Old Buildings, New Forms: New Directions in Architectural Transformations Hardcover – November 12, 2013

Another in the field of preservation that gives new insights on the use and re-use of the built environment. it further challenges the design professionals and owners to carefully evaluate the existing stock of buildings.

as described. came in a jiffy. many thanks, cheers

I am reviewing more what I think of the architecture contained here than the quality of the writing, which I have no opinion on.It really drove home the point that everything in these buildings that has been done to them in the name of renovation, has been ugly and at times, grotesque. Every example shown in this book highlights how much more beautiful the original building was than what bland, ill-conceived, inharmonious, additions were grafted upon these noble places. It's really a testament to the loss of aesthetic judgement in our time. I can't believe the authors didn't notice this pattern. I do in fact like many examples of recent architecture but none of what I found in this depressing documentary.

This thoughtfully written, carefully researched, richly illustrated book proves that historic preservation need not consign existing buildings to a useless eternity nor nostalgically freeze historic neighborhoods in time. Placing the roots of the work she admires in an historical context framed by Jane Jacobs’ urbanism, Robert Venturi’s critique of modernism, the environmental movement, and postwar art, Bollack argues that working with historic structures can be every bit as creative as building anew. And she backs up her argument with historic examples as well as recent ones that range from the subtle to the outrageous and from the delicate to the bold.

This is a beautiful book on a very important subject--how to extend the lives of older buildings by adapting them to contemporary circumstances without dishonoring their significance as witnesses to history. The writing is sharp, the examples are provocative, the illustrations are gorgeous, and the design is elegant. This is a book about REAL architecture and its execution does honor to the subject.

Expecting something about adaptive reuse in the 20th and 21st centuries, I was surprised and delighted to see that adaptations of existing buildings have been going on as long as we have extant buildings to show for it. This book is fascinating in its ideas, clear in its exposition and beautifully illustrated. A real treat.

Great.