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Check out the newly-restored Neutra-designed Oasis Building in the Petrified National Forest

2017-04-14T12:21:00-04:00

Back in the early ‘60s, the National Park Service had a program dubbed Mission 66, dedicated to bringing modern facilities to the national parks. One of the earliest examples of this, the Painted Desert Community Complex designed by Richard Neutra and Robert Alexander, has just been restored in a joint effort between the Park Service and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

A 22-acre self-contained park community, the Complex is the last surviving Neutral-Designed structure in the Park Service system. It’s design was inspired by Puebloan Native American buildings as well as the dramatic landscape of its site, the Petrified Forest National Park. Comprising 36 steel, glass and masonry buildings with flat roofs, low silhouettes, primary colors and native plantings.

The buildings have been in a state of depredation for some time, ravaged by neglect, a lack of maintenance funding and the harsh desert climate. The restoration mainly focused on the glass Oasis Building storefront, m...

Preservation politics and pricey prizes: Weekly News Round-Up for October 14, 2014

2014-10-20T20:51:00-04:00

Sunday, October 19:

The Portland Building: Architect Michael Graves fiercely defends his controversial creation against demolition: According to The Oregonian's piece, the architect does not think any of the problems are by his design, but rather its application under budgetary and civic constraints.

Thursday, October 16:

Unesco threatens to put Venice on its Heritage at Risk list: Responding to corruption and mismanagement of environmental risks by the Venetian government, UNESCO may have to declare Venice a "Heritage at Risk".

Wednesday, October 15:

Honolulu Law Criminalizes Homelessness: It is now a misdemeanor in the popular tourist destination of Waikiki to "sit or lie on sidewalks", punishable by up to 30 days in jail or a maximum $1,000 fine.

Tuesday, October 14:

Maya Lin wins the 21st Annual $300K Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize: At $300,000 USD, the prize is one of the US's largest, afforded to artists working to affect social change.
Petrified Forest buildings named national treasu...

Petrified Forest buildings named national treasure

2014-10-14T11:55:00-04:00

Spanning dozens of acres, the structures provided everything the park staff and visitors would need: a gas station, restaurant, community building, maintenance shop, housing, even a two-room elementary school. The National Park Service entrusted the design to prominent architects Richard Neutra and Robert Alexander ahead of the agency’s 50th birthday, and it’s the only project of theirs still standing within the Park Service.