It was the ultimate sacrifice; a 3:30am wake-up call in order to fly to London to meet with the hosts of Grand Designs UK & Australia, Kevin McCloud and Peter Maddison.
For all the mums out there that swoon over the British host of Grand Designs, we can confirm for you that Kevin is indeed as lovely in person as he is on camera. He is thoughtful, passionate, polite and very keen to talk architecture.
Due to Kevin’s rigid celebrity lifestyle, he had just a brief time to meet with us before being whisked away by his entorage of personal assistants. But we did manage to have a good chat with him about his views on architecture. In particular, the challenges that architects face when designing for an historical context.
Having experienced Berlin and it’s incredible blend of historical and contemporary buildings, we were keen to pick Kevin’s brain on his views on historical reconstruction. Due to the destruction of many of Berlin’s civic buildings during the war, the Berliners have had to ask themselves the question ‘do we aim to create an exact replica of the old buildings, brick for brick, or do we use modern architecture and technology to bring the buildings up to date?’
This question was brought to our attention when we learnt about the proposed reconstruction of the City Palace which was largely destroyed during the second World War, then fully demolished in 2008. The new reconstruction of the City Palace will begin in 2014. It is proposed that three of the original Baroque facades are rebuilt as an exact replica of the original.
We questioned the validity of this architectural strategy. By producing a faux version of the original palace, does the architect achieve the meaning that was once inherent in the original?
We asked Kevin what his thoughts were on this. Impressively, he explained that he can see both sides if the situation; sometimes it is perfectly appropriate to reconstruct the exact original. He gave the city of Dresden as an example. Many of the city’s demolished buildings were reconstructed as replicas. Had it been that ‘alien’ modern architecture replaced the old, they arguably would not have held the meaning and cultural significance of the original buildings.
Perhaps there is a very precise ‘happy medium’ that can be achieved when modern architecture sits quietly alongside the old, not overpowering it but respectfully complementing the historical building.
A beautiful example of this is the Neues Museum by David Chipperfield. A
respectful, almost surgical reconstruction of part of the original museum. In particular, the grand entrance staircase that was bombed during the war. The ghost of the previous stairs is now inserted; a white, simple form that allows the visitor to easily distinguish new from old.
Posted by: Emily
