Contemporary Architecture in Historic UrbanEnvironmentsBy Susan MacdonaldAcritical issue facing decision makers and conservationprofessionals is accommodating change to heritage places andadding new layers to the historic urban environment in waysthat recognize, interpret, and sustain their heritage values. Overthelast decade, avigorousdebatehasensuedregardingtheappropriateness of contemporaryarchitectural insertionsintohistoricurban areas. hisdebatehaspolarizedsectorsof thearchitectural community, pitting conservationists againstplanners and developers. !t has positioned conservationists asantidevelopmentandantiprogress,responsibleforstiflingthecreativity of a new generation of architects and their right tocontemporary architectural e"pression.#hange, however, is inevitable. Buildings, streetscapes, andurban areas evolve and change according to the needs of theirinhabitants. herefore, it is important to determine the role ofcontemporaryarchitecture incontributingtothis change inways that conserve and celebrate the special character and $uality of the historic environmentthat communities have recognized as important and wish to conserve for future generations.%istoric areas typicallye"hibit a range of heritage values, suchas social, historical, andarchitectural. &re$uently, they also have aesthetic significance' therefore, the design $uality ofnew insertions in a historic area is important. One of the challenges in this debate on the role ofcontemporary architecture in historic conte"ts is that design $uality can be seen as sub(ective.Assessing the impact of new development in a historic conte"t has also been accused of beingsub(ective. %owever, increasing development pressure has pushed governments and theconservation community to provide more ob(ective guidance to secure what is termed )the three#s,) namely* certainty in the planning system about what constitutes appropriate development' consistency in government decision making' and communication and consultation between government decision makers and thedevelopment sector on creating successful outcomes.+esignprofessionalsdifferentiatebetweentasteanddesign$uality. asteissub(ective, while$uality is measurable. ,rescriptive planning tools such as height restrictions, envelopelimitations, and re$uirements to use certain materials all attempt to provide $ualitative designmeasures. !n many places, it is only when a historic building or area is involved that issues ofdesign $uality and character are included in the planning process through development or impactassessment. #learly there is a need to provide guidance or establish well-understood standards toassess newdevelopment occurringwithintreasuredstreetscapes, neighborhoods, or historiclandscapes, in order to meet the three #s. .iven that the debate is now occurring at a globalscale, such standards need to achieve some level of consensus at an international level.STARCHITECTURE IN THE HISTORIC CITY he /unsthaus .raz in .raz,Austria, designed by ,eter#ook and #olin &ournier.Opening in 0112 and locatedinthecenter of thehistoriccity, it is representative ofhigh-profile buildings thataim to be iconic bycontrasting with a city3se"isting urbanfabric. ,hoto*&lavio 4allenari.he recent phenomenon of celebrity architecture5thoselandmark buildings described by #harles 6encks as )enigmaticsignifiers)5haselevatedthenewarchitectural monument tothe status of a great artwork and signals the emergence of thosewhohave come tobe knownas starchitects.7 #ityleaders,an"ious to secure global status for their city in an increasinglycompetitive world, have turned to these international celebrityarchitects to create new iconic landmarks to put their city onthe map. &or e"ample, &rank .ehry3s brief for the .uggenheimMuseum 89::2;:6encks, inhis 011?book TheIconicBuilding, contrasts thetraditional monument withthe celebritybuilding5whichisdriven by commercial needs and whose role it is to stimulateinterest and investment in cities through its attention-grabbing,provocative design. )!n the past,) he writes, )important public buildings, such as the cathedraland the city hall, e"pressed shared meaning and conveyed it through well-knownconventions.)@ Suchimportant publicmonuments maybemuseums, as isthecasewiththe.uggenheim in Bilbao, but since the mid-9::1s, the monumental approach has been e"tended toawiderrangeofprivatebuildings, suchasdepartment stores, apartmentbuildings, andevenadditions to family homes. he acceptability or fashion for attention-grabbing buildings meansthat differenceisapplaudedandiscelebratedover conte"tualizeddesign5theapproachthepreservation community generally advocates. Some of these buildings may be fabulous, but howmany monuments does the urban environment needA Bhat will it be like in the future when thebuildingsareall unrelated, eachvyingforattentionandwithout thetraditional hierarchyofmonumentality that enables a reading of the urban landscape as it relates to functionA Bheredoes the iconic building fit within the already e"isting iconic urban fabric of the historic cityA%erein lies the conflict. Starchitecture clamors for attention to consciously create an identity fortheaspiringglobal city.!nthecaseofthehistoriccity,suchasthoseincludedontheBorld%eritageCist, thecityhasalreadybeenrecognizedmoreoftenthannot foritsarchitectural,aesthetic, andhistoriccharacter.,reservationistswouldarguethat thehistoriccityisalreadyiconic, so new development that seeks to stand apart from it is likely to receive criticism fromcommunities, many of which have worked hard to protect the historic area. Sometimes it is thehomogeneity or unity of the architecture that is important' sometimes it is the combination ofhistoric layers and parts that contributes to significance. ,erhaps ironically, inevitably it is itslocal distinctiveness that is being celebrated through the international recognition Borld %eritagelisting brings.!ntheearly0111s, anumber of Borld%eritagesiteswerenominatedtothe Cist of Borld%eritage in +anger, due to proposed, highly contemporary development deemed inappropriatebecause it potentially threatened the outstanding universal values of the nominated sites. he callbythe Borld%eritage#ommittee 8B%#=foractiontoaddressthisissueresultedina011?conference in 4ienna entitled )Borld %eritage and #ontemporary Architecture5Managing the%istoric Drban Candscape.) he outcome of this meeting was the 4ienna Memorandum,E whichproposes an integrated approach to the contemporary development of e"isting cities in a way thatdoes not compromise their heritage significance. Since that time, the B%# has worked with itsadvisorybodies toaddress a number of relatedissues pertainingtothe conservationand Ait Ben %addou in Morocco.his Borld%eritageSiteisan e"ample of an urbansettlement in whichvernacular traditionalbuilding forms and materialscontinuetobeusedfornewconstruction, resultinginanarchitectural integrity andauthenticity that offers aharmonious relationshipbetween the natural andsocial environment.,hoto* .#!.management of the historic urbanlandscape.? Simultaneously, manylocal governments andheritage institutions have worked to develop guidance to gain a shared understanding of whatconstitutesappropriatedevelopment inthehistoricenvironment betweenowners, developers,and decision making bodies.FCREATING TOORRO!"S HERITAGEherearevaryingviewsonwhat constitutesappropriatenewdevelopment withinahistoricconte"t. Some argue that new insertions to the fabric of the historic urban environment should beinthestyleoftheold. %istorically,traditionalsettlementsandcitieslike AitBen%addouinMoroccoor Ganzibar3sstone townhavedemonstratedacontinuum ofbuilding traditions thate"emplifiesthisapproach. !nthepre-modernera, redevelopment incommercial citycenters,such as Condon3s Hegent Street, followed a Beau" Arts approach, with grand town planning andarchitectural gestures. Bith the advent of Modernism, large-scale reconstruction, whicharchitecturally broke with traditional architectural and planning forms, changed the face of manycities inthe twentiethcentury. !nrecent times, inreactiontomoderninterventions, somearchitects have chosen to continue to design buildings in a more historical style whileneverthelessutilizingmodernmaterialsandtechnologies. Othersabhorhistoricismandarguethat eachgenerationshouldrepresent its owntime. Iewlayers shouldrepresent theideas,technology, materials, and architectural language of each generation. Pastiche is a dirty word.he historic environment can, in fact, accommodate a rich varietyof interpretations ande"pressions. Avernacular or traditional responsemaybeas validas amorecontemporaryresponse. !t is the$ualityof therelationshipbetweenoldandnewthat is critical, not thearchitectural language per se. !ssues such as scale, form, siting, materials, color, and detailing areimportant toconsider whenassessingtheimpact of anewdevelopment withinacherishedhistorictown, city, or site. hesecriteriaaree"amples of thosetypicallyconsideredwhenassessing the impact of new development in a historic conte"t.