Archinect - News

NBBJ will lead the redevelopment of Paul Rudolph’s Hurley Building at Boston Government Center

2022-08-31T11:13:00-04:00

NBBJ has been selected by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to lead the redevelopment of Paul Rudolph’s iconic Charles F. Hurley Building at the Boston Government Service Center.

The move was announced last week after years of speculation as to the fate of Rudolph’s endangered Brutalist follow-up to his Yale School of Art & Architecture building from 1963. NBBJ will add two glazed towers to the site directly on top of Rudolph’s Hurley Building, while Beyer Blinder Belle is on tap for the interior renovations of the extant structure.

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker called it a “transformative redevelopment” that would “add much-needed housing, and boost the Commonwealth’s world-class life sciences sector.”

Image courtesy Leggat McCall Properties/NBBJ

As part of the deal, developers Leggat McCall says the remade site will include some 350,000-square-feet of government offices at no cost. The existing central plaza area will be transformed by the local landscaping firm Mikyoung Ki...

Paul Rudolph's Edersheim Residence listed as NFT

2021-04-20T14:50:00-04:00

With NFT technology enjoying a sizeable media presence at the moment, it was only a matter of time until noteworthy pieces of architecture would be added to the blockchain: a 9,000-square-foot residence in Larchmont, New York, originally designed in 1958 by local firm Finn and Ginter and expanded multiple times in 1989 and 1991 by famed mid-century modern architect Paul Rudolph, is being advertised as the "world's first masterpiece architecture NFT."

Take a video tour with me in the house! #midcenturymodern #paulrudolph #greenenergy #homerenovation #realestatenews #newyorkhomes see website for more details. https://t.co/EXzTkMRa6v pic.twitter.com/XPtdA5lqma
— 862fenimore (@862fenimore) October 27, 2020

862 Fenimore, also known as the Edersheim Residence, sits on 2.49 acres of land and has recently been restored by architect Michael Grogan with the advice of architects of the Paul Rudolph Foundation. Contemporary sustainability features like geothermal systems and a 100-panel-solar r...

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

Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation publishes letter urging "respectful" reuse of Boston Government Service Center

2020-03-14T09:00:00-04:00

In light of the planned redevelopment of the Boston Government Service Center (BGSC), designed by Modernist architect Paul Rudolph in 1962, the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation has issued a pointed letter advocating for "the preservation of the Boston Government Service Center, as a part of the larger effort to preserve and interpret Boston’s architectural and urban history."

Previously on Archinect: "Paul Rudolph's Boston Government Service Center is in danger." Image courtesy of Flickr user Gunnar Klack.

In October 2019, Archinect reported that the city of Boston was in the process of identifying a developer who could take on the redevelopment of the site currently occupied by the building. The building features the same "corduroy concrete" finish as Rudolph's widely influential Yale Art & Architecture building, which was completed just as design work on the BGSC was being undertaken.

The letter is published below in full:

03/09/2020

Brona Simon, Executive Director
Massachusetts H...

Paul Rudolph's Boston Government Service Center is in danger

2019-10-31T11:32:00-04:00

According to a recent article from The Boston Globe, due to city's "hot" real estate market, which has "prompted a number of developers to tear down and build up," the Governor's office now wants to get in on the action.

On Wednesday, the Baker administration unveiled plans to redevelop the state-owned Charles F. Hurley Building, reports the Globe. The efforts will open up a 3.25 acre site with a deal earning the state tens of millions of dollars, "at a minimum." The administration is moving quickly, hoping to identify a developer within 18 to 24 months after putting the project out to bid. Plans are reported to include a new office complex, new ground floor retail, and possible restaurant spaces.

Paul Rudolph began the design process of the brutalist building in 1962 and construction began in 1966, lasting 5 years. Yesterday, The Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation posted a call-to-action on its website and twitter feed. In a blog post titled, S.O.S: - Save Rudolph's Boston Governmen...

Paul Rudolph's Milam Residence is back on the market

2019-05-25T10:20:00-04:00

In 1961, early in the architect's career, Paul Rudolph completed the Milam Residence in Ponte Verda Beach, Florida. Fortunately, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016, and, according to the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation, "the family of Arthur W. Milam, who originally commissioned the building, have been owner-residents since the building was finished, and have cared for it with pride. Now, they are making the building available - and they are hoping that the next owner will be struck by the building’s many beauties and virtues, as well as understanding its importance as a work of truly great Modern architecture."

Milam Residence. Photo by Robert Champion.

Rudolph himself described the Milam residence as “a composition of considerable spatial variety with vertical and horizontal interpenetration of spaces clearly defin[ing] inside and out. Gone are the earlier notions of organization through regular structure with subdivisions of space freely spaced. Spa...

Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundations Taps NC Modernist Houses' Masters Gallery

2015-04-01T20:50:00-04:00

The Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation (PRHF) in New York City has designated North Carolina Modernist Houses’ online archive as the official index for the residential work by the former dean of the Yale School of Architecture who inspired a generation of architects.

As the official archive, North Carolina Modernist Houses (NCMH) will maintain and update the Paul Rudolph section of its archive as houses are sold, changed, or threatened. NCMH has modified the page to add the PRHF logo, link, and connection. The Heritage Foundation is now directing visitors to the NCMH website exclusively for Rudolph-designed houses.

“This is an innovative and groundbreaking partnership between an architecture foundation and our Masters Gallery archives,” said NCMH Executive Director George Smart. “We are honored to be the official site for Paul Rudolph’s residential work, which will allow the PRHF to devote more of its resources towards protecting and saving Rudolph’s non-residential buildings across A...