ABSTRACT
If there is one issue that is likely to stir up a debate, it is that new architecture can be built at historic sites; that new architecture can stand successfully cheek by jowl with historic buildings. This book confronts the debate. It steps back from the emotive and polarised position so often represented as 'historicism versus modernism'; that is, 'venerable historical styles versus ugly and impractical glass boxes', or, seen from the other viewpoint, 'pastiche of the past versus a confident expression of our age'. The book seeks some form of rationale; it seeks common ground, moving, not towards dogmatic statements of right or wrong, nor even towards a set of specific rules, but to tease out conceptual ideas which can be tested through actual examples to provide a clearer understanding of the problems and solutions. The aim is to provide an awareness of the issues, so that design decisions may be taken from a less emotive and more conscious viewpoint. The subject matter is, therefore, both history and architecture. The hypothesis is that the design of new architecture for historic areas can be analysed, that design issues can be identified and used, not only to stimulate new design, but also as a tool in the evaluation and criticism of proposed schemes and completed projects.
