Boston's South Station : the process and consequences of preservation and reuse

Abstract

This thesis examines some of the basic issues involved in the preservation and reuse of old buildings. In particular. the work is an exploration in three parts of the ways in which people perceive and respond to the general con text of existing buildings and larger environments. This context is understood to comprise not only the physical aspects of buildings and their surroundings but also their identity as artifacts of the past. The first part considers two preliminary examples as contrasting types of reuse projects. and examines the issues of process. intent, and meaning which arise. The second part consists of a number of case studies of actual reuse projects, divided into six categories, which are evaluated on the basis of their responses to both their physical. symbolic. and temporal context. The third part is a design project invoh·ing the reuse of Boston 's South Station railway terminal. The design attempts to achieve a balanced and interactive relationship between the existing building and the new construction. I conclude that the relation ship between old and new in architecture must be based on a careful understanding of the existing context in both its physical and symbolic dimensions in order to avoid conflict and discontinuity.