AVS. Arkitektúr verktækni skipulag - 01.06.2003, Qupperneq 26

tions.
Kaupangur á Vopnafirði fyrir og eftir endurgerð. Pó hús kunni að líta illa út þegar að er komið
geta þau orðið falleg og sæmt hverjum bæ.
Kaupangur in Vopnafjörður, before and after renovation. Although buildings can look rundown,
they can become a beautiful part of the built environment.
destroyed. More examples like
that could be mentioned, that for-
tunately were not carried out.
Who would change today? In
this way, time sometimes aids the
old under attack from short-term
interests.
Many old buildings have been
destroyed or had buildings added
to them that use a completely dif-
ferent form of language, materials
or textures. Most people are
familiar with old timber buildings
with modern windows, or two- or
three-storey tirmber buildings
where the first floor has been lit-
erally swept away to be replaced
by glass. It is human to err, but
mistakes can be kept in check by
careful action.
Listen to the buildings
and what they want to
tell us
Let’s give ourselves time before
buildings are torn down, moved
or altered. Let’s talk to the build-
ings, listen to them and get to
know them and maybe we will
change our minds. We need only
to listen and think in order to feel
a period in the history of the
nation, a period in our architec-
tural history and then we see the
design, building materials, work-
culture and tools being used
when the building was erected or
added to.
We must not find ourselves in the
cul-de-sac of conceit to think that
everything we do today is some-
thing special and better what was
done earlier. Only time will tell
what will endure the famous tooth
of Time.
Former building materials were
usually more sustainable than
building materials now being
used. This is unfortunate and this
applies not the least to timber.
Building materials are an asset
that cannot be remade. Present-
Building preservation
and planning
Cities and towns are a living his-
tory. No one method is known
better in reading the history of a
nation than to travel through its
towns and cities. They reflect his-
tory and narrate it in a quiet and
memorable way. This also
applies to lceland and our towns.
Tourists, our guests, do not read
long books or get to know places
by looking at maps. It is impor-
tant for us that there exists a
diverse example of buildings from
different periods so tourists have
the opportunity to read history. In
all periods, except perhaps today,
it has been possible to build
buildings and districts with a
harmonious character. A charac-
ter that has been true to the peri-
od, according to design and
technology, and in that way been
a living history-book.
Towns and cities have to be
dynamic and able to change
according to the requirements of
each period. This does not mean
that the old should always give
way. Old and new have to be
able to live together in peace. It is
the test of good design to be
able to respect the old whelst
new forms are used to create a
framework for activities using new
technology and building materi-
als.
Our life and the life of
a building
Each of us uses our buildings to
live and work during one human
lifespan. Buildings, however, last
many life spans. Many genera-
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