Journal of Historic Buildings and Places
The Journal of Historic Buildings and Places is the first to appear under the guise of that eponymous organisation, replacing the Ancient Monuments Society and its series of Transactions (the last having been Volume 65). Under the stewardship of the editor, John Bold, the scholarship remains undiminished and there is much of diverse interest within its 166 pages.
Gary Winter and Alan Brody write about England’s heritage from the air and the value of photographs from the Aerofilms Collection, providing a unique archive of Britain from 1919 onwards. The well-illustrated essay explores the types of images in the collection, which range from ancient monuments, historic landscapes and ruined abbeys to industrial heritage, funfairs and football matches. The earliest part of the collection, dating between 1919 and 1953, has been scanned and is available online at the Britain from Above website.
A fascinating essay by Amy Bettinson discusses infill housing in post-war London, concentrating on Kensington and Chelsea. Nestled in London streets there is an untold story of post-war modernism in boroughs where lighter bomb damage left gaps in terraced housing. These might appear to be isolated incidents in the street-scene, but examples of this particular housing form of development can be found across the capital, often as high-density modernist blocks of flats inserted into the gaps in stuccoed, 19th-century terraces. These projects were controversial in their time (and remain so today), as architects considered how modernist buildings could fit into historic settings, seizing the opportunity to experiment in their design.
The discussion around post-war housing is heavily focused on large-scale schemes, and smaller-scale, high-density blocks of flats have generally been overlooked. These are not localised, isolated incidents in the townscape, but examples of a particular type of development found across the city but never previously properly documented as a group. The author considers that their relatively unobtrusive nature has left them extremely vulnerable, and few are listed. She suggests that a further study across the whole of London would be invaluable, as would examination of other cities where bombing was light and infill was scattered, so as to compare strategies. It is hoped that they are all documented properly soon, so that this chapter of English modernism is not left without protection or lost without trace.
While there are professional, academic and scholarly sources of information that may be usefully applied in heritage management, those within popular culture should not be overlooked. In an essay entitled ‘London on Stage’, Horatio Blood examines views of the capital depicted in popular prints, particularly the rich seam of imagery contained in the ‘penny plain, twopence coloured’ engravings of 19th-century toy theatres that reproduced in miniature the scenes presented in the real theatres of London. The well-illustrated essay casts an eye on some of those images and the publishing world from which it sprung.
Also well worth seeking out is the essay by Victoria Watson about the extremely sensitive issues around the restoration and expansion of the Museum of Modern Art (the NNG: New National Gallery) in Berlin, one of the iconic modern masterpieces of Mies van der Rohe. The building expresses unexampled clarity and virtuosity, and inevitably invites discussions about the appropriateness of changing the fabric and setting of the original building of 1968. The repairs undertaken by David Chipperfield Architects resulted in the building been closed to the public for five years until August 2021. Chipperfield was already familiar with Berlin museum culture through his rebuilding of the Neues Museum, completed in 2021. His approach was considered novel because he did not attempt to reproduce the past historic form of the war-damaged Neues Museum, preferring to work with what remains of the building materials in a new form. In the case of the Neues Museum, only part of the old building remained, necessitating the introduction of new features to complete it. This raises interesting issues of authenticity, intactness and interpretation of past, although only partial, architectural forms.
This article originally appeared in the Institute of Historic Building Conservation’s (IHBC’s) Context 174, published in December 2022.
--Institute of Historic Building Conservation
Related articles on Designing Buildings
IHBC NewsBlog
IHBC Membership Journal Context - Latest Issue on 'Hadrian's Wall' Published
The issue includes takes on the wall 'end-to-end' including 'the man who saved it'.
Heritage Building Retrofit Toolkit developed by City of London and Purcell
The toolkit is designed to provide clear and actionable guidance for owners, occupiers and caretakers of historic and listed buildings.
70 countries sign Declaration de Chaillot at Buildings & Climate Global Forum
The declaration is a foundational document enabling progress towards a ‘rapid, fair, and effective transition of the buildings sector’
Bookings open for IHBC Annual School 12-15 June 2024
Theme: Place and Building Care - Finance, Policy and People in Conservation Practice
Rare Sliding Canal Bridge in the UK gets a Major Update
A moveable rail bridge over the Stainforth and Keadby Canal in the Midlands in England has been completely overhauled.
'Restoration and Renewal: Developing the strategic case' Published
The House of Commons Library has published the research briefing, outlining the different options for the Palace of Westminster.
Brum’s Broad Street skyscraper plans approved with unusual rule for residents
A report by a council officer says that the development would provide for a mix of accommodation in a ‘high quality, secure environment...
English Housing Survey 2022 to 2023
Initial findings from the English Housing Survey 2022 to 2023 have been published.
Audit Wales research report: Sustainable development?
A new report from Audit Wales examines how Welsh Councils are supporting repurposing and regeneration of vacant properties and brownfield sites.
New Guidance Launched on ‘Understanding Special Historic Interest in Listing’
Historic England (HE) has published this guidance to help people better understand special historic interest, one of the two main criteria used to decide whether a building can be listed or not.
Comments
[edit] To make a comment about this article, click 'Add a comment' above. Separate your comments from any existing comments by inserting a horizontal line.