Intro: New Exterior Additions to Historic Buildings
By Kay D. Weeks
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Because a new exterior addition to a historic building can damage or destroy significant materials and can change the building's character, an addition should be considered only after it has been determined that the new use cannot be met by altering insignificant, or secondary, interior spaces. If the new use cannot be met in this way, then an attached addition may be an acceptable alternative if carefully planned.
A new addition should be constructed in a manner that preserves significant materials and features and preserves the historic character. Finally, an addition should be differentiated from the historic building so that the new work is not confused with what is genuinely part of the past.
Change is as inevitable in buildings and neighborhoods as it is in individuals and families. Never static, buildings and neighborhoods grow, diminish, and continue to evolve as each era's technological advances bring conveniences such as heating, street paving, electricity, and air conditioning; as the effects of violent weather, uncontrolled fire, or slow unchecked deterioration destroy vulnerable material, as businesses expand, change hands, become obsolete, as building codes are established to enhance life safety and health; or as additional family living space is alternately needed and abandoned.
Preservationists generally agree that the history of a building, together with its site and setting, includes not only the period of original construction but frequently later alterations and additions. While each change to a building or neighborhood is undeniably part of its history--much like events in human life--not every change is equally important. For example, when a later, clearly insignificant addition is removed to reveal the original form, materials, and craftsmanship, there is little complaint about a loss to history.
When the subject of new exterior additions is introduced, however, areas of agreement usually tend to diminish. This is understandable because the subject raises some serious questions:
- Can a historic building be enlarged for a new use without destroying what is historically significant?
- What is significant about each particular historic building that should be preserved?
- Finally, what new construction is appropriate to the old building?
The vast amount of literature on the subject of change to America's built environment reflects widespread interest as well as divergence of opinion. New additions have been discussed by historians within a social and political, framework; by architectural historians in terms of construction technology and style; and by urban planners as successful or unsuccessful contextual design. Within the historic preservation programs of the National Park Service, however, the focus has been and will continue to be the protection of those resources identified as worthy of listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
| National Register Listing -- Acknowledging Change While Protecting Historical Significance Entire districts or neighborhoods may be listed in the National Register of Historic Places for their significance to a certain period of American history (e.g., activities in a commercial district between 1870 and 1910). This "framing" of historic districts has led to a concern that listing in the National Register may discourage any physical change beyond a certain historical period--particularly in the form of attached exterior additions. This is not the case. National Register listing does not mean that an entire building or district is frozen in time and that no change can be made without compromising the historical significance. It also does not mean that each portion of a historic building is equally significant and must be retained intact and without change. Admittedly, whether an attached new addition is small or large, there will always be some loss of material and some change in the form of the historic building. There will also generally be some change in the relationship between the buildings and its site, neighborhood or district. Some change is thus anticipated within each rehabilitation of a building for a contemporary use. Scope of National Park Service Interest in New Exterior Additions The National Park Service interest in new additions is simply this -- a new addition to a historic building has the potential to damage and destroy significant historic material and features and to change its historic character. A new addition also has the potential to change how one perceives what is genuinely historic and thus to diminish those qualities that make the building eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Once these basic preservation issues have been addressed, all other aspects of designing and constructing a new addition to extend the useful life of the historic building rest with the creative skills of the architect. |
The intent of this Brief, then, is to provide guidance to owners and developers planning additions to their historic buildings. A project involving a new addition to a historic building is considered acceptable within the framework of the National Park Service's standards if it:
- Preserves significant historic materials and features; and
- Preserves the historic character; and
- Protects the historical significance by making a visual distinction between old and new.
Paralleling these key points, the Brief is organized into three sections. Case study examples are provided to point out acceptable and unacceptable preservation approaches where new use requirements were met through construction of an exterior addition. These examples are included to suggest ways that change to historic buildings can be sensitively accomplished, not to provide in-depth project analyses, endorse or critique particular architectural design, or offer cost and construction data.
