Archinect - News

Orange County legislators fail to save Paul Rudolph's Government Center

2015-03-06T13:59:00-05:00

Yesterday, legislators in Orange County, New York failed to stave off the demolition of Paul Rudolph's Orange County Government Center. In January, county executive Steven M. Neuhaus vetoed a proposal that would entertain outside bids like Manhattan architect Gene Kaufman's, to purchase, restore, and repurpose the structure. Kaufman also proposed designing a new government center next door, with a proposed budget less than that of the county's current plan [...].

Previously:

Michael Kimmelman on why Paul Rudolph's brutalist Orange County building is worth saving

2015-03-04T13:47:00-05:00

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.

UPDATE: Orange County legislators fail to save Paul Rudolph's Government Center

Previously:

Future of Paul Rudolph's brutalist Orange County building still uncertain

2015-01-28T18:12:00-05:00

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.

Previously:

Paul Rudolph's brutalist Orange County gem to be repurposed as "arts hub"

2014-12-09T15:25:00-05:00

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 is slated to become an "arts hub" in Kaufman's hands, similar to projects he is already developing in Brooklyn, NY – described in the same press release as "combination artists' lofts-gallery-retail spaces".

Previously:

Rethinking a Spurned Landmark

2014-07-07T13:23:00-04:00

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.

Previously:

Gwathmey Siegel's Kaufman wants to buy Paul Rudolph's brutalist Orange County Government Center

2014-05-07T16:45:00-04:00

At a meeting of the County Legislature on May 1, Kaufman offered to purchase the Rudolph building, which has been closed since 2011, and convert it to private use, perhaps as artists’ studios. Kaufman, who bought Gwathmey Siegel & Associates in 2011... and now calls his firm Gwathmey Siegel Kaufman & Associates Architects, wants to design a new government building adjacent to the Rudolph masterpiece, completed in 1970 on Main Street in Goshen, New York.

Architect Acquires Majority Share of Gwathmey Siegel

2011-06-06T18:35:45-04:00

Ever since Charles Gwathmey died in 2009 people in the architecture world have wondered what would become of his partner, Robert Siegel, and the firm they founded in 1968, Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects. Now the answer is clear: the architect Gene Kaufman has acquired a majority share and the firm will become Gwathmey Siegel Kaufman & Associates.