Design With Historic Buildings

This thesis focuses on historic buildings built in the modern times: should there be additions to them or new buildings in their settings, and if so, how to do that? The situation of "Early Buildings of Tsinghua Campus" and "Buildings of Yenching Campus" is discussed in particular.The thesis is from the standpoint of conservation of historic buildings, and the first and dominant consideration is the impact of additions and new buildings on historic buildings. It offers design principles and methods in the hope that they might be helpful to architects. It also hopes that these principles and methods could be useful in the future construction of Tsinghua University and Peking University.The thesis consists of three parts:The first part is the theoretic basis. The value of historic buildings that should be preserved and the contribution of their settings in preserving the value is chiefly described.The second part brings forward the subject to be studied in particular: the two building groups of Tsinghua University and Peking University. Based on the history of them, their value is analyzed and evaluated, and the issues of whether there should be additions to them and whether new buildings could be built in their settings are discussed.The third part deals with the design principles and methods. First, the direct impact of additions and new buildings on historic buildings is examined, and how to preserve and develop the value of historic buildings through this direct impact is explored. Second, the indirect impact of additions and new buildings on historic buildings by changing their settings is examined and how to preserve and develop the value of historic buildings through this indirect impact is explored.