings. In addition, numerically large number of new buildings were added and created to meet the basic needs for living, working, education, healthcare, leisure and industry. Since most of these spaces came up within / close proximity to?historic built environment, it invariably led to?creating cultural and architectural ?dichotomy and contradictions, in terms of form , shape, materials and technology ?between newly created buildings and ?existing historic built spces.??Accordingly, twentieth century brought rapid transformation to the urban landscape . Pace of change has continued?in the twenty-first century , posing great challenge and so called threat to the conservation of historic environment.

Urban areas invariably face and are subjected to numerous developmental pressures to accommodate rapid increase in urban population ?and growing economic activities/forces. Advent of the era of Modernism, as the leading force of the twentieth century Architecture, ?has redefined the traditional architecture and planning approaches, utilizing forms and materials that often contrasts, contradicts and remain anti-thesis to ??the existing historic environment.

?In response to ?globalization, liberalization of economies and under growing ?economic pressures, many nations took up the agenda of promoting and marketing their cities to attract business/ investment ?and make such cities global destination. For?attracting investment and making cities internationally known, best option which gained?currency with civic leaders was to provide?these cities ?with distinct identity in the form of creating new landmarks using built environment. For creating these distinct and unique landmarks, cities?roped in the services of ?master?architects to create state of art designs that strive?individual attention, overshadowing traditional civic landmarks created in the historical past.

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These landmarks, having different and distinct architectural vocabulary in terms of ;form, shape, volume, materials, technology, usage etc., have created dichotomy and contradictions in the urban fabric by overshadowing, marginalizing, muting and diluting the sanctity, value, role and importance of the valuable heritage existing in these cities. Looking at the?entire context, and fast emerging challenges posed by positioning contemporary architecture and historic buildings in close proximity, it was thought prudent that for rationalizing the growth and development of urban spaces, issue of creating and spacing contemporary architecture within and in close proximity of ?historical buildings , should be dissected evaluated, ?discussed and debated. It was also considered critical that in order to minimize the conflict, ?juxtaposition ?of contemporary and old buildings in the urban settings?should be defined ?carefully and thoughtfully, without marginalizing the value of ?historic buildings, while meeting the emerging needs of the communities, society and cities.

Looking at the entire context, it was felt that existing system of constructing new buildings and ?its placement has caused enormous threat to?both historical buildings and urban fabric. With the passage of time and?rapid urban growth in terms of area and built environment; insertion of contemporary architectural designs often poses?greater threat to historic environments than envisioned earlier. This ?threat?to historic buildings by the placement of modern edifices was recognized by?the first World Heritage Centre ?as early as ?in the year 2000, when UNESCO added ??number of sites to the?List of World Heritage in Danger.

Issue continued to dominate the proceedings of?World Heritage Committee . Finally, the issue ?was called for action by the World Heritage Committee which resulted in the?2005 conference?in Vienna entitled ,"World Heritage and Contemporary Architecture–Managing the Historic Urban Landscape." The outcome of the conference was the?Vienna Memorandum, which called for adopting ?an integrated approach to the sustainable conservation of historic cities, through the mechanism of linking contemporary architecture, sustainable urban development, and landscape integrity to the historic urban context.

?Memorandum led to UNESCO?Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape?in 2011, which called for the development of new planning tools, such as heritage, social, and environmental impact assessments, and regulatory systems to help protect the integrity and authenticity of urban heritage. It needs to be understood and appreciated, that Contemporary architecture?in the given context?refers to all significant planned and designed interventions in the built historic environment, including open spaces, new construction, additions ?made to or extensions carried out to historic buildings and sites, and conversions, which standout and remain iconic in their own right, except the duration of time of its existence

?Looking at the context of Contemporary architecture, there are varying views on what constitutes appropriate new development within a historic context. Few experts are of the considered opinion ??that new architectural insertions should represent a continuum of building traditions and replicate the surrounding historic environment, while other school of thought advocates and call ?for the juxtaposition of new and old, with the new reflecting contemporary expression through different forms, styles, materials, and/or technologies. Between these two extremes are ?the design responses that respect traditional architectural forms but expressed using a contemporary architectural language.

Generally historic and modern architecture don’t come together too often. Even though they’re seen as vastly different, but still, ?they remain equally important and valuable to communities and society. Built environment is often defined?distinctly ?and separately in terms of ; old and new buildings. Historic architecture has its own charm and beauty—one can imagine the ?lasting impact of ?palaces of?Versailles?or?ancient temples?across the world—and it’s no secret that, at its best, modern architecture inspires and also makes value addition to urban spaces. Many buildings designed/created by Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas,?Santiago Calatrava, and Frank Gehry, Wright, Corbusier, Nervy etc., ??remain iconic in its own right.

Older structures inform us about the culture, history, and values of the past; while new and contemporary ones, much like a force of nature, have the ability to transform a neighborhood; always for the better. Many refer to this as, the?Bilbao effect, a term coined after?Frank Gehry; whose design of ?Guggenheim museum??helped in ?turning around the Spanish city’s economy.

Considering the?rational and logical growth and development of urban spaces, it is time to evaluate the implications of?what happens when these modern marvels are built on or within the existing historic ?buildings/spaces themselves. Although it’s not the norm, there are times when architects decide; for reasons of preservation; that instead of building around or in place of historic structures, it’s better to build in or atop the original foundation. When these two worlds of old and new come together, the result can be different, distinct and unique. From Zaha Hadid’s extension to the Port House in Belgium, which looks as if a spaceship was attached to a 19th-century building; ?to Daniel Libeskind’s beautiful clash of new and old in Canada’s Royal Ontario Museum, remain best examples of ?showcasing that coming together of ?historic and modern architecture, can produce something better than what can be done by them individually.

Need of inserting new buildings within historic spaces

It needs to be understood and appreciated that?the necessity to?create new?buildings within historic areas has genesis in;

·???????providing facilities needed by the inhabitants of the growing and changing local communities such as health care educational and retail.

·???????solving socio-cultural and economic problems of the local community by supporting, enhancing and utilizing the inhabitants’ skills.

·???????utilizing all the vacant lands which have great values in these significant locations whether they are governmental or private owned.

·??????replacing deteriorated non-historic buildings in bad conditions which pose danger to the life, liberty and safety of ?the inhabitants.

·???????replacing informal settlements and illegally constructed buildings by new constructions respecting the building regulations and guidelines.

·???????eliminating illegal buildings and encroachments made?on the?walls?of adjacent monuments , to eliminate adverse impact /restore the value of heritage buildings

·???????developing projects that enhance the tourism ?and promote / develop national /local economies.

Strategies and options for?rational placement of Historic and Contemporary buildings;

Redefining Development Regulations; Architectural heritage remains unique resource and irreplaceable expression of the richness and diversity of our past. In order to maintain?sanctity, glory and uniqueness of historic buildings, number of steps are needed including rationally defining the regulations, governing the placement, construction, form and fabric of the buildings to be constructed. Accordingly, local authorities must establish innovative and state of art?regulations and controls for building new structures in the historic areas in order to preserve the historic nature and values existing in the area. Regulations and controls issued by local authorities should invariably guide the construction of new buildings in historic areas to reflect the humanistic dimensions. The developed legal framework?should represent a tool?which should help in aiding, advising, assisting and guiding the community /organizations, regulatory agencies and decision-makers in their review of proposals for new constructions in historic districts. In addition, the defined framework should also?guide and assist architects and developers in planning and designing projects in historic contexts, rationally and logically.

?The broad goals of these regulations should revolve around and include to ensure that;

·???????new buildings or interventions made in the historic areas should be more sensitive in order to protect the value of monuments and cultural identity?of the area.

·??????new buildings ?should remain compatible with its historic context in terms of ?massing, size, scale, architectural elements, etc.

·???????effectively regulate and control the urban fabric.

·??????protect and preserve the traditional urban fabric, densification, building height controls, street pattern and setbacks, and built-up areas.

·???????effectively regulate and control the architectural character.

·????????compatibility with the surrounding character, shape, percentage and proportions, fa?ade design and pattern, fa?ade materials and color and fa?ade vocabularies and elements.

·????????support daily socio-cultural activities of the local community.

Defining methodologies; Contemporary Architecture in the Historic Environment is known to address one of the critical issues of heritage conservation. In order to ensure appropriate management of change, by exploring the role of contemporary architecture in historic environments, it will be important to develop methodologies and criteria for designing new buildings that are respectful to their historic contexts; assessing the impacts of these new constructions. In order to rationally gel historic and contemporary?built environment , it will be essential?to develop objective standards that will form the basis of guidance and?create assessment tools that can assist in achieving a shared understanding of appropriate development in historic contexts through improved consistency in the decision-making process across a wide range of situations, to promote good design.

?For defining the role of contemporary architectural interventions in the historic urban areas and to improve the quality ?of such interventions, Getty Conservation Institute in its well-researched and valuable?document; Contemporary Architecture in Historic environment (CAHE)- suggests interventions in terms of:

·??????Research: For analyzing how past and current architectural interventions in the historic environment have been addressed; identify key current issues and challenges; and, explore how these issues could be addressed and managed through the developing tools for the professional community.

·??????Engagement with the Professional Community: Work with the conservation, planning, architectural, and development communities to develop objective criteria and well-understood standards that will form the basis of these tools, so that they may be applied to a wide range of situations.

·??????Public Programming: Host lectures and symposia that bring together the wide range of professionals working in this area to raise awareness of & discuss critical issues.

.Bibliography;

·??????Getty Conservation Institute; Contemporary Architecture in Historic environment (CAHE)

·??????Adelsalem Tarek & others ?; New architectural intervention in historically sensitive; humanistic approach in historic Cairo; February 2021 ?

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