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Should a modern democracy preserve an architecture and landscape designed to glorify the 20th century’s most infamous dictator? And, if the answer is yes, how?
The city of Nuremberg has grappled with these questions for years. It is now about to embark on an €85m plan to conserve the vast Nazi party rally grounds designed by Adolf Hitler’s architect Albert Speer.
— The Art Newspaper
The enormous former Nazi party rally complex, with its Zeppelin Grandstand centerpiece, has been decaying for decades but—preserved and presented in the appropriate manner—could serve as a highly relevant educational landmark. "We won’t rebuild, we won’t restore, but we will... View full entry
The Marcus Center for the Performing Arts was designed by architect Harry Weese, with the surrounding landscape by Dan Kiley, and was completed in 1969. [...]
In December 2018, the Center announced an overhaul of the cultural venue, the culmination of a months-long strategic planning process. However, the proposal drew backlash for its insensitve treatment of the Dan Kiley-designed landscape.
— Docomomo US
At the center of the historic designation discussion is the planned replacement of the 36 horse chestnut trees in front of the Marcus Center with a lawn bordered by 18 honey locust trees. "Preservationists said removing the trees would harm the legacy of grove designer Dan Kiley, whose other... View full entry
Heritage experts warn that restoring Notre Dame de Paris after the devastating fire of 15 April will be so complex that it could take a decade or more, despite President Emmanuel Macron’s vow to “rebuild the cathedral more beautiful than ever” within five years. — The Art Newspaper
While President Emmanuel Macron has an obvious political interest in reopening the severely damaged Notre Dame Cathedral for the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, experts call for patience and reject improbable deadlines. Notre Dame's north rose window dates back to around 1250. Image: Wikipedia.A... View full entry
Conceived to handle fewer than 200,000 passengers, the replacement Penn Station is today the busiest transit hub in the Western Hemisphere, through which more than 600,000 commuters pass each day — an experience as humiliating and bewildering as Grand Central remains inspiring and exalted. — The New York Times
NYT architecture critic Michael Kimmelman takes a look back at the triumphal arrival of the former Pennsylvania Station by McKim, Mead & White in 1910, its steady decline in the following decades, the consequential replacement with the current solution—a disappointing product of mid-century... View full entry
Though buildings are often symbols of permanence, as it may lend itself to the status of an icon for a city or an heirloom for a family, they can be rendered obsolete at any moment. According to Ruin and Redemption in Architecture, Dan Barasch's newest book published by Phaidon Books, abandoned... View full entry
"(The hotel) is one of the rare standing testimonies of the brutalist movement in North Africa. [...] Hôtel du Lac was built as an expression of Tunisia's modernity and independence. In contrast to the surrounding architecture, the hotel makes a rebellious statement of departure from both traditional and colonial architectural forms." — CNN
This local landmark of Tunis has made quite an impact on the public since its initial opening in 1973. Said to be the inspiration behind a fictional Sandcrawler vehicle in George Lucas' Star Wars films, the Hôtel du Lac also acts as "one of Tunisia's premier brutalist structures" in North... View full entry
The Rothko Chapel in Houston, founded in 1971 by the art patrons John and Dominique de Menil as an ecumenical site for both reflection and activism, will be closing on Monday for the rest of the year for the first phase of a $30 million restoration and campus expansion by Architecture Research Office. — The New York Times
New York-based firm Architecture Research Office (ARO) was selected in 2016 to be in charge of the restoration work. "During the closure, work inside the Chapel will include modifications to the entryway and vestibule, enhanced audio, security and fire systems, replacement of the existing skylight... View full entry
Indiana Landmarks is looking for a private citizen to take over the House of Tomorrow from Chicago's 1933 World's Fair in order to fund its restoration. Working with the National Park Service, who acquired the property in the 1960s, they are offering a 50-year lease to whomever can cover the... View full entry
Illinois governor, J.B. Pritzker, plans on signing a state bill that would authorize the sale of the James R. Thompson Center, paving the way for its potential redevelopment. The postmodern building designed by Helmut Jahn has housed offices of the Illinois state government since opening in... View full entry
In 1984, when Virginia Savage McAlester published the seminal A Field Guide to American Houses, the text she wrote to fill a void became an instant classic adopted by realtors, builders, architects and schools, as well as Americans who wanted to know about their own homes’ architectural style and history [...] But now, McAlester’s field guide is truly user-friendly for the 21st century, available in an e-book version. — Forbes
Architectural discourse can be quite heavy and dense to those outside of the profession. Especially when it comes to detailed technicalities of design and construction, some claim understanding architecture may not be pedestrian enough. In the hopes of helping other's identify and understand... View full entry
The city’s Brutalist buildings, in contrast, are widely considered eyesores by the general public.
These buildings often have a shared ownership of common facilities. And because many owners think that selling their units collectively is a better financial bet than investing in a conservation or retrofitting plan, the buildings have largely fallen into disrepair because no one wants to pay for short-term upkeep.
— The New York Times
Mikes Ives reports for the NYT on the not-so-bright future Singapore's aging stock of 1970s Brutalist buildings faces in a city whose global trademark famously is shiny and new.The aging Pearl Bank Apartments was the tallest and densest residential high-rise in Singapore at the time of its... View full entry
[...] a demolition application was filed for 270 Park Avenue, the current, but not for long headquarters of JPMorgan Chase. The filing is a pivotal step for the bank, which plans to replace the 1.5 million-square-foot Modernist tower with a 2.5 million square foot supertall skyscraper designed by Lord Norman Foster. — CityRealty
The clock is ticking for the midcentury modernist HQ of banking giant JPMorgan Chase: despite preservationist and environmental concerns, the fate of 270 Park Avenue appears sealed, and the 50-story structure is likely to become the world's tallest building ever to be intentionally demolished... View full entry
The World Monuments Fund [...] announced the completion of a conservation project at two historic Mughal gardens along the Yamuna riverfront in Agra, India, that had been threatened by pollution, traffic congestion and other urban ills. The sites, Mehtab Bagh and the Garden of the Tomb of I’timad-ud-Daulah, were newly inaugurated by the fund and the Archaeological Survey of India, its partner in the four-year effort, in a ceremony at I’timad-ud-Daulah. — The Art Newspaper
Image via the World Monuments Fund on Facebook"The project will finish with the completion of a visitor center at I’timad-ud-Daulah, to open in 2019," reports the World Monuments Fund. "Raising awareness and visibility of the gardens that are often overshadowed by their more famous neighbor, the... View full entry
Heading into their fourth and fifth decades, deep into midlife architectural crises, needing face-lifts, they’re now vulnerable and back again in the public eye, eliciting concern and attracting a second look — and sympathy — even from people who never liked them. But will these loved-hated structures be saved, and should they? — The New York Times
Joseph Giovannini writes about the historic vulnerability buildings entering their fourth or fifth decade encounter and how the public distaste may, potentially, turn into a sudden nostalgia for certain veterans of a not-so-distant architectural era. Citing recent controversial efforts to... View full entry
While 2018 wasn’t quite the banner year for historic preservation like 2017—NYC got three rare, new interior landmarks last year—several beloved structures finally got the recognition (and protection) they deserve. Those include the Riegelmann Boardwalk along the Coney Island waterfront, and 550 Madison Avenue, Philip Johnson’s 37-story Postmdodern icon. — Curbed NY
Curbed New York has put together a handy map of all historically significant buildings that received landmark protection this year, including a number of structures in the outer boroughs as well as the iconic 550 Madison Avenue (formerly the AT&T Building), which just returned to the spotlight... View full entry
