Sanatorium in Paimio will go under the hammer
A key building of "classical" modernism, the Paimio Tuberculosis Sanatorium (1929-1933), is up for sale. This structure by Alvar Aalto was converted into an ordinary hospital in the 1960s, today it functioned as a children's rehabilitation center, and now, in the course of privatization in the Finnish health system, it will be sold; applications from potential buyers are accepted until 23 August 2018. The monument, unique from a formal and functional point of view, is protected by the state, but the changes that a possible change of function will bring are cause for concern.
Restoration of the Economist complex in London
The Economist editorial office, designed by Alison and Peter Smithson in 1964, is a notable example of brutalism. Unlike the residential area "Robin Hood Gardens" by the same authors, from which in the near future
only a piece bought by the Victoria and Albert Museum will remain; the first stage of a thorough restoration has now been completed at the Economist complex. The customer is the developer Tishman Speyer, who bought the buildings in 2016 when the magazine left its "residence". Performed by the DSDHA bureau. The complex has now been renamed in honor of its architects Smithson Plaza. In the course of the renovation, the first floors acquire public functions: a cafe has already opened, and in the future it is also planned to find a tenant-gallery. All three buildings, 15, eight and five stories high, respectively, will be more resource efficient. Photos of the restoration result can be found here.
Southbank Cultural Center in London will not become a monument
For the fourth time, authorities refused to include the Southbank Center, part of the famous post-war modernist ensemble on the banks of the Thames, on the list of monuments. The center, perhaps the first "full-fledged" example of brutalism, consists of the Hayward Gallery, Queen Elizabeth Concert Hall and Purcell Hall. It was built in 1963-1968 by architects from the city's design department. The center is located between the "contemporaries" that have already received a conservation status - the National Theater and the Royal Festival Hall. However, unlike them, he is repeatedly rejected by the Department of Culture, Media and Sports, which approves the state list of monuments. The first time the application was filed back in 1992; this time, the refusal means that you can only ask for the status again after five years. Dealing with this problem
"Society of the XX century" expressed its indignation at the decision of officials, as it threatens the integrity of the complex. Despite its good preservation and successful restoration in 2013, several years ago it was not without difficulty that its superstructure was avoided with a glass volume, and it is not known what awaits the center of Southbank without state protection in the future.
AT&T skyscraper in New York will become a monument
A famous example of postmodernism with a Chippendale-like closet finish and pink granite cladding, Philip Johnson and John Burgey's construction at 550 Madison Avenue (1984) found itself at the center of the struggles between developers and heritage defenders late last year. Then the international community was outraged by the project of the New York branch of Snøhetta, which involves replacing the existing "base" of the tower with a lobby with a new volume with a glazed main facade. Since then, the interior of the foyer has been dismantled, but the exterior has not been touched, and it is he who will become the subject of protection. Prominent figures have officially expressed support for the status of the monument, including, for example, Richard Rogers. The owners of the building, who have significantly limited their plans, do not object to such a turn.
People's House of the 1930s in Greater Paris may suffer from a high-rise extension
Docomomo France has published an open letter in which Jean-Louis Cohen, Mario Botta, Kengo Kuma, Kenneth Frampton and others are calling for the protection of the early modernist monument from a disastrous renovation project. The main value of the People's House (1936–1939) is its prefabricated curtain facade, one of the first such facades in France, created by Jean Prouvé and Vladimir Bodyansky; Prouve also invented a sliding roof for the house. However, despite the restoration at the turn of the millennium, the monument could not find a new function, and therefore the mayor of the suburb of Clichy, where it is located, included it among the objects for reconstruction in the course of a large-scale competition that covered Greater Paris - similar to the competition held a little earlier for "Small" Paris. The competition-tender for the renovation of the People's House was won by Rudy Ricciotti and the developer Duval (the renders of their project can be viewed here and here), their rivals were architects Atelier Herbez Architectes and Shigeru Ban. All three finalists proposed adding a tower to the listed monument in 1983. Ricciotti's version, with a "wicker" facade, should reach 96 meters in height: in the lower part will be placed the hotel of the Hyatt group (known for its support for the architecture of the organizer of the Pritzker Prize), above - luxury apartments. The People's House itself will house a food court market and a mini-branch of the Pompidou Center, and an underground garage underneath. The problem for a modernist building is not only a visual violation of its integrity, but also the destruction of the unique facade from the side of the tower, which is inevitable when laying the foundation; it is also an extremely dangerous precedent. However, Ricciotti's project has already passed the first round of approval. A sad detail: The People's House is included in the exposition of the current Venice Biennale as an important example of public “free space”.
The bus station in Preston in the north of England was not demolished, but restored
The bus station is a bright edifice of brutalism, the work of the BDP bureau in 1969. With a length of 170 meters at the time of construction, it turned out to be the largest in Europe. The elegant structure was sentenced to demolition by 2013, but the XX Century Society managed to achieve the status of a monument for it, and in 2015 RIBA held a competition for its renovation and for the construction of a nearby youth center (which should begin soon). During the restoration, the Pirelli self-leveling floors were cleaned and in excellent condition, as were the benches and other parts of the building made of iroko wood, as well as the white tiles. The original Helvetica inscriptions had to be restored, however. The project is being carried out by architects John Puttick Associates, photos of the renovated building can be viewed here.
Seminary of St. Peter in Cardross lost its patrons
Another monument of British brutalism, St. Peter's Catholic Seminary in the village of Cardross near Glasgow is one of the most unfortunate buildings in the United Kingdom. It opened in 1966; its architects, Gillespie, Kidd & Coia, specialized in iconic architecture, but their spectacular structures were not always functional (and therefore some of them, despite their relative youth, have not survived to this day). This was the case with the seminary, which closed 13 years after the start of work - partly due to problems with the building, but also due to a shortage of students. In the 1980s, the building was used as a rehabilitation center for drug addicts, but from the 1990s it was abandoned, although in 1992 it acquired the status of a monument. The seminary quickly fell into ruin, but there was constant talk of the need to save it. Photos of the building in different periods of its existence can be viewed here.
Since the beginning of the 2010s, the NVA team, the author and organizer of major projects in the field of contemporary art and music, has taken up the task. The seminary became a space for his work, and excursions began to be held there. The structures were strengthened, the building was cleared of the bushes and asbestos that had captured it, the plans were to turn it into a permanent art site. However, the NVA did not receive the usual support from the state this year and was forced to close, which again jeopardized the fate of the seminary.
Ford bought an abandoned Michigan train station in Detroit and commissioned Snøhetta to renovate it
The Detroit station, which includes a 70-meter office building, opened in late 1913 (architects Reed & Stem and Warren & Wetmore), received security status in 1975, and the last trains left it in 1988. Since then, the large-scale construction has gradually fallen into disrepair., but now she has new perspectives. Ford, one of the closest ties to Detroit and its rise and fall of automakers, has bought a nearly 50,000 m2 building and plans to turn it into a research and development center for future vehicles - for itself and for similar firms. The building adaptation project is being developed by Snøhetta; it will be part of the Ford Corktown campus with a total area of more than 110,000 m2. Its opening is scheduled for 2022.
