The Welcome of European Cities and Towns

VI. Layers of Old and New

While the US tends to preserve a building exactly as it was or destroy it completely, European countries seem to have come to a more natural acceptance of their historical framework.  Old buildings are kept, but they are not seen as shrines to the past.  They are part of the present identity of the city and, therefore, adjustments are made and modern aspects added to make it function in present society.

The British Museum

As the museum grew, it was decided that the old inner courtyard could become a great entry space for the museum.  It was glassed over to provide a place for information, a store, and restrooms.  The glass allowed light to come in and the sky to be seen and therefore the quality of the space was still very much like a courtyard.

Victoria Albert museum

Although Chihuly's blown glass chandelier is brightly colored and wildly formed, it seems to blend with the stone symmetry of the museum's rotunda.  Each glorifies the other.

London facade

The programmatic needs for the building may have changed beyond the building's capabilities, but its facade was still preserved.  The architectural presence was still maintained as a fragment of history.

Reflection from Foster building

One of the interesting things about Norman Foster's new building in London was its ability to reflect its surroundings.  Although the glass is very different, the reflection somehow softens that.

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