Archinect - News

San Francisco’s iconic Transamerica pyramid is for sale

2019-08-20T14:00:00-04:00

The Transamerica Pyramid, San Francisco’s second-tallest building and an icon of the city’s financial might for four decades, is being marketed for sale for the first time. “Right now, San Francisco has a very robust office real estate market,” Jay Orlandi, chief administrative officer at Transamerica, said in a statement. “We are exploring options for a possible 100% interest sale of the property, with Transamerica retaining naming and branding rights.”

The 853-foot, William Pereira-designed pyramidal skyscraper reigned as San Francisco’s tallest tower for more than 30 years before it was dethroned by the Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects-designed Salesforce Tower in 2018.

Built in 1972, the Brutalist-style Transamerica building features a four-sided pyramidal form wrapped in repeating bands of modular concrete window frames, and is capped by a soaring pointed top that is illuminated in a variety of colors throughout the year. The top one-third of the tower includes a pair of monolithic elevator shafts that break with the building’s otherwise pyramidal form.

Though originally disliked due to its shape and height, the tower eventually became a symbol of the city of San Francisco and has adorned corporate logos, tourist memorabilia, and other ephemeral media symbolizing the city for decades. The base of the tower is marked by Redwood Park, a pocket park designed by landscape architect Tom Galli that includes a series of redwood trees tr...

Marcel Breuer's Central Atlanta Library to receive exterior renovations

2019-07-29T12:37:00-04:00

The library, which opened in 1980, has been undergoing needed interior repairs and upgrades since last summer. But changing Breuer’s historic facade has been a point of contention since architecture firm Cooper Carry proposed cutting holes into the building to make way for the windows.

After an Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System survey found that 72 percent of participants "were interested in seeing more windows added to the building," it was insisted to become a reality. Naturally, with such an iconic building, there was cause for concern. The renovations are estimated to conclude "by September 2020 at the earliest."

The inspiration for Star Wars' Sandcrawler, Hôtel du Lac, faces imminent demolition

2019-03-27T19:27:00-04:00

"(The hotel) is one of the rare standing testimonies of the brutalist movement in North Africa. [...] Hôtel du Lac was built as an expression of Tunisia's modernity and independence. In contrast to the surrounding architecture, the hotel makes a rebellious statement of departure from both traditional and colonial architectural forms."

This local landmark of Tunis has made quite an impact on the public since its initial opening in 1973. Said to be the inspiration behind a fictional Sandcrawler vehicle in George Lucas' Star Wars films, the Hôtel du Lac also acts as "one of Tunisia's premier brutalist structures" in North Africa. The building was designed by Italian architect Raffaele Contigiani, who was also known for his commissioned works on various pavilions and fairs as well as other hotels around North Africa. The Hôtel du Lac was Contigiani's most known work.

Hôtel du Lac © Ahmet Ersoy, 1993.

The Sandcrawler vehicle from "Star Wars: A New Hope" Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

The ten-floor hotel features 416 rooms which were known to host high profiled guests and A-List clientele. However, in 2002, the hotel closed its doors to the public. Since its closing, the building has remained empty, slowly deteriorating. The once bustling venue attracts several onlookers due to its interesting upside-down pyramid shape and s...

Archinect Outpost to host Holiday Party December 15th

2018-12-07T19:22:00-05:00

Join us next Saturday, December 15th, 11-3pm for a holiday sale of our curated inventory. Newly displayed and price-reduced items (some as much as 50%) will be available for purchase at Archinect Outpost, located at 900 East 4th Street, Los Angeles CA 90013.

Come taste our Brutal coffee, try on Sam Jacob-designed scarves, peruse our books and check out our limited-time sales. This is an ideal opportunity to get last minute gifts for yourself or your design-conscious friends and family members. We'll see you there!

Can't make it to the party? Check out our recently updated online store, where we are featuring the same items as those in the retail shop.

Brutalist collection of vintage postcards highlight iconic Eastern Bloc architecture

2018-09-18T15:45:00-04:00

With flawless blue skies and the latest landmarks of cutting edge design, postcards from across the Soviet Union were miniature propaganda posters for the success of the communist system. Showcasing brutalist hotels, futurist TV towers, and bold concrete tower blocks, each image is a snapshot of the transformative decades between 1960 and 1990: from the endless optimism of Khrushchev's Thaw, to the closing years of the Cold War.

These Soviet Union postcards have been collected as part of a book project, Brutal Bloc Postcards, featuring some of the most iconic brutalist landmarks within the Eastern Bloc. Many of these structures are now abandoned, derelict, or completely gone. Take a look at this unique glimpse into the past:

Eastern Gate of Belgrade or Rudo Buildings, late 1970s. Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia. Image: FUEL.

Memorial to the Marines, 1978. Zhdanov, Ukrainian SSR. Image: FUEL.

Recreation home of the Ministry of the Interior, 1970s. Budapest, Hungarian PR. Image: FUEL.

Residential housing, late 1970s. Chișinău, Moldavian SSR. Image: FUEL.

You can check out more of these brutalist postcards here.

Valdemar Coutinho Arquitectos completes concrete and wood sports facility in Portugal

2018-09-06T18:08:00-04:00

The Pavilhão do Atlântico sports facility by Valdemar Coutinho Arquitectos was recently completed this year in Viana do Castelo, Portugal. The brutalist gymnasium was built to serve both the local Pedro Barbosa School and community.

Pavilhão do Atlântico by Valdemar Coutinho Arquitectos, located in Viana do Castelo, PT. Image: Joao Morgado.

The firm's design includes a 6997 sq. ft surface to accommodate volleyball and basketball, and includes four adjacent changing room blocks each with a capacity for 15 to 20 individuals.

Pavilhão do Atlântico by Valdemar Coutinho Arquitectos, located in Viana do Castelo, PT. Image: Joao Morgado.

The facility also includes an entrance space with a reception, surveillance area, and a cafeteria.

Pavilhão do Atlântico by Valdemar Couti...

Architecture professor defends brutalism against Trump's call for demolition

2018-08-13T14:40:00-04:00

Depending on who you ask, brutalist buildings like the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington, D.C., are little more than misshapen mounds of concrete. But architecture professor Mark Pasnik says the structures were built with a much deeper meaning in mind. "People think of them as communistic or as alienating," says Pasnik, who came to brutalism's defense in a recent Boston Globe op-ed.

Architecture professor Mark Pasnik makes the argument for preservation of brutalist buildings in an opinion piece for the Boston Globe. Pasnik's piece was in response to Trumps recent outcry to tear down the FBI headquarters. He explains the style's history of material honesty, along with reasons to preserve brutalist architecture. Even if the style does not appeal to an individual, Pasnik advocates the historic importance and sustainability of renovation over demolition are worth keeping brutalist buildings intact.

President Trump involved in revamping the FBI headquarters in DC

2018-08-02T17:37:00-04:00

Trump is obsessed with the FBI building. For months now, in meetings with White House officials and Senate appropriators intended to discuss big-picture spending priorities, the president rants about the graceless J. Edgar Hoover Building in downtown Washington, D.C.

President Trump has reportedly taken an interest in the FBI headquarters J. Edgar Hoover Building in downtown DC, overseeing every detail of the project. While he recognizes the value of the property, the president is not a fan of brutalism. Trump complained, "Even the building is terrible... It's one of the brutalist-type buildings, you know, brutalist architecture. Honestly, I think it's one of the ugliest buildings in the city."

Lost UK brutalist buildings honored through illustrations

2018-06-25T18:09:00-04:00

Despite being recognized as an important architectural movement, many iconic examples of modernist architecture have been knocked down in the UK, and many more are threatened by alteration or demolition. From The Tricorn Centre in Portsmouth to Gilbey's Gin complex in Harlow, these illustrations by GoCompare pay tribute to Britain's lost post-war brutalist buildings.

The Tricorn Centre, Portsmouth (1966 - 2004)

Pimlico Secondary School, London (1970 - 2010)

Trinity Square Car Park, Gateshead (1967 - 2010)

Derwent Tower, Dunston (1972 - 2012)

Greenside, Virginia Water, Surrey (1937 - 2003)

Milton Court, London (1959 - 2008)

Dunlop Rubber Factory, Brynmawr (1951 - 2001)

Gilbey's Gin HQ, Harlow (1963 - 1993)

Royal Mail Mechanised Letter Office, Hemel Hempstead (1985 - 2012)

An artist creates brutalist cuckoo clocks based on Germany's social housing

2018-06-05T14:55:00-04:00

Artist Guido Zimmermann's Cuckoo Block series present a brutalist take on the traditional cuckoo clock design. Based in Germany, Zimmermann's pieces are largely inspired by local brutalist housing blocks found in Frankfurt and Berlin. He has also ventured out to create clocks based on notable brutalist structures such as as Marcel Breuer’s Hotel Le Flaine, and Ernő Goldfinger's Glenkerry House.

Check out some of these unique creations below:

All images courtesy of Guido Zimmermann.

V&A's three-story chunk of demolished housing to be shown at Venice Architecture Biennale

2018-03-07T16:14:00-05:00

The V&A will transport a recently demolished concrete section from Robin Hood Gardens in Poplar, east London, to the Venice Architecture Biennale. It will be delivered by barge to the biennale’s Arsenale site, where it will be reassembled on an outdoors scaffold, allowing visitors to stand on an original “street in the sky” – the elevated deck that was optimistically meant to foster healthy interaction between neighbours.

The demolition of east London's Robin Hood Gardens has been ongoing since last year, which is why the V&A moved to acquire a three-story section of the brutalist icon. The museum's section will now be displayed in this year's Venice Architecture Biennale in order to revisit its original vision and what it has to teach us about social housing moving forward.

50 years after its construction, this preserved section will be reassembled on an outdoors scaffold where visitors can experience the intended interaction with the building. Robin Hood Gardens: A Ruin in Reverse will be exhibited at the Venice Architecture Biennale from 26 May to 25 November.

Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza Vieira realizes white concrete church in France

2018-02-13T15:18:00-05:00

The Pritzker Prize winning architect, Álvaro Siza, has completed a white concrete church in France's Brittany region. The church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande, consecrated over the weekend in the presence of over 300 people, is the first church built in the area in over 40 years—the only, thus far, Breton church of the 21st century.

Joao Morgado Architecture Photography.

The sacred building, costing 3 million euros, was ordered by the diocese of Rennes to better meet current needs. Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande, a commune in the Northwestern part of France, has a thriving Catholic community and the new church is more centrally located to where people live, near the residential area south of Rennes with five-story housing blocks.

Joao Morgado Architecture Photography.

The design by Siza, for which he provided 600 details, combines a minimalistic aesthetic with an opening onto the city. His use of light and white concrete provides a unique ceremonial space that is integrated into the urban f...

Concrete effect wallpaper brings brutalism inside

2018-01-09T13:46:00-05:00

Always wanted concrete walls? Now you can choose from a selection of Concrete Effect Wallpaper from murals wallpaper. Featuring the Brutalist Welbeck Street Mural option pictured above, the company offers multiple Brutalist choices of Cathedral, High Rise, London, or Metro.

Most of mural wallpaper's options are customizable and come in a selection of paper weights. For those looking for the ultimate "grunge-glam" interior choose the Brutalist High Rise Heavyweight Deluxe. With free shipping in the UK, these grey tone textures are an easy addition to any space.

Go with the classic Bare Concrete look:

The Brutalist Metro Station DC:

Or choose color blocking with the Margaux Retro:

DIY installation instructions can be found here.

Is the architecture in 'Blade Runner 2049' really Brutalist?

2017-12-05T14:32:00-05:00

This fall Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner 2049 was released as the long awaited sequel to the original 1982 film, and has since sparked much conversation around the film's architecture. There is no denying that Blade Runner 2049's construction was considerably influenced by Brutalist forms, but is the architecture really Brutalism?

Cinematographer Roger Deakins looked to London's Brutalist architecture to create his film, and director Denis Villeneuve said he wanted the "Brutalist feel" with severe concrete design.

'Blade Runner 2049' trailer still.

While serving as inspiration to the filmmakers, Brutalism's core philosophy does not align with Blade Runner 2049 and its architecture. The extremely capitalist society and unpopulated scenes found within the film contradict the original socialist intentions of Brutalist architects whose focus was on material rawness and honesty in order to create the ideal form of dwelling.

'Blade Runner 2049' trailer still.

Read the full essay by Alice Sw...

Brutalist sculptures by David Umemoto

2017-07-21T13:05:00-04:00

David Umemoto's modular cubic sculptures are studies of volume—at the juncture of sculpture and architecture . The miniature concrete structures are monumental and re-arrangable, conveying numerous images.

"They refer to the archaic and the ephemeral, despite the solidity and the modernity of the medium. Appearing before our eyes are pre-Columbian rock dwellings, god statues from the Andes or Easter Island, steles deteriorated by rain, remnants of modern cities having survived a cataclysm, fragments of Babylonian cities, colonial settlements brought down to their foundations, cenotaphs abandoned in the jungle…"

Soma Cube IX in various configurations

The works are produced slowly, in imitation of cycles of nature, cycles of erosion and re-creation. Lines shift, change and are in a state of perpetual mutation due to the influence of time and weather. The natural architectures of geological strata and crystals stand as models: They inspire the design of the molds in which the concrete ...

Brutalism lovers rejoice: Plans for a new FBI headquarters are canceled

2017-07-11T14:40:00-04:00

The decision follows years of failed attempts by federal officials to persuade Congress to fully back a plan for a campus in the Washington suburbs paid for by trading away the Hoover Building to a real estate developer and putting up nearly $2 billion in taxpayer funds to cover the remaining cost. For years, FBI officials have raised alarms that the decrepit conditions at Hoover constitute serious security concerns.

Built in 1975 in Washington DC, at $126 million, J. Edgar Hoover Building was the most expensive federal building ever erected. While much loved by some architectural critics, the building has also been under intense criticism for its appearance and functionality ever since its construction.

J. Edgar Hoover Building from the street - taken in April 2007.

Some of its most distinctive features like its open courtyard, designed to allow visitors to walk freely into the inner courtyard, and its firing range equipped with a 162-seat auditorium, where visitors can sit and watch agents take shooting practice, have become obsolete over the years. The Stanislaw Gladych and Carter Manny-designed Brutalist icon was going to be demolished and replaced with a mixed-use condo building, but as of now, it's destiny is unclear.

According to the Washington Post, "Further retrofitting is prohibitively expensive; despite the Hoover building’s overall size of 2.4 million gross square feet only 53 perce...

The MetLife Building’s letters are getting a makeover

2017-06-07T12:54:00-04:00

While the Brutalist architecture of the MetLife Building, formerly the Pan Am Building, makes this 59-story skyscraper stand out among Midtown’s many tall towers, its large sign touting its namesake makes it easy for all to identify. Beginning this week, the insurance company will replace the massive letters with a brand new typeface, as Crain’s reported.

The installation of the new, more modern logo will be the first time the building’s sign has changed since 1993 when 15- and 18-foot-long letters spelling out MetLife replaced Pan Am’s sign.

A Brutal Youth: Memories of Growing Up in Brutalist Masterpeice Habitat 67

2017-05-02T13:30:00-04:00

“How do you live with all that cement,” my schoolmates would ask. “With delight” was the only answer. They understood once they visited.

Part childhood memoir, part ode to brutalism itself, this piece by Blake Gopnik touches on his experiences living in Habitat 67 while celebrating the return of a form that many openly reviled for decades, but have now gradually come to like, even treasure. (Of course, not all is well for brutalist forms: Tadao Ando's Piccadilly Gardens in England is slated to be demolished after vigorous complaint by local residents.) However, those buildings that have survived the wave of demolitions are being increasingly valued for their spartan, bulky beauty: Canada's government is issuing a stamp celebrating the 50th birthday of Habitat 67, and oddly enough tours of the specific apartment Gopnik used to live in will be offered to the public. As Gopnik writes:

Habitat’s 158 apartments fill 365 cast-concrete boxes, piled 11 stories high in a madcap mess of cantilevers and bridges and perilous open spaces — like (guess what) a stack of children’s blocks. For sheer sensory excitement, Habitat could ...

Brutalist Sydney Map celebrates the city's concrete heritage

2017-04-25T21:03:00-04:00

The family of Brutalist Maps architectural guide books just welcomed its newest member into this world and extends the reach to Australia: Brutalist Sydney Map—launched this week by Blue Crow Media in collaboration with Glenn Harper of @Brutalist_Project_Sydney and Senior Associate Architect at PTW Architects—helps concrete aficionados locate and learn more about landmark buildings designed by Marcel Breuer, Herbert Beckhard, Harry Seidler & Associates and many others.

"The guide features fifty of the most significant examples of Brutalist architecture in the city and suburbs of Sydney. Celebrated buildings such as the Sirius Apartments (likely to be sold without heritage listing) by Tao Gofers and the former NSW Housing Commission, Sydney Town Hall by Anchor Mortlock and Woolley, and Bidura Children’s Court (now sold and likely to be demolished) by former NSW Government Architect are included alongside lesser known structures such as Buhrich House II by the émigré architects Hugh ...

Tour Paris' Brutal landmarks with this new architectural guide

2017-03-09T12:55:00-05:00

Paris is not only the City of Lights, but also one of the great repositories of Brutalist buildings. "Brutalist Paris Map," a new architectural guide book put together by photographer Nigel Crow and edited by Robin Wilson of the Bartlett, marks the sixth in a series of publications touring various architectural genres in different cites.

The book will point you to monuments such as Les Choux de Creteil, Les Orgues de Flandre Les Damiers, and Bourse by Travail among a slew of others.

A Brutalist coloring book lets you paint it black (and gray, perhaps even blue)

2017-01-12T18:47:00-05:00

Depending on the level of surreality you favor in your coloring book exercises, The Brutalist Colouring Book from Belgian graphic designer Marc Thomasset allows you to create wildly imaginative or strictly literal renderings of various famous brutalist landmarks, including works by William Pereira and SOM (and even provides pre-made clouds for you):

Inside BIG's twisted, twin-towered Grove at Grand Bay

2016-12-14T13:53:00-05:00

At each elevation from the third through 17th floors, the floor plates in Bjarke Ingels Group's new Grove at Grand Bay rotate three feet, creating a twisting set of luxury residential towers that from the ground resemble the splayed bellows of dueling concrete accordions. Indeed, these 20-story sustainable towers, which are expected to attain LEED Gold status, seem to be designed as much for the entertainment value of sweeping aerial flyover shots as actual inhabitation.

The interiors do possess a kind of upbeat brutalist vibe; slanted concrete pillars face off against vibrant murals and landscape architect Raymond Jungles' gardens in the common areas, while the residences themselves take in views of the arts community in which it is sited, Coconut Grove.

“Coconut Grove is a special place with a well-defined soul, so it was important that Grove at Grand Bay respond to its community through a design that was respectful and distinctive,” Bjarke Ingels is quoted as saying in a press rel...

"Great brutalist buildings, it turns out, have soul"

2016-09-29T13:27:00-04:00

In this thoughtful ode to the unexpected charms of brutalism, Felix Salmon explores why the formerly nightmarish architectural style is experiencing a renaissance, or at least a renewed appreciation. Salmon's observation that ubiquitous, unimaginative glass towers have replaced brutalism as the new hated icon of class strife is ace:

"The international style evolved, and not well. What used to be aspirational started becoming an in-your-face statement of conspicuous consumption. The gauche gaudiness of was embraced not only where you might expect it (the Wynn towers of Las Vegas, say), but also in places with real history, such as New York City. Go to Columbus Circle today, for instance, and you’ll see Christian de Portzamparc’s billionaire condos at One57 face off against 'a 1950s international style glass skyscraper in a 1980s gold lame party dress,' as Muschamp described the Trump International Hotel. Such erections generate almost as much hatred today as the worst mistakes of brut...

The fight for Sydney's brutalist public housing landmark continues

2016-09-23T14:13:00-04:00

Protesters gathered in Sydney’s historic Rocks district on Saturday to rally against the New South Wales government’s plans to sell off the Sirius building – which contains 79 social housing tenants – to developers for more than $100m. The 1970s Brutalist building was nominated for heritage listing by the NSW National Trust in 2014 but the government has refused to grant it, saying the proceeds from the sale are needed to build more public housing elsewhere in Sydney

Quartz also reported that Australia’s largest construction union Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) and the Unions NSW have called their members to refuse any participation in demolition work of the structure.

“The Sirius building is not only an important piece of architectural history—it is one of the last areas of public housing in the district,” explained Rita Mallia, president of the CFMEU in a Sept 16 statement.

Learn more about the case in this change.org petition and on the cause's website saveoursirius.org.

Previously in the Archinect news: Just add balconies? Sydney deliberates future of brutalist housing landmark

Brutal paper cut-outs (of real-life buildings)

2016-05-26T19:22:00-04:00

Poland-based studio Zupagrafika has a thing for modernist and Brutalist architecture. And to share that passion, it has created playful illustrated paper cutout models of Brutalist buildings in London; modernist buildings in Warsaw; and a new series, Paris Brut, featuring Brutalist architecture from the 1950s–70s located in the city center and outlying banlieues.

Cheaper than a train set, more visceral than a video game: Zupagrafika's sets of the Les Choux de Creteil, the Cite des 4000, and the Orgues de Flandre (among others) will keep your fingers busy in assembly and your mind deeply engaged in the thorny issues surrounding the relative success and failure of mid-century design.

A round-up of all the latest in fascinating miniatures:

Feast your eyes on these sci fi-inspired photos of Belgrade's Brutalist buildings

2016-04-13T19:20:00-04:00

These buildings aren't from a distant galaxy far, far away. They're here on Planet Earth, specifically in Belgrade, Serbia. Locally based photographer Mirko Nahmijas wanted to give a new perspective to some of his hometown's historically-loaded Brutalist structures in his photo series titled “Minimal Belgrade” — which Nahmijas has also nicknamed “Star Wars City”.

The series depicts the structures as concrete giants, showing off their depth and sharp geometric forms that pop against a stark sky-blue background. Encountering the buildings on a regular basis, Nahmijas wanted to discover a newfound appreciation for his hometown.

Although he carefully staged the photos, there were the inevitable perfect moments of spontaneity that made the process all the more enjoyable. “I most enjoyed taking photos of the VMA Military hospital [the Military Medical Academy] because of its bold lines, and the Western City Gate — especially in the picture I like to call The Pigeon Gate, because the pigeon...

Brutalism's struggle to stay relevant: a few more buildings we lost in 2015

2016-01-12T16:52:00-05:00

Brutalism lost the good fight in 2015. [...] Demolition on another building by Johansen began late last year as well: Stage Theater, once known as the Mummers Theater, in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoman‘s Steve Lackmeyer called the 1970 project the number-one modernist building in the city that should have been spared. [....] Preservationists had hoped to turn it into a children’s museum. Models of the building show what a delightful museum it might have made [...].

Brutalike stories in the Archinect news:

Brutalism: the great architectural polarizer

2015-08-14T19:57:00-04:00

Goldfinger’s [brutalist] buildings were decreed “soulless.” Inhabitants claimed to suffer health problems and depression from spending time inside of them. Some of Goldfinger’s buildings were vacated because occupants found them so ugly. Yet, architects praised Goldfinger’s buildings. [...] This divide—this hatred from the public and love from designers and architects—tends to be the narrative around buildings like Goldfinger’s. Which is to say, gigantic, imposing buildings made of concrete.

Roman Mars, host of the design-centric podcast "99% Invisible", blogs for Slate on the polarizing quality of brutalist architecture – beloved by architects and hated by pretty much everyone else. Discussing the history of concrete in building architecture, Mars also puts brutalism in perspective as a contested term, one that architects are still arguing about, and that is commonly interpreted by non-architects simply as "gigantic, imposing buildings made of concrete."

Just add balconies? Sydney deliberates future of brutalist housing landmark

2015-07-29T18:51:00-04:00

At what cost? The LAVA plan could be difficult to manage structurally, cost a significant amount of money and see Sirius occupants relocated anyway. But it could also be a more sustainable option than knocking down and rebuilding.

SIRIUS in 2014.

Alas, the curse of the "brutalist eyesore" continues with the historic SIRIUS apartment building in Sydney, designed by architect Tao (Theodore) Gofers in 1978-79. Adding a third option to the demolish-preserve debate that typically ensues, local architecture firm LAVA proposed the addition of "clip-on" curved balconies as an amenity upgrade that the firm says would spruce up the building's appearance while also preserve the original structure.

Paul Rudolph's Government Center won't be saved, despite preservationist pleas

2015-06-30T13:04:00-04:00

“We can now get back to doing the public’s business and return a functioning Government Center to Goshen,” the Orange County executive, Steven M. Neuhaus, said in a statement. “It is my hope that this delay will not impact the bid prices.”

As of this past April, the fate of New York's Orange County Government Center, a boxy brutalist designed by Paul Rudolph, was pretty much sealed. Preservationist had previously fought to restore the structure in the face of much-needed updates to the Center, but their proposals were dismissed, and (at least partial) demolition was looking more or less imminent.

Now, another loss has cleared the way for work to begin. A lawsuit filed by local residents, claiming that the building was worth saving for both its architectural significance and the existence of a cheaper, alternate plan for an updated government center that spared Rudolph's building, has been rejected.

Work on the building will begin in early July.

Chart the rocky history of Rudolph's Orange County Government Center below: