"Architecture is one of the first forms of art," says Jeffery Howe. He
is a professor of architectural history in Boston. That's why historians are
dedicated to studying buildings of the past and want to preserve the best
of them.
"Architecture has been called frozen music," agrees Nina Chapple. She is
an architectural historian.
Architecture is often studied as a part of art history courses. "Architecture
is tied into art history because great buildings are art," says Howe. Architectural
history students learn about styles throughout the centuries seen in great
buildings such as the Parthenon in Athens and the Pantheon in Rome.
"The study of art, sculpture, decorations, columns and statues in churches
all tie into architecture and is something that has to be learned," says Chapple.
It's not just ancient architecture that's studied. "I'm interested in 19th
and 20th century American architecture," says Howe. "Frank Lloyd Wright and
that type of thing is very interesting to me."
Frank Lloyd Wright was arguably the greatest architect of the 20th century.
One of his most famous buildings is called Falling Water, a home in Connelsville,
Pennsylvania. This house, which is formed with expressive horizontal and vertical
lines, has a river streaming out one edge of the building. Completing the
cantilevered concrete forms for the falling water was a great architectural
feat.
Learning about architectural history is necessary to understand great buildings,
and also to help preserve them. Chapple says the movement to begin preserving
older buildings in North America began in the 1960s.
"The first heritage legislation came about in the '60s," she says. "It
came about in cities like Boston and New York where so many great buildings
were being destroyed and were replaced with mediocre ones."
Before that time, a developer was free to demolish a building and to erect
any type of building in its place. "Buildings were taken down and highrises
were put up," says Chapple. "The buildings made interruptions in neighborhoods
and didn't fit in at all."
Chapple says that this demolition was also taking place in Canada. "People
who were developing land in the '70s had nothing stopping them from doing
whatever they wanted."
Community citizens became angry when they saw their history being bulldozed.
They took action. Together with architectural historians, who validated the
importance of the buildings, they took measures to save some of them.
By preserving worthwhile heritage buildings, a sense of community is retained.
People have made it known that they want their history saved. "Citizens have
advisory committees where they don't have a personal stake in a building being
saved, but have a community stake," explains Chapple.
Chapple has worked for many years preserving heritage buildings in her
city and the surrounding area. She believes the preservation movement is continuing
to grow.
"It's gradually expanding from saving an individual building
to saving a landmark area," she says. "People are interested in preserving
the landscape and the open spaces rather than just one building in isolation."
Chapple feels that helping preserve a city's heritage is rewarding work.
"It's diverse," she says. "It brings together a lot of different professions
and you have to work with politicians, advisory committees, neighborhood groups.
It's a challenge."
But the challenge of meeting so many different people's needs is worth
the effort. "This is always community-based," she says. "You have to focus
on a specific geographic place. You have to know your history. You have to
plan how much of a heritage area should be protected and you should know all
about architecture. It's an enjoyable career."