DESIGN - Beautiful Buildings Last

When Edmonton’s Baccarat Casino came down last week, to much fanfare, I wondered why we celebrate the destruction of some buildings yet seek to preserve others? A lot has to do with beauty over trendy – things that are beautiful, last. The element of beauty is a striking piece of the Living Building Challenge – a
recognition that beauty is critical. Buildings can be energy-efficient/net-zero/net-positive yet they have to be beautiful if they're to remain.

Two buildings I see regularly that have been preserved in some fashion are the Oliver Exchange Building and the MacLaren Tower. For years I cycled by the Oliver Exchange, imagining what could be... now, the building is delightful! Taking the original, making it into something new and interesting while preserving its form. At the MacLaren Tower site, while I used to enjoy the restaurants in the Buena Vista, the building needed some TLC. I love that bricks were reused to recreate the façade, the Laura Secord signage, etc.

I wonder what recently constructed building is going to come down 30 years from now to great fanfare, and what will become something we want to preserve?

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