Royal Ontario Museum, Canada
Dresden Museum, Germany
Rooftop Remodelling, Austria
Reichstag Building, Germany
Newton & Artwright Building, UK
Mortzburg Museum, Germany
Altes Pinakothek, Munich
Park Hill, UK
The Natural History Museum, Berlin
APPROACH
APPROACH 1: REFERENTIAL
PRESERVING THE OLD
All reuse projects should take references from the original. This approach focuses on the authenticity and preservation of the existing identity in its entirety and is adopted for conversions, conservation and restoration projects. This approach is traditionally associated with heritage protection, as visual reference of the existing plays a decisive role (Schittich, 2003, pp17-18).
This approach looks to provide a building with a new use which bears a close resemblance to the original intent of the structure. Preserving the building in its original state is commonly used in conversions such as museums, where the building is the most important exhibit as the historic image is seen as an essential aspect of its identity (Schittich, 2003, p17).
However, when the new element is constructed as a pastiche it can be damaging (Brooker and Stone, 2004, p67). This is because too little contrast can result in an uninteresting structure and it can be difficult and confusing to interpret the incoherent design language.
This approach combines the existing structure with new elements in a way which highlights the new but is sympathetic to the existing. It is seen as an opportunity to reinterpret rather than revise an existing building (Schittich, 2003, p19).
New elements are made obvious and fundamentally different from the existing structure through style or materiality of the intervention. The new layers combine with the old to be read together as a narrative, where the story of its identity can be understood through the uncovering and manipulation of the space and the interaction of the new elements (Brooker and Stone, 2004, p81).
This approach is very sympathetic to the identity of the existing building and adds new layers in a very clear and easy to interpret manor.
APPROACH 2: REFRAINED
REFRAINED CONTRAST BETWEEN NEW & OLD
APPROACH 3: EXTREME
EXTREME CONTRAST BETWEEN NEW & OLD
The combination of new and old can be implemented in a way which is more extreme. This adopts the same concept of layering new elements with the old, but the manipulation and intervention of the new is constructed in a more daring way.
However, this approach can be more controversial as the greater the extreme between the new and old, the greater the contention is (Bloszies, 2012, p46).
This approach is difficult to implement in way that does not overpower the existing structure. This could be seen to pay little respect the identity of the structure, with the new interventions becoming dominant.
The aesthetic interpretation of an existing structure can be approached in many ways. This depends on the extent of the deficiencies that need to be addressed, the building's condition and the designers approach to the preservation of the original architectural fabric and its combination with the new (Bloszies, 2012, p24).
An element of contrast is a priori condition of distinguishing between elements completed at different times (Bloszies, 2012, p45), but the phenomenon that 'contrast always works' has lost its meaning and has been replaced by an approach of tailoring the degree of contrast to the particular building (Schittich, 2003, p16). Some individuals may argue that contrast between new and old does not lead to an enhanced expression of the other altogether (Bloszies, 2012, p46).
The degree of contrast can be broadly categorised into these three approaches:
Referential: Preserving the old and respecting the existing when adding new elements.
Refrained: There is a contrast between new and old, but this is refrained.
Extreme: The contrast between new and old is more extreme.
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PRECEDENT STUDIES:
PRECEDENT STUDIES:
DEGREE OF CONTRAST
ANALYSIS:
A question on the survey asked people to rank these approaches (based on the images below) in order of preference with one being their favourite.
F
Referential
G
Refrained
H
Extreme
These graphs show how people ranked these approaches. Graph One shows these by building and Graph Two shows the data by rank position.
GRAPH ONE:
GRAPH TWO:
The results show that approach 'G', which sympathetically combines new and old was the favoured approach of almost all respondents.
A referential approach was the next most popular choice with the majority of respondents ranking 'H' as their least favourite. This shows a clear dislike to an extreme approach of combining old and new out of the people questioned.
Respondents were then asked to describe the approach they ranked in first position using three words. These words are shown overlaying their respective approach:
F
Referential
G
Refrained
H
Extreme
Though preference to which approach may vary, the descriptions show an overall positive response to combining an existing structure with contemporary elements.