facadism means the practice of retaining only the facade of an old building when redeveloping a site. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
facadism is pronounced /fəˈsɑːd.ɪzəm/.
Why “facadism” is a great word
FACADISM — [Noun] The architectural practice of preserving only the facade of an old building while demolishing and rebuilding the structure behind it. From facade (from French 'façade', from Italian 'facciata', meaning 'face of a building') + -ism (suffix forming nouns of practice or doctrine). Unlike 'preservation,' which implies comprehensive protection of a building's historic fabric, or 'façadectomy,' which clinically specifies the surgical act of removal, facadism is a doctrine of negotiated surrender. It is the hollowed-out brownstone with a glass tower erupting from its collar; the ornate cornice propped like a stage flat before an abyss of steel girders; the stoic stone lintels framing acres of anonymous office space. A testament to the belief that a city's memory can be maintained by its skin alone, while the rooms behind it forget their ghosts.
noun
- the practice of retaining only the facade of an old building when redeveloping a site.“The Construction of new buildings behind historic facades, better know as facade retention or ‘facadism’, is a unique phase in the history of architecture.”
- a method where the facade is designed and/or constructed independently of the remainder of the rest of the building.