With the start of another decade comes the opportunity to highlight a new crop of historic architecture. Many who haven taken part over recent years in the sometimes insufferable debates over the merits of Brutalism, or in earlier conversations arguing for the legitimacy of midcentury modern architecture, will perhaps find a new conversation piece: Architecture from the 1970s.

As the 1970s themselves turn 50 years old, the age that is typically allows for buildings to be considered "historic" from a legal and regulatory perspective, architecture from this era is due for a lengthy reconsideration. 

Writing for Docomomo US, Flora Chou, a Senior Associate and Cultural Resources Planner for Page & Turnbull's Los Angeles office, explains that "like the previous decades, there will be places from the 1970s that are important and worthy of preservation. Our eyes and personal tastes will gradually adjust to see the beauty in what many now consider to be outdated, ugly, and mundane."

"We are just beginning the research and understanding of the 1970s, to say nothing of the technical know-how for repair and conservation. There is no magic to 50 years – it is arbitrary and only a guideline, not a rule, for listing in the National Register of Historic Places; resources younger than 50 years old can be designated if they are of exceptional significance. Still, the date allows enough time to have passed for scholarship and critical analysis to form so that places can be evaluated in their historic context. As an initial step, a few trends that shaped the built environment of that decade are discussed here," Chou adds.

Describing the incredible diversity of building projects from this period, Chou highlights the 1972 Oil Crisis, the growth of the sustainability movement, the proliferation of glass curtain wall structures, hyper-charged suburban expansion, and the widespread development of purpose-built business districts as key factors influencing the development of this architecture. 

Not only that, but architecture from this era also exhibits a high point in corporate architecture practice that is due to rework our definitions of authorship and project narrative, with many large-scale practices working not only through large teams but also via regional and national offices, often in collaboration with local architects and teams of engineers, landscape architects, and other designers both in America and abroad.