It has always bothered me that the humble renovation has never quite
been regarded as an architect’s highest professional achievement. Scale
aside, it has mostly to do with our belief in the icon and all the image and
accolades building one brings us: renovations simply do not sit well with
the blue blood, the expected purity of an architectural wonder.
But lets give this more thought for a moment.
A renovation takes into account existing services, structure, enclosure,
windows, walls, poop pipes and the drip tubes in a pre existing condition
of a possible aesthetic mess. Renovations take all that slop and, with as
little cost sapping change as possible to the original, repackage it into a
form which works well, maintains efficiently, allows for change and looks
aesthetically effortless. Simply put, the underrated renovation is the
artist’s equivalent of nerve surgery; it puts to test the completeness of
one’s abilities and the leaps of imagination necessary in bringing old
together with new. It is the sublime test of every architect’s skill.
The reasons architects give for turning away renovations is because of
the time consumed, the relatively little payback for a similar quantity of
work done and the inability of a renovation to showcase their abilities. I
think its rather because renovations are too difficult for most to handle,
that only the most accomplished understand and know how to deal with
the complexity of an existing situation and how it gives depth to the
reading of their work. Carrying off a renovation well marks the men from
the boys.
Many think that the design of an icon is what constitutes greatness. It
would be well worth their time cutting their teeth on a renovation.