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Kala Academy, Goa’s cultural centre, which was designed by the renowned architect Charles Correa in the late 1970s, is threatened with demolition by the State Government in the near future. It is an exceedingly important building, not just among Correa’s international repertoire, but also in the State of Goa. — change.org
A petition has been started to save Goa, India's Kala Academy. It has served as a true cultural hub for its local community, being "the only government-run arts institution in the country with separate faculties for both Western and Indian classical music, and also offers courses in theatre and... View full entry
Working with an international team of researchers and artists, Tomšič and Bricelj Baraga study, map and archive fading sites and Brutalist-style structures. They’re building a database of about 120 case studies across Europe and in former Soviet states and will be releasing a book this year. — The Guardian
"Using a surveying and data-collection process known as photogrammetry and a series of high-powered computer workstations, a team led by Georgios Artopoulos will create a digital model of the monument for use with virtual reality headsets or smartphones," writes the Guardian's Nate Berg about the... View full entry
So when neighbors and onlookers noticed drastic work underway on the site in Laurel Canyon, they feared for the future of the iconic home.
[...] it appeared Case Study House No. 21 was starting to slip downhill.
— Curbed LA
Curbed's Bianca Barragan counters the rumors that Pierre Koenig's Case Study House No. 21 was being demolished by its new owners with a detailed report on the preservation efforts that are currently being performed in order to save the historically significant structure and restore it to its... View full entry
In his 50-year career, Aalto completed some 300 buildings, most of them in Finland. That’s an embarrassment of riches for a country of just 5.5 million people. About half of them are landmarked, and 14 of them, including Säynätsalo Town Hall, have “national monument” status—meaning they are covered by the country’s Act on the Protection of Buildings. Yet many of Aalto’s structures have outlived their original purposes. — The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal just published a captivating long-read by Fred A. Bernstein about the challenges of preserving Alvar Aalto's sizable built body of work when some of the aging buildings no longer serve any practical purpose or become too costly to maintain, including celebrated structures... View full entry
"People know Mosul's Old City by its riverfront - it has some of the city's most important historic features," Fethi added, referring to the city's old wall, the citadel, palaces and other heritage sites along the Tigris' west bank.
"It [the council] should aim to preserve Mosul's heritage rather than turn [it] into another Dubai ... an absolute anathema to what should be done."
— Al Jazeera
Two years after Iraqi forces regained full control of Mosul from ISIL, local authorities are pushing a proposal to transform historic neighborhoods along the west bank of the Tigris river into a modernized “new city”, with high rises, large supermarkets and restaurant chains. Al Jazeera... View full entry
Parker Center, the controversial building that housed the Los Angeles Police Department for over 50 years, is officially no more.
Yesterday, the City of Los Angeles' Bureau of Engineering announced that above-ground demolition of the eight-story building is now complete. The process, which began in August 2018, is expected to proceed through the end of 2019.
— Urbanize Los Angeles
"The site will be home to a new building, the Los Angeles Street Civic Building, which will house hundreds of City employees that are currently in more remote locations and in rental space," wrote the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering in a statement published yesterday. Urbanize LA reports... View full entry
When the so-called House of the Century rose from the swampy earth back in the early 1970s, it arrived as a vision of the future, a biomorphic experiment in modern living. Back then it was a bright white jumble on the shoreline, and depending on your angle of approach, it looked like either a man's erect genitalia or a giant schnoz.
Today, this futuristic house is a decaying relic of the past, and its future is a subject of concern and conjecture.
— Dallas News
Though Ant Farm, the experimental architecture firm founded by Doug Michels and Chip Lord in 1968, is not among the most well known firms of that era, they produced a number of projects both famous and deserving of fame. They are perhaps best known for their early experiments with inflatable... View full entry
The city’s early building code had more of a tear-down mentality where every project had to comply with the new construction code. The rehab code that was introduced in 1983 did recognize that rehab projects had some distinct differences and did not need to fully meet new construction standards. — Urban Land
The city of Chicago is comprised of close to 500,000 buildings. Filled with many historic and influential structures, Chicago is a mecca for architectural historians and enthusiasts. In April, the city adopted a new series of building codes which will allow for better building reuse and... View full entry
A plan for the future of the historic Little Havana neighborhood was released Tuesday after two years of preparation. The "Little Havana Me Importa" effort launched in 2017 after the neighborhood was named a national treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Since then, more than 2,700 residents have given their input about the future of their neighborhood through workshops and surveys. The collaboration is being led by PlusUrbia, the National Trust and private sector developers. — wlrn.org
An ambitious plan to revitalize Miami's historically significant Little Havana neighborhood was unveiled last week during a local launch event. Over 2,700 residents who participated in a survey indicated that they want more affordable housing and parks, and fewer building demolitions. The plan... View full entry
All over town, buildings sit empty, somehow unused despite a fierce shortage of housing and a long-running development boom that has transformed long-quiet patches of the city into hot property. [...]
Some are better kept than others. Some have more prestigious addresses. But each is a puzzle unto its own.
— Boston Globe
Boston Globe reporter Tim Logan investigates the factors behind Boston's many vacant buildings — despite a booming real estate market. "Even crumbling and empty buildings serve a purpose in a new Boston where so much is shiny and fresh," writes Logan. View full entry
Fifteen months ago the Miami City Commission shot down a recommendation to make the Babylon, the first multifamily building designed by renowned Miami firm Arquitectonica (and its second project ever), a historically protected building.
As a result, the 37-year-old Babylon [...] will be demolished sometime before July.
— Biscayne Times
Telling the history of the building and Miami's Brickell neighborhood, Biscayne Times senior writer Erik Bojnansky explains that "in 1978, Arquitectonica was still an up-and-coming Coral Gables firm. Babylon was its second building, the first being the 6900-square-foot single-family home known as... View full entry
The IHPC said it would use a comprehensive study performed by Indiana Landmarks in 2016 that identified 104 historic properties with LGBTQ significance. The historic preservation group’s criteria in compiling the list included civil rights, arts, health, businesses, residences, events, organizations, and name affiliations. — Indianapolis Business Journal
The move to imbed consideration of LGBTQ sites of historical significance in future planning efforts makes Indianapolis a pioneer for LGBTQ preservation in the country. The city is currently working to update all of its 17 historic area plans and will now move to include the recommendations from... View full entry
After spending months idled on the real estate market, José Oubrerie's Miller House in Kentucky exchanged hands twice in late 2018. As noted on real estate website Zillow, the home sold in September 2018 for $415,000, significantly lower than the $490,000 sale that had taken place just one... View full entry
The new owners of a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed cottage in north suburban Glencoe have formally requested permission to tear down the 106-year-old home, a village official confirmed Wednesday.
Wright, widely considered America’s greatest architect, designed the Sherman Booth Cottage, a flat-roofed, one-story frame house, in 1913. It served as a temporary home for Booth, who developed the architect’s Ravine Bluffs neighborhood in Glencoe, including Booth’s permanent home.
— Chicago Tribune
"If the Booth cottage were to be demolished, it would mark the second time in two years that a building by Wright had been torn down," writes Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin. "The Village of Glencoe has indicated that the demolition permit application is incomplete," reports the Frank... View full entry
Should a modern democracy preserve an architecture and landscape designed to glorify the 20th century’s most infamous dictator? And, if the answer is yes, how?
The city of Nuremberg has grappled with these questions for years. It is now about to embark on an €85m plan to conserve the vast Nazi party rally grounds designed by Adolf Hitler’s architect Albert Speer.
— The Art Newspaper
The enormous former Nazi party rally complex, with its Zeppelin Grandstand centerpiece, has been decaying for decades but—preserved and presented in the appropriate manner—could serve as a highly relevant educational landmark. "We won’t rebuild, we won’t restore, but we will... View full entry