Placemaking by Design

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Abstract
This study of how people respond to design strategies for making new construction contextually compatible with the older buildings of a historic district is based on Amos Rapoport's theory of place meaning. The objective was to learn what elements of architecture help people find meaning in the built environment and to suggest ways that architects and policymakers can use this knowledge. Seventy-three people who were encountered in a public square across from a new megastructure were asked to do a multiple sort task using criteria of their own choice with 6 photos. Photos included an old facade that was used in the new building, other elevations of the new building, and old buildings around the square. The ways the old facade differed from the other elevations of the new building were noticed giving support to Rapoport's conclusion that people respond to the associations a place has with their own experience but they have to notice differences in what they see before they can make the association. The idea that place meaning would be effectively communicated by an obvious link to the community's past was not supported. Evidence of care being taken with the design of a building having an inviting public nature is more important than explicit links to the past.

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