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A new nominee for chairman of the White House’s Advisory Council on Historic Preservation has been named this week, placing a community activist and architect into a position of influence that had been only a part-time role until 2016. The Hartford Courant is reporting that Sara Bronin has been... View full entry
LA's famed Taix Restaurant on Sunset Boulevard made headlines earlier this month after a strange ruling by the City Council to designate only certain elements of the century-old establishment a historic landmark in an unprecedented move that could have ramifications for preservation efforts in Los... View full entry
Nearly a decade after being appointed to refurbish one of Modernism's most iconic buildings, the team of architect David Chipperfield wrapped up construction on the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin. In a recent virtual ceremony, the keys were handed over to the clients — Berlin State... View full entry
Charles I. Cassell, a distinguished architect who helped shape the campus of the University of the District of Columbia and fierce advocate of Washington D.C. statehood, passed away on May 17th, the Washington Post reports. He was 96. According to his wife, Linda Wernick-Cassell, the cause of... View full entry
Make Architects has converted a former chocolate factory in Sydney, Australia into a boutique office building. Situated in the city’s Haymarket district, the building was originally built in the early 1900s. The project is the latest in a series of new developments in the area with dining... View full entry
The infamous Nakagin Capsule Tower has mesmerized architects, designers, and architecture enthusiasts for decades. Whether you're a fan of Japanese Metabolist architecture or not, many continue to share a fondness and adoration towards the mixed-use residential and office tower designed... View full entry
The World Monuments Fund (WMF) has called on the Peruvian government to halt the next phase of construction of an airport outside the Andean town of Chinchero and conduct a heritage impact assessment to prevent irreversible damage to treasured Incan sites.
The WMF designated the Sacred Valley of the Incas, which stretches from the city of Cusco to Machu Picchu, the crown jewel of Inca heritage, a 2020 World Monuments Watch site.
— The Art Newspaper
Previously: Archaeologists protest new international airport near Machu Picchu View full entry
Controversy over the former Weyerhaeuser campus in Federal Way continues, as those interested in preserving the historical site urge for “responsible” development while the owners hold firm to current development designs.
The site [...] was purchased by Industrial Realty Group in 2016 for $70 million. [...] the nonprofit Save Weyerhaeuser Campus organization has advocated for environmental and historical preservation of the campus.
— Kent Reporter
Completed in 1972, the Weyerhaeuser Company's iconic former corporate campus in Federal Way, WA was designed by landscape architect Peter Walker, founding principal of Sasaki, Walker and Associates (SWA) and PWP Landscape Architecture, and Edward Charles Bassett, partner at Skidmore, Owings &... View full entry
Ford Motor Co. of Dearborn has brought on New York City-based EverGreene Architectural Arts, one of the largest specialty contractors in the U.S., to revive the grandest areas of Michigan Central Station, including the main waiting area, arcade, ticket lobby, and restaurant. The company specializes in restoring historic buildings. — DBusiness Magazine
Ford purchased Detroit's historic but long-vacant Michigan Central Station in 2018 with plans to redevelop the hulking structure as the shining centerpiece of the company's new 30-acre Corktown mobility innovation district. PAU was brought on as the lead architect and strategic planner, and in... View full entry
Finland is updating its tentative list in line with the World Heritage Agreement [...]
At the request of the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Finnish Heritage Agency has produced a proposal for the tentative list, “The Architectural Works of Alvar Aalto – a Human Dimension to the Modern Movement”, which has been created in close collaboration with experts from the Alvar Aalto Foundation and ICOMOS Finland.
— Alvar Aalto Foundation
According to an announcement by the Alvar Aalto Foundation, the tentative list of Alvar Aalto-designed modern Finnish buildings and districts to be nominated for the UNESCO World Heritage List includes these 13 sites: Studio Aalto; The Aalto House; Finlandia Hall; Social Insurance Institution Main... View full entry
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.
— The News & Observer
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... View full entry
Less than 8% of sites on the National Register are associated with women, Latinos, African Americans or other minorities. [...]
The reason for this underrepresentation is an overly technical, legalistic approach to determining what merits designation.
— Los Angeles Times
Sara Bronin, a University of Connecticut Law School professor specializing in historic preservation law, penned an LA Times op-ed about the technical hurdles that have hindered many non-white historic sites to be designated for the National Register of Historic Places. "Preservationists have... View full entry
Some of the finest examples of brutalist architecture in the north of England are at risk of being torn down, according to a photographer who believes a crucial part of the country’s architectural history could be lost in the process.
Simon Phipps [...] said that a mix of mismanagement and a general undervaluing of brutalism was leading to unnecessary demolition.
— The Guardian
The Guardian has published a gallery of photographs by Simon Phipps who has been documenting northern England's concrete heritage for his new book Brutal North. View full entry
The board of governors (BoG) for Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad has decided to withdraw an expression of interest (EOI) that was put out by the management last month inviting architects and designers to propose plans for demolishing dormitories in the campus built by American architect Louis Kahn and replacing them with new structures. — The Times of India
The school reversed its decision to demolish and replace 14 of the 18 dormitories built by Louis Kahn between 1962 until his death in 1974 following international outrage over the proposal. A change.org petition to save Kahn’s aging IIM Ahmedabad structures has already attracted more than... View full entry
In cities across Asia, residents and design buffs are rallying to save or document postwar buildings that officials consider too new, too ugly or too unimportant to protect from demolition. Many of the structures were municipal buildings that served as downtown hubs of civic life. The campaigns, in a sense, are an attempt to preserve the collective memories stored inside. — The New York Times
