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When discussing historic homes it is important to understand several key terms that are often used incorrectly to describe the conservation process.
Preservation generally refers to the concern for the rate of consumption of a building. The most commonly accepted practice of preservation involves stabilizing the building, first and foremost, and then maintaining its features in their most original form possible.
British Philosopher and Architectural Critic John Ruskin is known for his “let it be” approach to preservation. Ruskin believed that the aging surface of the building, referred to as the patina, should remain untouched to simply add character to the building.
Drayton Hall in Charleston, South Carolina is arguably the most pristine example of preservation in the United States. With no plumbing, electricity, furnishings, or major renovations, the 300 year old home stands at near original condition:
Restoration refers to returning a building to its appearance at a specific point in time. This involves either adding features that are missing, or removing features that were added at a later date. One familiar example of restoration in our community is the Victoria Mansion in Portland’s West End. This picture shows the restoration completed in the mansion’s Turkish Smoking Room:
Similarly, reconstruction also brings a building back to its exact appearance at a specific point in time; however, reconstruction refers to reproducing a building that has vanished or was beyond the point of restoration. This process starts from the ground up, and the first stages can be seen at the site of Benjamin Franklin’s historic home in Philadelphia. Here at Franklin Court, the National Park Service built a steel frame outlining Franklin’s former home so that any future plans for reconstruction would be executed accurately:
The final two terms refer to the practices that are most common with historic homes today. Rehabilitation is used to describe updates to a home that save historically important features (such as fixtures, moldings, etc) while adding more contemporary components that make the home more efficient by today’s standards. Renovation, on the other hand, generally refers to updates to a home that completely replace historic features with modern components. These two approaches are most common for private historic homes that are not being used as museums or public viewing sites.
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