Re-architecture : dialogues between the old and new

Abstract

A pile of stones on a grave, a mound, a building erected in the name of a river or famous person - all seem part of a basic human instinct to leave proof in the form of monuments of one's passage on earth for future generations. "Monuments have established a link, a continuity between generations through time" Erder, Our Architecture Heritage: from Consciousness to Conservation, p.21 comments Erder, and there can be little doubt that much can be learnt from glancing back in time at "the Curatorial Management of the Built World" Perhaps a more appropriate title than simply Conservation or Preservation; borrowed from James Marston Fitch's book, Historic Preservation: Curatorial Management of the Built World. The first section of this work will do just that. We shall study the prominent attitudes, philosophies and events within different societies at different times and use them to shape an understanding of how the relationship between old and new in the built environment has changed over the millennium. For as Le Corbusier so rightly pointed out - "To be modern is not a fashion, it is a state. It is necessary to understand history, and he who understands history knows how to find continuity between that which was, that which is and that which will be". Beginning with the Roman period, the first section of this work will trace past developments in the restoration and evaluation of historical monuments in three western European countries - Italy, France and the United Kingdom. The choice of these nations was deliberate: the treatment of the historic environment in these three countries in the past led to cross currents between them and has in turn affected other Western countries.