It's true that if you go down the list of infill projects in Halifax constructed during the past 10 years or so the majority are faux historic. I don't know of any cities that have done this to the same degree.
I can think of some good examples. For instance, the building on the right is new while the one on the left is Victorian:
There are a few aesthetic deficiencies in the new building. The roof proportions are off (nobody wants useless floors with low ceilings and tiny dormers), the colours are more bland than usual, and there is a garage door for underground parking.
This is a weirder example, where a small brick-clad commercial building was put in front of some precast condo towers (with hideous green mansard roofs). The form of the building suggests there should be an entrance in the middle, but it's actually on the other side:
Here's a bigger apartment building that mixes some kind of metal cladding (also common in Halifax) with some decent brick work and precast detailing. The building next door is pre-war:
A slightly better approach is to use brick cladding but add more modern looking detailing:
Here are some new wooden rowhouses that manage to look decent (but the fences and gates in front are not detailed wrought iron like Victorian and Georgian equivalents):
http://glubeslofttownhouses.com/imag...r0601_e_06.jpg
Ultimately I don't mind when builders attempt to make new buildings "fit in" with their surroundings but the architectural form needs to fit the budget. Going overboard with cheap detailing just makes things look tacky. It's always better to scale back and build something simpler with high-quality materials (i.e. no hideous precast cladding). Unfortunately, many people don't seem to understand this.
Prev
Linear Mode
