Demolition of Paul Rudolph's Burroughs Wellcome Building underway

2021-01-21T12:48:00-05:00

The dismantling of The Elion-Hitchings Building, near where Cornwallis Road meets the Durham Freeway, has been underway internally for several months. But now the demolition has reached the point where workers are pulling the building apart and hauling away pieces by the truckload. Fans of the building and its architect, Paul Rudolph, had hoped to persuade its owner, United Therapeutics, to save it because of its architectural and historical significance.

Despite repeated calls to preserve and protect the Paul Rudolph-designed Burroughs Wellcome Building in Durham, North Carolina — a change.org petition launched by the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation in September has collected over 5,780 signatures so far — the demolition of this significant piece of 1970s Brutalism has been well underway, reports Richard Stradling for The News & Observer.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by PaulRudolphHeritageFoundation (@paulrudolphfoundation)

"The building stood out in the Triangle when it opened in 1972," Stradling writes. "Perched on a small hill overlooking the Durham Freeway, the A-frame structure had terraced floors and angled walls and windows. Some called it innovative and futuristic; others simply found it ugly."

Demolition is expected to be completed by April.

Paul Rudolph's Burroughs Wellcome Building threatened by demolition

2020-09-16T14:28:00-04:00

Out of a half-century career of creative and prolific work, Rudolph’s Burroughs Wellcome headquarters & research center stands out as one of his finest works. We’re now fighting to save this magnificent example of the convergence of corporate & scientific vision and architectural talent—and we thought it would be useful to share an outline of it’s history, purpose, and features.

A petition to save the only Paul Rudolph-designed building in North Carolina, started by the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation on change.org, had over 1,700 signatures as of September 16th.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by PaulRudolphHeritageFoundation (@paulrudolphfoundation) on Sep 14, 2020 at 12:16pm PDT

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Demolition of Paul Rudolph's Burroughs Wellcome Building underway

Paul Rudolph's Burroughs Wellcome Building threatened by demolition