A developer who owns an enormous Tower close to where I live, is too smart to do that. However, he tried to pull a cheeky stunt, when the adjoining multistorey car park began to crumble away (while he was patiently playing chicken with the local council) and, when asked to "make it safe" he proceeded to demolish it!
Of course, he was stopped halfway through and told off.
"What? I thought you told me to make it safe!"
I think everyone would prefer he tore the monstrosity down, but it had more value him holding on, letting slabs drop off the sides of the tower block and slowly trying to push through redevelopment into flats than be left with just the bare footprint (it's the tallest building for literally miles in any direction).
In the end, he won just about everything he wanted…. but I'd much rather a patient asshole, than scumbags like this who try to push for "retroactive consent" on historic buildings.
You really can't just put it back the way it was with the original materials when those materials are now the size of toothpicks in a dumpster or landfill somewhere. There will be inherent loss of historic and structural integrity. What a bulldozer does can not be undone. Windows and doors will be damaged, glass broken, hardware lost, if there were original finishes, wallpaper, paint colorings, lighting and fixtures…they're usually just trashed. What went where? What were the original dimensions, which door or window went where? Never mind that internal structural damage will have to be fixed with new materials for safety's sake, but even though you can't see the framing it still matters – it's impossible to get the same quality of materials (specifically wood) that were available 100+ years ago (because we colonized the world and cut all the trees down but that's another rant).
NO modern construction crew or developer really gets what it's like to work on an old building – they're too used to new materials, new ways of thinking, and building from scratch where working thoughtfully and carefully are irrelevant and a detriment to their profits. They have no clue how to fix old things, usually just opting to sell you some whole new window rather than replace a sill or re-putty the glass.
(There's a discussion to be had here about the loss of skills, planned obsolescence, and how carpentry and construction now are all about selling rather than making.)
I fucking hate people like this developer, but it's also frustrating to deal with people who don't understand the reality of dealing with buildings like these and the fact that once it's broken it's ALWAYS GOING TO BE BROKEN, THERE IS NO GOING BACK FROM THAT. Good job trying to punish the guy, but this isn't going to turn out the way you think it will.
Excuse my ranty caps lock feels, conservation and historic preservation have pretty much been my entire life and this week has been National Register DOE paperwork so I'm in that mindset.
Hear, hear !
A developer who owns an enormous Tower close to where I live, is too smart to do that. However, he tried to pull a cheeky stunt, when the adjoining multistorey car park began to crumble away (while he was patiently playing chicken with the local council) and, when asked to "make it safe" he proceeded to demolish it!
Of course, he was stopped halfway through and told off.
"What? I thought you told me to make it safe!"
I think everyone would prefer he tore the monstrosity down, but it had more value him holding on, letting slabs drop off the sides of the tower block and slowly trying to push through redevelopment into flats than be left with just the bare footprint (it's the tallest building for literally miles in any direction).
In the end, he won just about everything he wanted…. but I'd much rather a patient asshole, than scumbags like this who try to push for "retroactive consent" on historic buildings.
Remember the Firestone building! http://www.c20society.org.uk/100-buildings/1928-f…
I hear you've been a naughty boy, Mr. Amin.
IT DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY DAMN IT!
You really can't just put it back the way it was with the original materials when those materials are now the size of toothpicks in a dumpster or landfill somewhere. There will be inherent loss of historic and structural integrity. What a bulldozer does can not be undone. Windows and doors will be damaged, glass broken, hardware lost, if there were original finishes, wallpaper, paint colorings, lighting and fixtures…they're usually just trashed. What went where? What were the original dimensions, which door or window went where? Never mind that internal structural damage will have to be fixed with new materials for safety's sake, but even though you can't see the framing it still matters – it's impossible to get the same quality of materials (specifically wood) that were available 100+ years ago (because we colonized the world and cut all the trees down but that's another rant).
NO modern construction crew or developer really gets what it's like to work on an old building – they're too used to new materials, new ways of thinking, and building from scratch where working thoughtfully and carefully are irrelevant and a detriment to their profits. They have no clue how to fix old things, usually just opting to sell you some whole new window rather than replace a sill or re-putty the glass.
(There's a discussion to be had here about the loss of skills, planned obsolescence, and how carpentry and construction now are all about selling rather than making.)
I fucking hate people like this developer, but it's also frustrating to deal with people who don't understand the reality of dealing with buildings like these and the fact that once it's broken it's ALWAYS GOING TO BE BROKEN, THERE IS NO GOING BACK FROM THAT. Good job trying to punish the guy, but this isn't going to turn out the way you think it will.
Excuse my ranty caps lock feels, conservation and historic preservation have pretty much been my entire life and this week has been National Register DOE paperwork so I'm in that mindset.
It's not about rebuilding the building, it's about making them try.
Meanwhile, in the Land of Freedom and Firearms, when a bank forecloses on and strips out the wrong house, it's all just ¯_(ツ)_/¯