Issue26 [Smile A]第八次作业

xinxinwUID: 2144273

TOPIC: ISSUE26
- "Most people would agree that buildings represent a valuable record of any society's past, but controversy arises when old buildings stand on ground that modern planners feel could be better used for modern purposes. In such situations, modern development should be given precedence over the preservation of historic buildings so that contemporary needs can be served."
WORDS: 54          TIME: 0:10:00          DATE: 2006-8-3

Outline:
Whether to raze an older building in order to construct a new one should never be determined indiscriminately.
+: Modern buildings can serve contemporary needs. (Transportation, hospital)
-: Some ancient buildings provide valuable record that is not recoverable for scientists to study lives of previous times. (Forbidden City)
-: Some relics are of moral value because they represent the spirit of a nation, or they, as emblems of a history period, serve to help our descendents learn lessons of history. (Yuanming Park)



The issue that whether the ground where ancient building stand on should be reconstructed for modern purposes if the modern planners feel that it could be better used that way has always come with severe controversy. The speaker asserts that historical buildings should give way to modern development to satisfy contemporary needs, with which I can not completely agree. Admittedly, it is important for us to serve contemporary needs to maintain development of the society. Unrecoverable historical buildings, however, is of great value for both study and spirit of a nation.

It is true that we should always focus on immediate and crucial demand of the society to improve living condition of the public. It is especially that case when we refer to the basic function of the government to provide people living facilities. For example, the building of a new hospital, with the aim to improve the health condition of the citizen and save lives of those who are severely sick, is undoubtedly exigent. Or, the project of a transportation center that could serve to solve the problems like traffic jam and bring efficient delivery is also on higher priority for the prosperity of the local area. Those social issues such as starvation, public health, national security and likewise are at top privilege for the local government to deal with. Therefore, expropriation of the ground, on which stands old buildings, if unavoidable, is necessary.

However, some historical buildings are of unparalleled academic usage by proving unrecoverable records and documentations to scientists. Thus they also contribute to our modern lives. One of the best cases illustrating this point would be the Forbidden City of China, the largest and best preserved group of royal palaces. It is from countless culture relic and artic works stored in it that scientists and artists study development of science and art of China through the past thousands of years. Also, its pattern of buildings inspires modern architects to design modern buildings. Furthermore, as a symbol of the country, the Forbidden City attracts hundreds of thousands tourists from all over the world, spreading Chinese culture, and serving as an important source for revenue of the government at the same time. Our nation can not afford losing such treasures in the form of historical buildings, neither can people in the whole world.

Moreover, some old buildings or relics uniquely represent a bygone era, from which we can learn lessons of history. The colonnades in Yuanming Park, relic of the palace destroyed by foreign invaders at the beginning of the last century, reminds our Chinese people the truth that ridden over if weak. The Statue of Liberty represents the desire and endless pursue for freedom of people all around the world. These buildings, as emblems of a historical period that have special meaning to people, embody valuable spirit of a country and help in raising cohesion within the nation as a source of power to overcome any difficulty. Thus it is worthy preserving them at the expense of contemporary buildings.

In conclusion, whether to raze an older building in order to construct a new one requires case-by-case analysis weighing the benefit and cost of the action. For the good of both contemporary people and our descendents, we ought to keep good balance in this dilemma rather than make decision indiscriminately.

来人啊

[ 本帖最后由 xinxinw 于 2006-8-8 16:07 编辑 ]