Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Historically, the purpose of conservation has been to retain the integrity and authenticity of the heritage object as inherent in its materials, design, craftsmanship, and for immoveable heritage, its setting.
Art 9. Theaim is to preserve and reveal the aesthetic and historic value of the monuments and authentic documents and is based on respect for original material and authentic documents. It must stopwhere conjecture begins, and in this case moreover any extra work which is indispensable must be distinct from the architectural composition and must bear a contemporary stamp.
THE OBJECT:
Reconciling respect for extant material with the need to understand original intent, form and context
Just as with buildings, urban districts can be heritage objects, demanding the same approach to safeguarding its values and all the elements where their significance lies.
How can we infill the gaps and lacunae in historic urban settings?
In an urban setting, the historic fabric is identified and characterized through the study of URBAN MORPHOLOGY form as defined by repetitive elements
Many approaches to infill building in terms of the mix that the designer and the design commission wish to respect:
1. the existing urban morphology 2. the building typology 3. the prevailing architectural styles 4. the historic use
GROUP 1: Those who respect the traditional urban morphology AND the prevalent style
GROUP 2: Those who respect the prevalent architectural styles BUT NOT the existing urban morphology.
GROUP 3: Those who respect the facades of traditional streetscapes, BUT NOT the building typologies
GROUP 4: Those who respect the traditional morphology but express it in contemporary ways with a harmonious intent
GROUP 5: Those who respect the traditional morphology but express it in contemporary ways with the intent to contrast.
GROUP 6: Those who respect nothing on the assumption that their great genius will enrich the urban environment.
Example:
Chinatown in Washington: focusing on the material significance and not on the intangible siginificance