Running Head: MODERN V.

HISTORICAL BUILDINGS

Modern v. Historical Buildings

Alejandra Ortega
The University of Texas at El Paso

MODERN V. HISTORICAL BUILDINGS

2
Abstract

In this essay there is a research being done in order to see the different advantages and
disadvantages of having Historical Buildings. As well as I will be talking about reasons for our
community to preserve a Historical Building. Also I will be talking about what are some of the
things that could be done to upgrade those Historical Buildings instead of demolishing them.
Throughout the essay I will be giving my personal opinions about certain questions and I will be
backing up my thoughts with certain peer-reviewed articles. At the end I will give my last
personal opinion about what is best to have whether a modern building or a historical building.

MODERN V. HISTORICAL BUILDINGS

Modern v. Historical Buildings

Throughout the world there are multiple buildings that hold important history for their
city but they are in bad looking conditions, or simply they are in need a lot of repairs. As well as
there are new buildings that are being constructed that have much more technology. As
technology keeps evolving us as society have the advantage to watch how new buildings are
being constructed and not only that but now we have buildings that help us be safe. In this essay
I will be analyzing some questions that will help us determine and see the multiple opportunities
we can do in order to preserve historical buildings. By answering the following questions, I will
be able to talk about the different possible ways to keep a historical building:
1. What is historical architectural preservation?
2. What are the benefits of historical preservation?
3. How can historical buildings be preserved and updated?
4. Should historical buildings be preserved?
What is historical architectural preservation?
Historic preservation is the practice of protecting and preserving sites. These sites fall
into different categories or types, such as buildings, sites, structures, objects, or districts. These
structures can also be considered as the elements of local or national history whether it is by
holding valuable culture, economic, political, archaeological or architectural history. Historic
preservation has most often been thought of in terms of architecture and aesthetic appeal as
opposed to a vehicle for economic development.(Laurie, 2008 p. 38) With that being said,
preservation has many diverse purposes and rewards, including the strengthening of local

MODERN V. HISTORICAL BUILDINGS

economies, stabilization of property values, and the appreciation of local and national history.
Preserving historical buildings is vital to understanding our nations heritage. In addition, it is an
environmentally responsible practice. By reusing existing buildings, historic preservation is
essentially a recycling of historic proportions. Existing buildings can often be energy efficient
through their use of good ventilation, and durable materials. Buildings of a certain era, primarily
before World War II, tend to be built with higher-quality materials such as rare hardwoods (Ex.
Heart Pine) and wood from old-growth forests that no longer exist. Just like the authors from
Modern wooden structures, between archetype and innovation mentioned, The lack of metal
fastenings, that are available today, assumed a better understanding over time of the structural
features of wood, translated in the use of complex joinery. (Corduban, Tranu, Isopescu, 2011,
p.108).
What are the benefits of historical preservation?
Historical preservation not only helps us maintain our history by keeping these historical
buildings, but also there is [a] number of studies in recent years, particularly those done by
Donovan Rypkema, have shown that preservation in fact does not hinder economic development
efforts, but instead can be a powerful economic development tool. Industries such as tourism,
entertainment, environmental management, and housing can all be significantly enhanced by
historic preservation, providing ample economic development opportunities for communities,
cities, and even regions. (Laurie, 2008, p. 38-39) Being that said we can definitely say that the
archeological preservation is in fact a fantastic idea for saving money, increasing the economy in
the city and that can be achieved by preserving a historical buildings.
Historical buildings can also help increase tourism towards the city and nation. For
example, the are people that go to London just to see the Big Ben, as well as there is people

MODERN V. HISTORICAL BUILDINGS

that go to Italy to see the unique structure of the Leaning Tower Of Pisa There are multiple
places throughout the world that are particularly visited for their well know architectural
buildings and those buildings were constructed a long time ago. Just like here in El Paso we have
certain historical buildings such as the Camino Real Hotel, Mills Building, The Plaza Hotel, El
Paso High School, and others. Therefore, there are high advantages that could bring more tourists
coming to El Paso.
How can historical buildings be preserved and updated?
A really good way to preserve these buildings is by giving surveys to the people in the
city, therefore the people that are actually interested in the topic and actually follow up with the
events that are going on in the city will be
able to vote for the preservation of that
building. By doing this type of surveys, the
people in-charge of maintaining the
building will definitely know if is worth
Figure 1. From Historic preservation and CLUSTER

updating a certain building because the

survey was done and it came out in favor

BASED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, by J. Laurie,

2008, Economic Development Journal.

to keep that building. Just like it has been

done here in El Paso, where [members] of the El Paso County Historical Commission and more
urged commissioners [approved] spending up to $140,000 for an in-depth survey of buildings
throughout downtown and Segundo Barrio. (Polk, 2016)
Should historical buildings be preserved?
With all the information I have learned throughout the articles and the research Ive read
through the web I think that keeping a historic building is a much better way to save money. Also

MODERN V. HISTORICAL BUILDINGS

by keeping these types of buildings the city or nation may get more tourism and help bump up
the economy just like Baer states in his article, Federal matching grants of $600 million have
produced $1.2 billion in preservation investment. (Baer, 1995) As I mentioned many people
really try doing something to save those buildings, which in my opinion is really good because if
we get rid of our history itself, how can we prove that it once existed or happened. What could be
done to preserve these historical buildings is to gather fellow residents who care about
preserving the communitys historical structures. Working together, a research can be done
and nominate buildings for landmark designation, then you can either become your
communitys advocate for the recent past and Modern design or vote for someone else that
might do a good job create a website and maintain a discussion board; and host tours and
other special events.
In addition to the information gathered from these articles and websites, I also created a
survey just to get an idea of what people that I know such as friends and family members rather
have as buildings. The survey ended up being a tie between people voting for Historical
Buildings and people voting for Modern Buildings. Although many of the questions I asked the
answers stated that they will rather save a Historical Building rather than demolishing it, with the
exception of only one person who voted in favor of demolishing those types of buildings and
also that one person was against updating Historical Buildings. With this being said it cab be
concluded that people still care about our Historical Buildings here in El Paso, and not only that
but chances are that people will want to have more Modern Buildings being constructed here in
the city. The good thing about this survey is that I got a small overview of what family and
friends will want to do with Historical Buildings, and although it was a tie between Historical

MODERN V. HISTORICAL BUILDINGS

Buildings, at least one out of ten people wouldnt want a building to be demolished in order to
construct a Modern Building.
In conclusion we can see that Historical Buildings are a great source of help when it
comes to having better economy in the city, because it is cheaper to remodel an existing
Historical Building rather than demolishing it in order to construct a completely Modern one.
Also by keeping those Historical Buildings and saving that money from the demolition and
reconstruction, Historical Buildings are great tool for attracting tourism and increasing the
economy in a city. As mentioned if we save those Historical Buildings a higher economy will be
generated and with the money being retrieved from those Historical Buildings the construction of
a Modern Building can be done. Historical Buildings and Modern Buildings go hand in hand
because the Modern buildings being constructed today later in the future they will no longer be
Modern, instead it will be Historical.

MODERN V. HISTORICAL BUILDINGS

8
References

Baer, W. C. (1995) When old buildings ripen for historic preservation. Journal Of The American
Planning Association.
Costanzo, A., Minasi, M., Casula, G., Musacchio, M., &Fabrizia Buongiorno, M. (2015).
Combined Use of Terrestrial Laser Scanning and IR Thermography Applied to Historical
Building. Sensors.
Laurie, J. (2008). Historic preservation and CLUSTER BASED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
Economic Development Journal.
Ortega, A. (2016) Historical v. Modern Buildings Survey. Retrieved from
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZDT7CDF
Polk, A. J. (2016). County Commissioners Unanimously Approve Funding for Survey of Historic
Buildings Downtown. KBNA. Retrieved from http://www.kvia.com/news/countycommissioners-unanimously-approve-funding-for-survey-of-historic-buildingsdowntown/37891656
Tubbs, M. B. (2004). PRESERVATION IN PEN-AND-INK. American Artist.
Zafar, S. (March 4, 2015). Features of a Green Building. EcoMENA. Retrieved from
http://www.ecomena.org/salient-features-of-a-green-building/