Remember when we were just a kid and for the first time, our parents sent us to school with all the goodies. Yes!! That was the best memory and one of the most unforgettable ones, but there is also another unforgettable memory is that when for the first time we lost one of our goodies. And if it was one of our favourite ones, we felt terrible. We start thinking, how this happened but moreover, we start finding it. And admit it or not this thing happened with everyone and in every field.
Over the years, the world of architecture has seen lots of changes as well as development. And through this time, we had lost lots of things too. But what is lost architecture?? What can we lose in the world of architecture?? To answer these questions, we need to find out how, when and why we lost it.
Let’s refer a child again, when the child lost his or her favourite thing, yes, the exact time, he or she may be wasn’t even cared about it or maybe that particular time it wasn’t of his or her use or maybe someone else took it or maybe somehow it gets destroyed and someone threw it away or maybe someone found it but couldn’t recognize what it is, as it is not of their use so, they just discarded it or there can be many possible reasons for the same. But the main thing is that these reasons and explanations can also apply to the field of architecture.
In the field of architecture, the reason we lost architectural buildings or elements or anything is the same as the above. Maybe, that particular thing isn’t of use that time or maybe, no one care about it that time, or maybe it just got destroyed by natural factors or maybe that particular thing is not that much important at that time as something else is more or maybe, someone else destroyed or maybe someone took some elements from it took to create something else or there can be numerous reasons.
We can talk about the assumption as long as we want and again maybe some people will believe it and some will not. So, we need proof to prove whether these are true or not. So, let’s take an example of one of our assumed situations which is, maybe that particular thing is not that important that time as something else is more. The best example of this is Pennsylvania Station, New York City. This was a Beaux-Arts building that served as a railroad station for the traveller to travel internationally from 1910 to 1963. It was demolished at that time to make space for the hideous Madison Square Garden and Two Penn Plaza. And hence we lost this piece of architecture featuring classical columns, pink granite, and high ceilings.
As it was mentioned earlier that natural cases can also be a reason for the loss of architecture like the fire at Crystal Palace, London. Crystal Palace was a piece of work done at the first World’s Fair during the industrial revolution. The whole structure was made up of glass which was the most fascinating thing about the structure as well as the reason it caught fire. As we all know that glass can create a greenhouse effect and heat the area, this same thing happened with Crystal palace and hence it got demolished in 1936 after the accident.
Sometimes accidents are also created by humans or we can say due to disputes between the human community we destroy each other’s ancient buildings, which result in the loss of architecture. We have lots of examples for this particular category like Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan which was destroyed by the Taliban or Babri Masjid in India which was destroyed by Hindu citizens of the country himself.
In some cases, public dissatisfaction is also a reason like in the case of the Netherlands Dance Theatre in The Hague. And sometimes financial benefit can cause it too, like in the case of Jorba Laboratories in Madrid. And of course, sometimes to create something new or to show the power, people destroy these architectural pieces.
So, now we are pretty clear that those assumptions are just not some creative words written by someone but these are true and can be the reason for the loss. But we are again faced with the same question: what is lost architecture?
Lost architecture is those buildings, elements, or styles that are lost in times by the virtue of many events that happened in the past. These events can be natural or man-made, intentional or unintentional. And the most important point is maybe we can recreate it but that particular piece is gone leaving its remaining memories.
In the last few decades, we have seen the importance of historical buildings. History itself teaches us a lot whether it is learning from the past or creating a better future or handling the situation in the present. The same works in the history of architecture too, that’s why we need to preserve our remaining, those memories, those pieces of knowledge. Lost architecture is nothing but a valuable piece of architecture that is no more with us. As we know now that some of the reasons can be resolved by us but some can’t. If for once we focus on what we can do we can save at least 60% of them from getting lost forever.
Reference list
- The Indian express. (2021). Explained: The legacy and return of the Bamiyan Buddhas, virtually. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/bamiyan-buddhas-3d-projection-taliban-7223686/
- The wire. (2020). Babri Masjid: The Timeline of a Demolition. https://thewire.in/communalism/babri-masjid-the-timeline-of-a-demolition
- Kimmelman.M. (2019). When the Old Penn Station Was Demolished, New York Lost Its Faith. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/24/nyregion/old-penn-station-pictures-new-york.html
- Tori C. (2019). Lost Architecture.Iconic Buildings That No Longer Exist. https://magazine.artland.com/lost-architecture/
