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Michael Kimmelman’s column this week, about the debate over plans to demolish a midcentury Paul Rudolph building in Goshen, N.Y., makes the case for why it should be saved. It is only one example of his taking up a cause. As The Times’s architecture critic, he has not been shy about advocacy.
Here, he describes why he’s been outspoken in supporting this building, which doesn’t have the profile of other fights he has taken up.
— nytimes.com
UPDATE: Orange County legislators fail to save Paul Rudolph's Government CenterPreviously:Future of Paul Rudolph's brutalist Orange County building still uncertainPaul Rudolph's brutalist Orange County gem to be repurposed as "arts hub"Rethinking a Spurned LandmarkGwathmey Siegel's Kaufman wants... View full entry
“There was an intense flowering of experimental and futuristic architecture in the 1960s and 70s, which the young African countries used to express their national identities,” says [Swiss architect Manuel] Herz, who has curated an exhibition of more than 80 buildings from sub-Saharan Africa, showing at the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germany, until May. “But we simply don’t know about it... we wanted to show this incredible cultural wealth that also exists.” — The Guardian
Usually the projects of African "big man" leaders, the modernist buildings were often constructed for propagandistic purpose and tended to be designed by European architects. Noted architectural photographer Iwan Baan took many of the photographs in Herz's exhibit. View full entry
On December 21, 2014, the Berkeley Art Museum permanently closed its iconic Modern building in preparation for a move to a nearby new building in 2016. Considered by many to be the Bay Area’s most remarkable example of Brutalism [...]. Although the building is a local landmark and listed on the National Register, its intricate concrete forms pose seismic safety risks, leaving a future for the building unclear. — docomomo-us.org
Assembling those paper cutouts from the back of the cereal box is a delightful childhood memory for many. Poznan-based design studio Zupagrafika brings back that pastime with their "Brutal London" paper cutouts that would look good on any shelf or desk. Following the Warsaw-inspired "Eastern... View full entry
This week, English Heritage ... listed 14 late 20th century office developments as historic monuments. The buildings, all constructed between 1964 and 1984, will now be protected from summary demolition or insensitive remodeling, standing as examples of the best architecture of their period. [...]
The buildings being spared might seem extremely modest, even provincial. That could partly be the point—the buildings are supposed to be representative of their country, after all.
— citylab.com
But Steven M. Neuhaus, Orange County executive, seems determined to pursue the teardown plan. [...] He recently vetoed a proposal that would have allowed the county to sell the center to Mr. Kaufman.
County legislators meet on Feb. 5. [...]
But many people who spoke at a public hearing last month in Goshen endorsed Mr. Kaufman’s proposal. It would save the center, potentially save the county a fortune, bring in tourist dollars and even put the Rudolph building on the tax rolls.
— nytimes.com
Previously:Paul Rudolph's brutalist Orange County gem to be repurposed as "arts hub"Rethinking a Spurned LandmarkGwathmey Siegel's Kaufman wants to buy Paul Rudolph's brutalist Orange County Government CenterOrange County Votes to Keep Brutalist BuildingUnloved Building in Goshen, N.Y., Prompts... View full entry
According to a press release issued last week by Gwathmey Siegel Kaufman & Associates, principal Gene Kaufman has submitted a proposal to buy the Orange County Government Center (Goshen, NY), which has been closed since 2011 due to storm damage. Designed in 1967 by Paul Rudolph, the building... View full entry
architecture designed to create an emotional reaction — City Paper
As preparation for a D-Center lecture about The McKeldin Fountain at Windup Space tonight, a taste of Baltimore's "brutal" past.h/t Fred ScharmenRelated Mckeldin Fountain View full entry
The latest entry in the Showcase: series featured Barkow Leibinger's Stadthaus M1, located in the "sustainable model district" of Vauban in the already so-called "green city" of Freiburg. Plus, Nicholas Korody looked at Factory Berlin, a "start-up campus" hosted by Google, built... View full entry
Concrete was the building material beloved by councils as they embarked on post-World War Two development.
But it is fair to say many people were never quite as taken with grey skyscrapers and suspended walkways.
Now several of the cities defined by concrete - Birmingham, Coventry, Hull and Portsmouth - are undergoing multimillion-pound makeovers.
But what are they losing in their quest to be the "modern cities" of the 21st - rather than the 20th - Century?
— bbc.com
This week came the news that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is leaving its home in Washington, D.C. [...]
Most importantly, from the perspective of thousands of D.C. residents, the District will finally be rid of the FBI's dark architecture. I will be sad to see the building go, as the city will almost certainly demand. Not only could it still potentially be put to good use, but whatever replaces the FBI Building will be regular, orderly, safe, and worse.
— citylab.com
In case you haven't checked out Archinect's Pinterest boards in a while, we have compiled ten recently pinned images from outstanding projects on various Archinect Firm and People profiles.(Tip: use the handy FOLLOW feature to easily keep up-to-date with all your favorite Archinect... View full entry
As an architect, Gene Kaufman doesn’t typically save buildings; he designs them.
But when he heard of plans to change Paul Rudolph’s celebrated but shuttered government building in Goshen, N.Y., as part of a renovation plan, he decided to step in.
“To lose a building like this would be a tragedy,” said Mr. Kaufman, a partner at Gwathmey Siegel Kaufman Architects in New York City.
— nytimes.com
Previously:Gwathmey Siegel's Kaufman wants to buy Paul Rudolph's brutalist Orange County Government CenterOrange County Votes to Keep Brutalist BuildingUnloved Building in Goshen, N.Y., Prompts Debate on Modernism View full entry
Amelia Taylor-Hochberg Editorial Manager for Archinect, talked with director Kelly Anderson about her documentary "My Brooklyn" and the “incredible, derogatory, racialized way people talk about the space". The film will air multiple times as part of PBS World's America ReFramed series... View full entry
Brutalism, a muscular and monumental architectural style known for its unsparing use of cast concrete, has grown old enough since its heyday in the fifties, sixties, and seventies to have aged badly, but not old enough to inspire much sympathy. The austere, domineering artifacts of its philosophies now face widespread enmity; a number of institutions, with varying degrees of exertion, have sought in recent years to replace their Brutalist inheritances with practically anything else. — theawl.com