Building the right buildings

On Thursday this week Londoners vote to elect the next Mayor. London is a vibrant, global city with a huge population and a massive economy so the Mayor’s job is an important one with responsibilities ranging from transport to construction. In the last decade or so, the skyline of London has been transformed by some iconic new buildings. Cubans I meet, including those who haven’t yet visited London, talk with admiration for older buildings in London like Big Ben and Buckingham Palace and newer ones such as the Shard and the London Eye. Not everyone likes the modern buildings, arguing they don’t fit with London’s more traditional architecture or saying they simply don’t like the design. But this problem – finding a blend between the modern and the traditional, the future and the past – is a challenge for all growing cities, including Havana.

Most people suspect that Havana is about to enter a period of significant change. More hotels are needed to accommodate the rise in tourists and increasingly, private money is being used to rehabilitate and extend old buildings or build new ones. In ten years time, the Malecon, Paseo, Prado and the plazas are all likely to look different to the way they do now. The challenge is to get the change right and build hotels or houses that fit with the city’s current look. That doesn’t mean new buildings that look exactly like the ones built centuries ago by the Spanish. Nor does it mean being conservative and boring. But it does require sensible decisions by those qualified to make them. Fortunately in Havana, just as in London, there are a number of bodies who can make good judgements not only about how to preserve the current historic buildings but also which new building projects should go ahead and which shouldn’t. Amongst others, the Historian’s Office, the Commission of Monuments, the Urban Planning Institute and UNESCO all have a great deal of experience.

This is a big issue. Buildings transform how a city feels and looks. They can improve it or ruin it. They can change a skyline or destroy a view. You only get one chance so getting the decision right is crucial. Getting it wrong on the other hand can be very costly.