Facades as a time capsule

We are used to perceiving façades as something static and eternal, but in reality, they are the most changeable part of architecture. The frame and load-bearing walls can stand for centuries, but the face of a building changes with the tastes of the era.

An interesting paradox: the façade is both the most enduring (what remains in the memory of the city) and the most ephemeral (what is easiest to change). When we design a new façade, do we do so with the thought that in 50 years it might be redesigned to suit a new fashion?

Sometimes I catch myself wondering: how would a 19th-century architect react if he knew that his elegant stucco decor would be covered with aluminum panels in the 1970s? Would he be glad that the building continues to live, or horrified by the new aesthetic?

Maybe we should design façades with their future transformations in mind? It’s like writing a letter to the future, knowing that it will inevitably be edited. But I hope some phrases will remain unchanged.