0 / SPK / specialcollections@tulane.edu

0 / SPK / specialcollections@tulane.edu

Reuse of historic buildings has become commonplace, but what should be done when a building has a history related to death and tragedy? Society has to determine its psychological approach to dealing with the past. This is commonly achieved through remembrance, converting the site into a museum or memorial, or denial, demolishing it. These actions unnecessarily allow the past to dictate the future. This thesis will look at an alternative solution through which adaptive reuse promotes a different approach to society's psychological understanding of collective memory. Adaptive reuse can honor the past while moving forward into a better future, encouraging society to come to terms with a difficult part of their collective history, but understanding that it should not define them. In recent years there has been a drastic increase in the popularity of 'dark tourism', the visitation to sites associated with death and tragedy. There is a spectrum of darkness that classifies the darkest places, such as Auschwitz-Birkenau, as sites where death and suffering physically occurred and the lightest places, like the United States Holocaust Museum, that are only associated. The most challenging sites are those that lie somewhere in between these two extremes. Communities should embrace the value of 'dark tourism' while maintaining an identity outside of the event and the architecture of the site should reflect this. Architecture can inspire the limitation and prevention of future sordid events if new program is introduced that is directly in response to the event through which the past can be remembered, but a better future embraced. / 0 / SPK / specialcollections@tulane.edu

Located just off of Sixteenth Street NW in Washington, D.C., the Meridian International Center complex sits on an elevated, crescent-shaped swath of land opposite Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park. On the site are two neoclassical residences, both designed by John Russel Pope in the early 20th century. Initially designed as diplomatic residences, when Meridian International Center purchased the site in 1960, the houses were converted into facilities for the organization. Today, having recently undergone extensive renovations the buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Meridian International Center is devoted to the exchange of people, ideas, and art. The organization aims to promote international understanding through diplomatic exchanges, arts programs, lecture series, and educational programs. The majority of operations is devoted to the International Visitors Program, however in recent years, the organization has expressed a desire to expand their other programs, specifically the Arts & Culture and World Affairs divisions. A primary intention of Meridian International Center is to open its doors to the city, to invite and engage the public in international matters through a variety of expositions. Currently lacking sufficient space to accommodate such programs, this thesis proposes a new facility for Meridian International Center's building complex. This facility is to function as a Contemporary Culture Center. With the intention of opening the institution to the public, both literally and figuratively, the building is to act as a beacon in the city for the sharing and mixing of cultures. / Master of Architecture

It is a favorite canon of preservation architects that soon 95% of work will deal with an existing construct in some manner. Reasons for this include the public's affinity toward old and historic buildings, and the utter lack of undeveloped sites in urban areas. This thesis is directed toward creating a methodology in which to define the intervention and interaction between new to existing. The general attitude toward history and existing buildings is quite divisive. Typically architects demolish existing buildings or they attempt to preserve every detail and facet of a "historical" building. The National Historic Trust, apart of the Department of Interior, provides loose guidelines with which to guide an intervention or to otherwise treat a "historic" edifice. Carlo Scarpa is one architect who has finely honed the ability to interact and intervene. / Master of Architecture

New architecture will invariable be placed next to the old architecture because cities and human settlements last for generations and as humans and tribal species we invariably congregate and build new buildings to live-in, work-in and entertain in. Thus we create cities from ever increasing smaller settlements. And the city is the playground where the new merges with that which has been built already – merging the new and the old. Old town Alexandria is one such place where new and old exist side by side. There is no question that new architecture will be built. The questions are only what the new architecture will look like? What will it's existence respond to and what issues we as a society will choose to tackle with new architecture, if any. Will the new architecture and particularly infill architecture convey a purpose and meaning to rival that of its time-tested historic neighbors? And how the meaning and purpose be achieved in new architecture? This thesis explores the topic of new/ infill architecture finding place in historic districts in particular - Old Town Alexandria Historic District and Parker-Gray district. What has been the approach that has dictated the image and purpose of new architecture in historic districts in Alexandria? And can the new architecture have meaning and purpose all its own to rival that of its predecessors. / Master of Science / New architecture in historic settings brings with it a lot of different notions and questions to explore. What was there before? What is the overall architectural style of the buildings around it? Does the new building relate or not relate to the existing older architecture? The questions surrounding new architecture in old settings are varied, like the multitude and variety of styles and purposes that the new architecture can adopt in an old setting. This thesis is an exploration of the new architecture – also oftentimes referred to as infill architecture – when positioned in a city or place which already holds previously built and oftentimes historic buildings that come with their own unique architectural style, language, and purpose. How does new architecture find a common language with older architecture? Can it be done while giving new architecture its own voice, purpose and meaning?

published_or_final_version / abstract / Conservation / Master / Master of Science in Conservation

No description available.

No description available.

Historic preservation and urban renewal are often thought to be polar opposites. Where one seeks to preserve, the other generally seeks to destroy in order to rebuild. While the programs appear on the surface to be in opposition, this Thesis seeks to demonstrate that there is a fundamental connection between the underlying legal principles of historic zoning and urban renewal. To that end, the jurisprudence involving historic zoning and aesthetic regulations before and after the seminal urban renewal case of Berman v. Parker has been collected and analyzed. This analysis revealed that courts were hesitant to support aesthetic, and by extension would have been unlikely to support historic zoning, prior to the Supreme Court’s validation of urban renewal programs in Berman. For example, in 1949 the Supreme Court of Massachusetts stated that specifically stated that a zoning regulation cannot be enacted solely to preserve the beauty of a community. In Berman, however, the United States Supreme Court justified urban renewal on the basis that governments should be able to condemn and regulate property for the creation of a more attractive community. An analysis of the jurisprudence following Berman indicated that courts were more likely to uphold aesthetic or historic zoning ordinances. For example, in a 1955 opinion, the Supreme Court of Massachusetts cited Berman and stated that, because construction of aesthetically or historically incompatible structures could destroy the historic character of a town, historic zoning ordinances fell within the scope of the police power. In short, the cases identified by this Thesis ultimately indicated that Berman had an impact on the acceptance of aesthetic and historic zoning. Therefore, they suggest that the programs of historic zoning and urban renewal, while seemingly in opposition, share fundamental legal roots.