Archinect - News

Lloyd Wright's landmark Wayfarers Chapel closes indefinitely due to landslide threat

2024-02-21T12:08:00-05:00

Lloyd Wright’s Wayfarers Chapel closed its doors to the public abruptly last week due to the threat of landslides that have afflicted the Los Angeles area and its site in Rancho Palos Verdes.

In a statement posted to the Chapel’s website, the ministry responsible for its stewardship cited “accelerated land movement” in the area as the reason for its immediate temporary closure.

Rancho Palos Verdes, which is a 12.3-square-mile incorporated city in coastal Los Angeles County, has been particularly impacted by winter storms since early February and is seeking to have a state of emergency declared for recent damage that’s compounded already dangerous landslide conditions.

A local official told the LA Times, “In some areas, [the land] is moving up to 10 feet a year. That’s significant movement, and we’re seeing the damage that’s being sustained throughout the community. We have approximately 400 homes that are threatened by this landslide.”

Completed by the eldest son of Frank Lloyd Wrig...

The TCLF will honor Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of landscape architecture, with a new digital guide ahead of his 200th birthday

2022-04-14T15:20:00-04:00

In honor of the 200th birthday of perhaps the most revered figure in the history of American landscape architecture, The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) has produced a wonderfully illustrated digital guide to more than 300 of Frederick Law Olmsted’s landscape designs.

Featuring landscapes from Maine, Massachusetts, Illinois, Canada, his home state of Connecticut, and 26 others, the guide offers a mapping system and database with important biographical information about his myriad employees and even more detail about the outsized impacts of his successor firms.

A daguerreotype of Olmsted writing in winter 1858 at Brookline, MA. Olmsted was an accomplished literary journalist during the Antebellum period before turning to landscape design full-time. Image courtesy National Parks Service.

The 20th in the TCLF’s series of “What’s Out There” guides, this edition gives equal weight to the 30 National Historic Sites and hundreds of other lesser-known designs associated with Olmsted, ...

Interactive museum opens in historic DC building

2020-11-02T11:31:00-05:00

Planet Word is a new interactive museum in Washington DC dedicated to words and language. Designed by international firm Beyer Blinder Belle, the museum is housed in the Franklin School, a National Historic Landmark in the city. The building was originally designed by Adolf Cluss, a DC-based 19th century architect who also design The Castle, the Smithsonian's renowned HQ.

Beyer Blinder Belle was hired to rehabilitate and restore the five-story, 50,000-square-foot building. The task included restoration of the Great Hall, the building's original frescos, in addition to two grand staircases.

Planet Word holds nine immersive learning galleries that were designed by Local Projects, an interactive exhibit design firm. Some exhibit highlights include a massive word wall, composed of over 1,000 three-dimensional words that speaks and asks visitors questions. "It uses its voice to address stereotypes and misconceptions about how language works — challenging, for example, the idea that “ain'...

Notre Dame is falling apart and relying on US donations for major repairs

2018-08-15T14:21:00-04:00

One of Europe’s most visited sites, with about 12 million tourists a year, is in dire need of repairs. Centuries of weather have worn away at the stone. The fumes from decades of gridlock have only worsened the damage. “Pollution is the biggest culprit,” says Philippe Villeneuve, architect in chief of historic monuments in France. “We need to replace the ruined stones. We need to replace the joints with traditional materials. This is going to be extensive.”

Notre Dame faces major repairs as the historic Cathedral's structure decays due largely to pollution. Funding for the repairs needed were difficult to raise as the cathedral is owned by the French government, yet their arrangement allows the Catholic archdiocese of Paris to use it for free. Both claimed the other responsible for raising funds, however the archdiocese stepped up creating Friends of Notre Dam last year.

The organization allows US citizens to make tax deductible contributions to the renovation of this historic landmark. Friends of Notre Dame hope to raise $114 million within the next five to 10 years.

How private citizens helped to save the Astrodome

2018-04-11T14:23:00-04:00

Though Harris County Judge Ed Emmett is the public official most closely tied to the salvation of the Astrodome, many private citizens have played important roles, too. Without their many letters, petitions, documents and road trips – the tools of architectural preservation – Houston might have lost its most iconic building.

Houston Chronicle editor Allyn West retells the long and twisting tale of how the Astrodome went from designated wrecking-ball fodder to National Historic Landmark and the activism behind it.

FAA restricts drones over ten major U.S. landmarks, including St. Louis Gateway Arch, Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore

2017-10-02T14:14:00-04:00

The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a new regulation restricting unauthorized drone operations over 10 Department of Interior sites, including the Statue of Liberty and Mount Rushmore. [...] The announcement says the action comes at "the request of U.S. national security and law enforcement agencies."

These new FAA restrictions will be effective as of October 5 so make sure to keep your drones at least 400 feet away from these ten National Landmarks:

Statue of Liberty National Monument, New York, NY
Boston National Historical Park (U.S.S. Constitution), Boston, MA
Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia, PA
Folsom Dam; Folsom, CA
Glen Canyon Dam; Lake Powell, AZ
Grand Coulee Dam; Grand Coulee, WA
Hoover Dam; Boulder City, NV
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial; St. Louis, MO
Mount Rushmore National Memorial; Keystone, SD
Shasta Dam; Shasta Lake, CA

The Neutra VDL House Celebrates its National Historic Landmark Status

2017-04-26T13:13:00-04:00

Built in 1932, the VDL Research House designed by Richard Neutra is one of Southern California’s modernist gems. Now it has been named a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior following the tireless work of its owners, the Cal Poly Pomona Foundation and, in particular, the VDL House director and chair of the architecture department at Cal Poly, Sarah Lorenzen. The effort was assisted by Los Angeles Congressman Adam Schiff, who helped celebrate the designation last Sunday.

Neutra’s third building in the United States, and his own private home, the House is said to encapsulate his ideas. For the famed Austrian-American architect, the role of contemporary architecture was to shape life in the modern world, marked by new technologies and new lifestyles. According to the U.S. Department of the Interior, the House is “the only property where one can see the progression of his style over a period of years and is among the key properties to understanding the nation...

The Department of Interior announces 24 new National Historic Landmarks

2017-01-12T21:02:00-05:00

Earlier today, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced 24 new National Historic Landmarks. Defined as “historic properties of exceptional value to the nation [that promote] the preservation efforts of federal, state, and local agencies and Native American tribes, as well as those of private organizations and individuals,” the designation comes with technical assistance, recognition, and funding. Notably, the Neutra Studio and Residence (VDL House) in Los Angeles, which has hosted several Archinect events in the past, was added to the list.

“These 24 new designations depict different threads of the American story that have been told through activism, architecture, music, and religious observance,” said Secretary Jewell. “Their designation ensures future generations have the ability to learn from the past as we preserve and protect the historic value of these properties and the more than 2,500 other landmarks nationwide.”

Here are the new historical landmarks, with des...

Van der Rohe's Lafayette Park and three other sites named National Historic Landmark

2015-08-11T14:15:00-04:00

Lafayette Park, the neighborhood northeast of downtown dotted with high-rises and townhouses, and known for its modern architecture, has attained the status of national historic landmark. [...] The neighborhood consists of a 78-acre housing development designed and realized by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, considered a master of modern architecture. It was founded by developer Herb Greenwald to help keep the middle class in the city.

The three other sites that also recently gained landmark status are:

George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia
Red Rocks Park and Mount Morrison Civilian Conservation Corps Camp in Jefferson County, Colorado
First Peoples Buffalo Jump in Cascade County, Montana

MvdR-related in Archinect's Features section: Completing Mies van der Rohe's Brick Country House