For several decades now, historic preservation best practices dictated that new construction in historic districts should be compatible with the existing neighborhood but not imitative. New construction--including additions to existing structures--needed to be differentiated from historic buildings to reflect the architectural style of their time. The townhouse at 18 West 11th Street in New York City, built in the 1970s to replace the one destroyed in 1970 when a pipe bomb being built by the Weather Underground accidentally detonated, is often cited as the perfect example of new construction that is both compatible and differentiated.
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| The townhouse at 18 West 11th Street after the explosion |
Some members of our Historic Preservation Commission still seem to subscribe to the need for differentiation, but more than ten years ago historic preservationists started revisiting the issue of differentiation. An article that appeared in Brownstoner last week provides evidence that the Landmarks Preservation Commission in New York City has abandoned the notion of differentiation: "Landmarks OKs New Build for Vacant Park Slope Lot."
The rendering below, which appears in the article, shows the building that was recently approved by the LPC. It is the second from the right. (The building at the far right was constructed after the building that originally stood there was demolished as a consequence of a deadly plane crash in 1960.)
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