Follow this tag to curate your own personalized Activity Stream and email alerts.
New photographs have been released showing construction progress at POST Rotterdam, documenting the restoration and reinvention of a historic post office in the Dutch city. Designed by ODA with Omnam Group, the project sees the 100-year-old building transformed into a hotel, with accompanying... View full entry
Attitudes towards Soviet-era architectural heritage are divided in Ukraine. Some value the country’s modernist, post-modernist and brutalist buildings for their sharpness and conciseness of form, for their functionality and concrete simplicity. But for others they stand as an unwanted reminder of Ukraine’s Soviet past, and much of this built heritage has come under threat in recent years. — Al Jazeera
Ukraine’s pre-WWII cultural infrastructure has been a focus of the press and comprises the vast majority of listed buildings in Ukraine’s state database. Examples of Soviet-era architecture are, however, systemically less protected. Their plight is being well-documented by social media... View full entry
This post is brought to you by YACademy Architects have always been asked to breathe new life into ancient architectures inherited from the past or into historical – often monumental – artifacts that no longer respond to the customs and needs of contemporary society. Nevertheless, the ancient... View full entry
The eleven sites on the 2022 list represent a powerful illustration of expansive American history. The wide range of cultures, histories, and geographies highlighted through the 2022 list help illustrate how telling the full story can help each person see themselves reflected in our country’s multi-layered past. — The National Trust for Historic Preservation
The 2022 list of America's Most Endangered Historic Places, compiled by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, includes: Brown Chapel AME Church, Selma, AlabamaCamp Naco, Naco, ArizonaChicano/a/x Community Murals of ColoradoThe Deborah Chapel, Hartford, ConnecticutFrancisco Q. Sanchez... View full entry
One of the world’s most recognizable addresses is about to get a new look after New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) granted full approval to a plan that would transform the iconic 30 Rockefeller Plaza into Midtown’s latest tourist destination. The first of the new... View full entry
In response to the recent surprise demolition of Marcel Breuer’s Geller I house on Long Island, modernist conservation group Docomomo US has released its first-ever list of the 11 most threatened modern sites in the United States. Working on the advice of its chapter members, the group... View full entry
Why would the U.S. General Services Administration now raise a hind leg to this legacy by wrecking the Century and Consumers buildings, two early 20th Century skyscrapers at 202 and 220 S. State Street?
The buildings’ demolition would create an economic and pedestrian dead zone on State Street, something neither the street nor the city can afford. And it would be a shameful waste of some really good Chicago architecture.
— The Chicago Sun-Times
A $141 million adaptive reuse plan was initially approved in 2017 by then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel, but the city decided to change direction only a few months later after an FBI security assessment determined that the two buildings’ continued existence creates too much risk for the iconic adjacent... View full entry
To coincide with the long-awaited public opening of Venice’s iconic Procuratie Vecchie, Italian artist Edoardo Tresoldi has produced an installation that helps highlight the mission and function of its newly reclaimed space. Titled ‘Monumento’ and taking as its backdrop the 16th-century... View full entry
Cathedrals, churches and basilicas across Italy are at risk of being razed by earthquakes that could strike at any moment. But the government is on a mission to protect some of the country’s most significant and vulnerable religious buildings from disastrous seismic shocks. A new national project backed with €250m from Italy’s multibillion-euro pot of EU Covid-19 recovery funding is unprecedented in Europe for its scale and reach, officials believe. — The Art Newspaper
In one of Europe’s most earthquake-prone countries, the anti-seismic plan will allow the Italian culture ministry’s heritage safety department to distribute resources around the country that will mitigate the impact of future disasters. Straps and chains will be wrapped around bell towers... View full entry
A pre-construction archaeology dig meant to prepare a critical segment of the reconstructed Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has led to the discovery of a lead sarcophagus and several small tombs according to an announcement from the French Ministry of Culture. The discovery was unearthed directly... View full entry
An important designation has been granted to several of the globe’s most important underrepresented cultural landmarks after the World Monuments Fund (WMF) today announced its biannual World Monuments Watch list. The list represents a group of endangered heritage sites in dire need of... View full entry
A proposed monument for a historic Army barracks could "harm" remains of an ancient Roman chariot racing track, Historic England said. The Roman Circus, a scheduled ancient monument in Colchester, Essex, shares a site with the Royal Artillery Barracks. An application has been submitted for a monument and two blue plaques to recognise the barracks as one of the earliest in the Colchester Garrison. — BBC News
According to the Local Democracy Report Service, the Roman chariot-racing track is the only one of its kind in Britain and one of only six unearthed in northern Europe. Historic England, the public body that looks over England’s historic environment, does not believe the proposed commemorative... View full entry
Marriott International has announced plans to open two luxury hotels in Saudi Arabia’s Diriyah. The properties will be located near the Unesco World Heritage site at At-Turaif, offering views of the historic town of Diriyah on the outskirts of Riyadh. — The National
The Saudi crown prince recently reiterated his intentions to finalize the planned 2030 development strategy for Riyadh, which would more than double the population of the country's capital backed by a public-private partnership worth approximately $500 billion at a low estimate. Marriott says the... View full entry
One of the most significant pieces to the architectural history of Hitler’s reign is now set to be converted into a concert venue in a controversial decision currently making waves in the second-largest city in Bavaria. DW is reporting that the infamous Nuremberg Congress Hall building... View full entry
France’s National Heritage and Architecture Commission approved proposals by the diocese of Paris to bring a more modern look to Notre-Dame before its planned reopening in 2024, including the installation of contemporary artworks and new lighting effects. Opponents say the changes will debase the 850-year-old cathedral and disturb the harmony of its Gothic design. — The New York Times
The controversial refurbishment struck a chord with many in the past two weeks who responded to publicized details with claims that the new ecumenical design authored by Father Gilles Drouin was sacrilegious, and incongruous with the Catholic tradition. Much of the church's nave, transept... View full entry
