How Much Does Preservation Really Cost?
Submitted by Taran on Sun, 10/21/2007 - 11:50
I was told while in Suriname that when purchasing property, one must maintain the building on it if it is considered to be historical. In the case to the left, this means maintaining an existing building - but in many other cases, this may mean refurbishing a building which is about to give in to the seductive call of gravity after the elements have whispered into its cracks and crevices for decades - perhaps centuries.
On the face of Paramaribo, this seemed to work well - yet it also has kept people from purchasing property that would require even more investment on their part to repair a historical building. It seemed to be a bit of a conundrum, and one which literally has people waiting for buildings to collapse - something which must be a difficult thing to balance. How much is a historical building worth, in the grand scheme of things?
It has been something which has been on my mind for some time; something I had noted to write about while in Suriname but also something I haven't been able to puzzle through. Certainly, the value of such historical buildings can only be determined in their absence when people miss them - but if they do not miss them, they may be seen as obstacles.
On one side, maintaining such historic buildings has benefits - especially when done in a city, where the feel of a city can be maintained in a manner that preserves history and culture in such a fashion which makes those that visit feel as if they have entered a different era. On the other side, how does this balance with an economy based on speed and which has little respect for time since it uses so little of it?
Ironically, this building is right across from a hardware store.
I don't know. But I wonder, openly, whether laws for preservation of buildings may not work against themselves at some point - where buildings may lay abandoned in various states of disrepair, awaiting the final collapse so that someone may build something new. Food for thought.
And how does it apply to other things that cannot be digitized and saved?
Check your info
You should ask the people that gave you that information but from what I know......
Even if the building collapses, if it what considered a historical monument,
you have to build it back exactly the same way.
You are not allowed to put up another building.
Fair enough.
So how does one build a *new* building? Or restore an old one which has collapsed, which has no plans on record?
What a Shame...!
Old historical buildings are important for a lot of reasons. There is the skill of design and construction from an earlier time, when buildings were made to last and be useful for a long long time. Many of the older buildings have been through storms and hurricanes and held up better than the buildings that replaced similar ones, torn down for convenience and efficiency.
But it takes money. And if one is repairing an historical building, it should be (and, in fact, in many places it is required to be) done in the old ways, using the colors of paint available in the old days, the sort of repairs made in the olden times. There are certain specs they are supposed to follow. Some people find this restrictive, some find it bothersome - and that is sad for the preservation of history. Such a person has his own priorities, and sometimes that is money. In places like Florida, where many older homes that have withstood time and hurricanes are being torn down to make room for condos that the owners hope to sell for ridiculous prices.
Those old buildings allowed to remain, those coaxed into their former glory stand for a time when workmanship was valued, where real wood and crafted glass show the pride and industriousness of the people at that time. It is a shame t hat those buildings are allowed to fall to ruin and their craftmanship and thrift be forgotten.
I don't know if I would want an historical home, myself but I would certainly prefer an older one with the marks of craftsmanship of that time - gently renovated with whatever of the latest features can be added without ruining the building that has stood the test of time.
I suppose I have been watching too much HGTV!
All the buildings that are
All the buildings that are considered to be monuments are
registered. The blueprint is available.
That is how the buildings can be rebuild even if they collapse.
Well then...
If you are correct - and I have no reason to say that you are not - I may have been misinformed. I wonder how many buildings are considered to be monuments, though - and how they were selected, and whether those buildings are being maintained?
I know for a fact that I'm
I know for a fact that I'm right.
The publicregister that also documents who is the owner
of the property also has registered if it has a monument on it.
The problem in this is that people can take down the building and leave
the lot empty, claiming that they doen't have funds at this point to build
it in the same style. This results in a new parkinglot.......
I'm sure you are...
sure that you're right. You'll have to pardon my grain of salt, but this is the internet and there are lots of people who write stuff (including me). That said, I did assume good - so there's no need to be defensive.
Now you're saying that they become parking lots... which, though the facts are different, results in the same sort of lack of preservation which I originally wrote of. We've come full circle.
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