I'm ok with fascadeism. Reusing entire old buildings is best, but sometimes it just doesn't make sense. Saving at least an old fascade keeps a neighborhood looking interesting.
I agree with that. It forces the architects to come up with something creative using the existing façade's style, a worthy constraint. And it's far, far better than the alternative... good lord.
Does our Unpaid Intern know what the proposed structure will look like? Can you post the architect sketches?
Reusing old buildings (with tastefully complementary, rather than falsely retro, additional floors) is definitely the ideal. See Trace Lofts for a pretty good nearby example.
Façadism can be interesting or awful, and is rarely anything in between. I'd definitely prefer an interesting, brand new, permeable-frontage-conscious building to a lazy exercise in façadist appeasement.
There's also the matter of energy efficiency, and earthquake survivability of buildings. If only a shell facade crumbles and kills a few pedestrians that's not so bad.
But global warming is NOW, kidlings. You're already soaking in it.
@10 Keeping a fascade doesn't exempt a builder from bringing the entire building up to code, which includes structural and energy efficiency.
An argument can be made that reusing existing materials (like a fascade's bricks) can save quite a bit of embodied energy. But that's only true if you also retrofit to match the alternative's energy efficiency (which you have to, thanks to our building codes).
If you've going to rebuild then do so...come up with something really new using the materials of the age. Put in a stationary fuel cell for power. Use nanotubes. Anything to kick this lethargic city into the 21st century.
Does our Unpaid Intern know what the proposed structure will look like? Can you post the architect sketches?
Treacle @3, you can see renderings here.
Façadism can be interesting or awful, and is rarely anything in between. I'd definitely prefer an interesting, brand new, permeable-frontage-conscious building to a lazy exercise in façadist appeasement.
But global warming is NOW, kidlings. You're already soaking in it.
An argument can be made that reusing existing materials (like a fascade's bricks) can save quite a bit of embodied energy. But that's only true if you also retrofit to match the alternative's energy efficiency (which you have to, thanks to our building codes).
I wonder how long before the building the Stranger is in gets redeveloped? Who owns that one?
We've also seen much, much, much worse.