Design
Design in a Historic Context
From the 1930s through the 1960s Modernist-trained architects generally ignored older buildings and their styles, and tried to design in a "modern" mode. Since respect for historical elements was not looked upon favorably, this often led to the covering or defacement of many elegant 19th-century facades.
However, with the increased awareness of historic preservation in recent decades also came an increased awareness of the need to be able to design new buildings that were compatible with historic buildings. This design approach is called "Contextualism," and refers to the need to have contemporary architecture be sensitive to the context surrounding it. Brent Brolin in his book Architecture in Context presents a good discussion of the issues involved. Brolin is not dogmatic about contextual design, but explains in the book's Introduction,
The modernist architectural code of ethics maintained that history was irrelevant, that our age was unique and therefore our architecture must be cut off from the past. Just a few short decades ago modernists argued that everyone in the world, their tastes freed by the Movement, would soon want to live in the same kind of houses, in the same kind of modern cities, all of which would reflect the spirit of our times. (While the 'times' were always 'ours,' the decision as to which forms characterized them was always 'theirs,' the architectural elite.) Because of this overwhelming belief several generations of architects have felt little need to accommodate their work to the older, theoretically obsolete architecture around it.1
He goes on to say there are many good design approaches which put new and old together compatibly.
There are a variety of ways to design a new building so that it is sympathetic to its architectural context. On the one hand one may literally copy architectural elements from the surroundings; on the other, one may use totally new forms to evoke, perhaps even to enhance, the visual flavor of existing buildings. ...either of these approaches, or anything in-between, is satisfactory as long as it is skillfully done.2
Contextual design emphasizes compatibility, encouraging new structures to respect the scale, height, setback, materials and overall detailing of surrounding older buildings. This does not mean that new designs need to look old--in most cases this would be inappropriate. Rather, it means contemporary design should be used in a way that blends with the old, so new and old are distinguishable, but compatible.
1 Brent Brolin. 1980. Architecture In Context. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company. p. 7.
2 Ibid. p. 5.
