DOCUMENTATION
MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
Inventories of lasting value may
be built on the results coming from detailed individual
building research projects. Preliminary inventories
may be carried out from the front seats of automobiles,
or on foot, using pre-printed forms to simplify
and regularize responses. Once the reports have
been completed, the data-forms collected, the as-found
records and archaeological finds collated and catalogued,
it is important to assemble the information in a
manner which facilitates access, use and understanding.
Computers have been used in some
areas for over two decades now to assist with data
collection and management. A national computerized
inventory system developed by the Canadian Parks
Service 20 years ago revolutionized data collection
in this area. Imitated many times since, the original
Canadian Inventory of Historic Buildings (C.I.H.B.)
system still provides an excellent model for those
in need of a reliable, low-tech, low-budget approach,
and has been adapted in many jurisdictions.
Most World Heritage towns and
cities, however, have not found the resources or
means to systematically incorporate site research
reports within an overall system which links them
to other relevant research, and which ensures easy
access. While most are able to maintain files for
properties within their boundaries, the knowledge
base within the files is inconsistent, and dependent
to a great extent on past interest or urgency attached
to specific projects.
Cities that have begun to systematically
implement documentation management systems are not
only able to manage their assets more efficiently
and carefully, but are in a position to improve
understanding of their own development through the
thematic patterns that emerge from a research base
of consistent depth and focus. In Rome for example,
the development of a computerized data base linking
building use, configuration and condition data with
cadastral and aerial photogrammetric plans permits
planning officials to quickly explore the ramifications
of proposed developments.
Top
PRINCIPLES
& STANDARDS
The criteria used to judge the
suitability of actions proposed for the enhancement
or protection of urban ensembles will come from
two major sources - from the intrinsic values of
the sites themselves, and from the body of accepted
wisdom defining appropriate means to respect defined
values. These latter are generally described as
principles; translated into specific and measurable
targets, they are described as standards.
It is useful to look at the body
of doctrine developed to deal with urban historic
quarters in three areas:
1. the global principles of urban conservation,
as they may have evolved with time and been incorporated
into governing charters;
2. the principles pertinent to existing sites, as
embodied in guidelines to constrain and channel
change in appropriate directions;
3. the principles pertinent to new construction,
usually expressed in the form of guidelines intended
to guide infill projects to respect context.
Top
PRINCIPLES & CHARTERS
The growth of interest in the
development and application of conservation principles
to urban ensembles has been described in great detail
in section B of this guide. The international charters
provide general guidance with respect to the key
issues in dealing with important sites, urban or
otherwise. Each is, to some extent, limited in its
usefulness by the context of the specific time and
circumstances within which it was developed.
To bring the principles of conservation
to bear with force on any particular urban setting,
it may be useful for each civic jurisdiction to
develop a charter of its own - a clear statement
of principles of most relevance in the local situation,
adapted in language and tone to its own exigencies.
There is perhaps only one conservation
principle of universal applicability in almost all
circumstances, that of ensuring that conservation
decisions are shared with more than the single expert.
Meeting that principle should be a key consideration
in urban conservation programmes for historic towns
of great worth.
Top
DESIGN & CONSERVATION
GUIDELINES
Many historic quarters have developed
sets of design/conservation guidelines intended
to provide practical advice in the face of proposed
changes. These guidelines are usually meant to link
the principles of urban conservation and the particular
characteristics of sites, in down-to-earth, accessible
language and concepts.
Guidelines come in many forms.
Some are heavily illustrated; some rely entirely
on words. Some are "prescriptive", defining desired
results in precise terms; others are "interpretive",
establishing a range within which acceptable solutions
may be found. Whatever the choice of methods, formats
or presentations, the keys to development and application
of guideliness best suited to success in a community
are the following:
- the clear expression of the qualities the guidelines
are meant to protect;
- the development of a vocabulary adequate to describe
these qualities;
- the involvement of a diverse group of individuals
representing professional and public interests in
their development and management;
- their built-in capacity to be reviewed and modified
regularly in the light of experience.
Top
NEW CONSTRUCTION GUIDELINES
One of the most frequently encountered
design problems in historic ensembles is the insertion
of new structures into empty spaces. The international
charters and principles espouse honesty - a general
preference for contemporary approaches over imitative
reconstructions. At the same time, the design challenge
is one of the most difficult a contemporary architect
can confront : too avant-garde in style or composition,
too modern in materials or arrangement and a jarring
note will be struck; equally, too much obeisance
to the usual precepts of fidelity to adjacent structures
in texture, form, proportions, material and scale,
and unconvincing two-dimensional pastiches may result.
Architects, designers or planners
confronted with this design challenge might use
the following checklist to advantage in assessing
"infill" problems :
- allusions to adjacent traditional forms need not
literally echo precedent; the goal is to reflect
the spirit of a place or street, not just its literal
forms;
- a preference for contemporary design does not
require the architect to replace traditional materials
with plastic or anodized metal; it merely suggests
modern approaches to fenestration, layout and manipulation
of forms; moreover, almost all traditional materials
are still in use and may therefore be regarded as
modern materials;
- an imitative approach may be quite legitimate
if the adjacent context is overwhelmingly homogeneous;
any other approach might be unduly self-conscious;
- the conservation principle of legibility may be
satisfactorily achieved in very modest ways, and
need not mar or affect overall aesthetic coherence
in strongly visible fashion.
Top
