Preservation is Sacrifice

Photo by Flickr's Archway Andres

"Everything has a life cycle, as should buildings. Preservation is an action in sacrifice of future possibilities. The future needs its own space."

-- Quingyun Ma, USC's dean of architecture

Often, I think of building preservation as a passive event. It's letting the status quo stand. Lovingly and with a heck of a lot of effort, but still--you're operating in specific constraints. This quote from Ma (in a great article on architecture in Fast Company) certainly frames preservation in a sharper light: you need to weigh preservation of the past with providing opportunities for development and growth.

Photo by Flickr's Noggin_nogged

I once watched a documentary that covered an archaeological dig in Egypt. A construction crew had uncovered a Roman-era crypt. The archaeologist had 90 days to determine if there was significant historic worth. If it wasn't deemed important enough, the crypt would be destroyed to make way for a bank. It was a mass scramble to dig out and assess the crypt and then to photograph the wall paintings before it was turned back to the construction crew. At first, I was annoyed that so much artwork was going to be buried under a bank, but I guess you run into ruins all the time in Egypt. If you preserved everything, you would never get anything done.

Photo by Flickr's Noggin_nogged

I've illustrated this post with some building photographs of el Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, in Valencia, Spain. It's a series of gorgeous buildings my parents tipped me off to. Designed by Santiago Calatrava, the grouping includes the Valencia Opera House, an aquarium and an IMAX theatre.

I wonder if the next generation will think they are as ugly as the grey concrete buildings from the 70's. My worst fear is that somehow some of those concrete monstrosities will default onto some historic building list and get "preserved." I wonder if people thought they were beautiful when they were new.