Scope of National Park Service Interest in New Exterior Additions
The National Park Service interest in new additions is simply
this--a new addition to a historic building has the potential
to damage and destroy significant historic material and features
and to change its historic character. A new addition also has
the potential to change how one perceives what is genuinely historic
and thus to diminish those qualities that make the building eligible
for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Once
these basic preservation issues have been addressed, all other
aspects of designing and constructing a new addition to extend
the useful life of the historic building rest with the creative
skills of the architect.
The intent of this Brief, then, is to provide guidance to owners
and developers planning additions to their historic buildings.
A project involving a new addition to a historic building is considered
acceptable within the framework of the National Park Service's
standards if it:
1. Preserves significant historic materials and features; and
2. Preserves the historic character; and
3. Protects the historical significance by making a visual distinction
between old and new.
Paralleling these key points, the Brief is organized into three
sections. Case study examples are provided to point out acceptable
and unacceptable preservation approaches where new use requirements
were met through construction of an exterior addition. These examples
are included to suggest ways that change to historic buildings
can be sensitively accomplished, not to provide in-depth project
analyses, endorse or critique particular architectural design,
or offer cost and construction data.
"New Exterior Additions to Historic Buildings" an Historic Preservation Brief
