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Marina City, the iconic Chicago riverfront complex famed for its corncob-shaped towers, could soon be on the way to becoming an official city landmark. [...]
Goldberg's design, a poetic expression in concrete that combined residential, commercial and entertainment uses to form a "city within a city," is one of the most recognizable images on the Chicago skyline.
— chicagotribune.com
Other Goldberg buildings in Chicago weren't so lucky: the Prentice Women's Hospital could not be saved from the wrecking ball — despite enormous public outcry. View full entry
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has declared two districts of the German city of Hamburg a world heritage site: the Speicherstadt and Chilehaus with the Kontorhaus District. Declared following a meeting in Bonn, the designation was based on the belief that the areas represent "an outstanding... View full entry
Nicholas Korody interviewed Andrés Jacque (of the Office for Political Innovation) about COSMO, the winning entry of this year’s MoMA PS1 Young Architect’s Program competition. Therein he argued "I believe that the architect’s role nowadays can also be providing alternatives, and... View full entry
Citing a recent report from the Great Wall of China Society, the [Beijing Times] claims that more than 30% of the original structure has disappeared. Approximately 74.1% is poorly preserved, and only 8.2% is in good condition. While concerns about the wall’s condition have deepened in recent years, the study appears to be the first to actually quantify the problem. — Hyperallergic
More on Archinect:Paul Rudolph's Government Center won't be saved, despite preservationist pleasU.S. LGBTQ preservation group pushes to preserve more heritage sites at the national levelNew list of America's Most Endangered Historic Places keeps fragile memories alive View full entry
The Louisville house where boxing legend Muhammad Ali – then known as Cassius Clay Jr. – first began training at the age of 12 is about to undergo a $250,000 restoration. Currently in a dilapidated state, the small house on Grand Avenue was purchased by real estate investor and boxing fan... View full entry
'Recently, people were more worried about preserving their jobs, not preserving their history...Now a new generation is aware there was a history that came before them...Not a lot of our history has been preserved. People without a history can be erased.' — Mark Meinke, co-founder of the Rainbow Heritage Network — Curbed
History was made today in American civil rights with the Supreme Court ruling that legalizes same-sex marriage across all 50 states. The ruling is a major push toward marriage equality in the U.S., but like several historically marginalized communities, one giant obstacle that the LGBTQ community... View full entry
This year’s list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places is our most diverse list ever. Several of the places on the 2015 list focus on chapters in our history that have sometimes been overlooked, reinforcing the message that preserving the full American experience means everyone has a seat at the table and that all voices are heard. — preservationnation.org
The 2015 List of America's Most Endangered Historic Places, compiled by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, comprises: A.G. Gaston Motel, AlabamaCarrollton Courthouse, LouisianaChautauqua Amphitheater, New YorkEast Point Historic Civic Block, GeorgiaFort Worth Stockyards, TexasGrand... View full entry
When Lord Rogers launched a campaign to save one of London’s most notorious housing estates from demolition, he was adamant that it was a desirable place to live. [...]
It is a claim he may regret. Unhappy residents of the estate have challenged the peer to be true to his word and swap his £12 million Chelsea townhouse for a few nights in one of their blighted flats.
— telegraph.co.uk
Previously: Robin Hood Gardens Set For Demolition View full entry
The Hotel Okura, built in 1962 in time for the 1964 Olympics, is slated to be torn down in September to make way for a bigger, fancier Okura, in time for the 2020 Olympics. (The less-good, less-famous southern wing of the old Okura, added in 1973, will be allowed to stay.) [...]
There will never be this particular hush again in the middle of Tokyo. You will have to have been there to know what you will soon miss.
— nytimes.com
Previously: Farewell to the Old Okura View full entry
During the [1964-65 World's Fair], the elliptical Tent of Tomorrow was used as a versatile performance space...But not much has been done to preserve the structure since the fair ended in 1965...At the moment, there are no formal proposals, and ['Modern Ruin' film director Matthew Silva] admits it’ll be hard to raise funds without one. But he hopes the film, as well as his advocacy group, will get people thinking about what can be done. — New York Magazine
Related:The NY Mets Are Trying to Save the 'Tent of Tomorrow'Vandals break into the historic New York State Pavilion and set fire to a stolen van, damaging the 50-year-old terrazzo map"Modern Ruin" documents the rise, fall, and revival efforts of historic New York State PavilionKickstart this!... View full entry
The Frank Gehry-designed Winton Guest House will embark on another lengthy roadtrip, moving roughly 1,200 miles from its current location in Owatonna, Minnesota to its new home in New York's Hudson River Valley. The geometric house sold for $750,000 at the Wright auction house in Chicago on... View full entry
The interior of the Four Seasons restaurant, a vision of Modernist elegance with its French walnut paneling and white marble pool of bubbling water, should not be changed, New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission decided [...].
The decision was a setback to Aby J. Rosen, the owner of the Seagram Building, which is home to the restaurant. Mr. Rosen had proposed what he characterized as minor changes to the interior that was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson in 1958.
— nytimes.com
Phyllis Lambert — part of the group of architects passionately opposing Rosen's revamp plans and personally interwoven with the history of the Seagram Building like no one else — penned this Op-Ed in the New York Times last week: Save New York's Four Seasons. View full entry
The effort to save Norms comes at a time when historic preservationists say postwar buildings — especially on a smaller scale — face an increased threat from development pressure. — L.A. Times
Anyone who has ever grabbed a post-Largo meal or 2 a.m. existential coffee at Los Angeles restaurant Norms will be delighted to hear that The Los Angeles City Council has deemed the Googie-style building a cultural and historic landmark. Although this demarcation doesn't guarantee that it will... View full entry
Thousands of Bauhaus buildings are concentrated in a central district of Tel Aviv, called the "White City." It became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2003.
These houses were built by Jewish architects who fled Nazi Germany and emigrated to what was the British Mandate of Palestine at the time. They designed their houses according to the principles developed by Walter Gropius [...]
Germany plans to invest 2.8 million euros ($3.2 million) to help preserve the cultural heritage.
— dw.de
Amanda Burden often said that, thanks to Bloomberg, "we are building and rezoning today once again like Moses on an unprecedented scale, but with Jane Jacobs in mind." That's oxymoronic. You can't do both. As for who's winning the future of New York, it's clearly the followers of Moses. The preservationists are the underdogs here. — nymag.com
