Living Green
by Stephanie Ho Lem, promoting
Living Green [email protected]
Is Facadism on the Upswing?
To those who are not familiar with
this word, facadism is a noun, that comes from the word “fasad” which means
“face” in Greek. Facadism is an architectural technique that is used for
renovation and reconstruction projects where preserving the original façade is deemed
to be of greater importance than modernizing the entire building. The front of an
existing building is preserved, while the interior is completely removed and replaced
with a new building or structure. You may have seen displays of this type of architecture
but never knew there’s a word for it.
The formal green building movement,
including standardized certifications and the establishment of dedicated organizations,
came into play during the 1990s. Older buildings including heritage buildings were
being demolished and new “green” buildings took their place, mainly because of climate
change.
Calgarians are asking how best to
save our built heritage. The older cities such as Vancouver and Montreal have significant
heritage buildings. Calgary is a newer city with fewer historical buildings, but
they are an important part of Calgary’s identity. How do we keep these heritage
buildings from being demolished? In April 2025, Calgary’s city council approved
a two-year pilot program to reduce property taxes for eligible privately owned buildings
that have been protected as Municipal Historic Resources in Calgary. “This pilot
gives The City a chance to study how the tax cancellation helps support current
owners and whether it has the potential to motivate other owners to protect their
historic buildings. It will also help design long-term or permanent tax cancellation
incentives if Council decides to continue this type of program past 2026.”
Is Facadism on the upswing? Calgary
has heritage buildings noticeably in downtown Calgary. Downtown high land values
and zoning favour greater density, thus the developer’s incentive is to build bigger
and taller on a site than a small heritage structure would allow. A viable way to
honour the past while meeting present needs is to keep the façade of heritage buildings.
Facadism is a compromise between
preservation and redevelopment. The integrity of a building is maintained but allows
for a new use, a form of adaptive use. It is “a process of repurposing existing
buildings for new functions while preserving their historic, cultural, and architectural
character.” Take, for example, industrial buildings being converted into loft apartments,
or warehouses into offices. It’s taking an old building and repurposing it for a
new use, quite different from what it was originally designed for, while retaining
its heritage character. For the environment, it’s good as it acts as a sustainable
alternative to demolition by reducing waste, lowering carbon emissions, and revitalizing
urban areas.
Canada’s built history doesn’t go
far back, and today, a large percentage of what we build will be torn down eventually.
The term “adaptive reuse facadism” will be more common and we will continue to preserve
a building’s façade while demolishing and modernizing the rest of the building.
Facadism is better than complete
destruction. It is generally considered a compromise. Facadism’s goal is to maintain
a physical connection between the community and its past.
The verdict is out. What’s your opinion
of facadism? Does it provide a positive or negative impact on the environment?
Please note that the content provided
is for informational purposes.
Sources: Hollow Argument, the case
for true preservation of heritage buildings, Eric Rodrigues; Facadism – Design Encyclopedia;
City of Calgary-Heritage Planning.
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