flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

10 iconic modern buildings first to receive 'Keeping it Modern' conservation grants from the Getty Foundation

10 iconic modern buildings first to receive 'Keeping it Modern' conservation grants from the Getty Foundation

Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House and Jørn Utzon’s Sydney Opera House are among the buildings to receive grants from the Getty Foundation.


By Getty Foundation | October 1, 2014
The Getty Foundation in Los Angeles has announced the first ten grants for significant modern buildings as part of a major new philanthropic initiative focused on the conservation of 20th Century architecture around the world. Called Keeping It Modern, the effort will address the considerable challenges involved with the conservation of modern architectural heritage through support for key model projects.
 
The initial ten projects selected to receive funding under this new initiative form a roster of striking modern buildings:
• Jørn Utzon’s Sydney Opera House
• Hilario Candela’s Miami Marine Stadium
• Louis Kahn’s Salk Institute for Biological Studies
• Alvar Aalto’s Paimio Sanatorium
• Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House
• Ray and Charles Eameses’ residence ‘The Eames House’
• I.M. Pei’s Luce Memorial Chapel
• Max Berg’s Centennial Hall in Wroc?aw, Poland
• Dov Karmi’s Max Liebling House in the White City of Tel Aviv, Israel
• Le Corbusier’s apartment and studio in Paris, France.
 
“Keeping It Modern builds on the Getty Foundation’s long and successful track record of support for the conservation of historic buildings around the world,” said Deborah Marrow, director of the Getty Foundation. “This new initiative, Keeping It Modern, continues our commitment, but now brings into sharp focus the specific conservation issues of modern buildings. This initial round of grants includes important buildings on several continents.”
 
Modern architecture is one of the defining artistic expressions of the 20th Century, and is increasingly at risk. Architects and engineers often used experimental materials and novel construction techniques to create innovative forms and advance new approaches to architecture. These cutting-edge building materials and structural systems were often untested and have not always performed well over time. Heritage professionals do not always have enough data on the nature and behavior of these materials to develop the necessary protocols for conservation treatment. Keeping It Modern is addressing these challenges by funding model projects that can point the way toward new methods and standards for the conservation of modern architecture.
 
Each grant project has been chosen for its architectural significance and potential to advance conservation practices related to modern architecture. Grants focus on the comprehensive planning, testing, and analysis of modern materials, as well as the creation of conservation management plans that guide long-term maintenance and conservation policies. Together, the projects represent a variety of challenges professionals face in preserving modern buildings, from the aging of materials such as concrete to scientific analyses of exterior and interior finishes.
 
The Foundation created Keeping It Modern to complement the Getty Conservation Institute’s Conserving Modern Architecture Initiative (CMAI). Two of the first ten projects funded through Keeping It Modern (the Salk Institute and the Eames House) are related to CMAI projects.
 
Keeping It Modern is part of the Getty’s strong overall commitment to modern architecture, as demonstrated by CMAI, as well as the extensive and growing architectural collections of the Getty Research Institute, and the recent Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Architecture initiative which focused on Los Angeles’ modern heritage. With these combined efforts, the Getty hopes to significantly advance the understanding and preservation of 20th Century modern architecture.
 
Future Keeping It Modern grants will be awarded through a juried competition process. Support will be available for significant buildings around the world from the modern era that serve a public function and are owned by nonprofit, charitable, or public entities that are committed to the building’s long-term preservation and maintenance. Deadlines and criteria for the next round of applications will be announced on the Getty Foundation website at www.getty.edu/foundation

Related Stories

| Aug 11, 2010

Biograph Theater

Located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood, Victory Gardens Theater Company has welcomed up-and-coming playwrights for 33 years. In 2004, the company expanded its campus with the purchase of the Biograph Theater for its new main stage. Built in 1914, the theater was one of the city's oldest remaining neighborhood movie houses, and it was part of Chicago's gangster lore: in 1934, John Dillin...

| Aug 11, 2010

Top of the rock—Observation deck at Rockefeller Center

Opened in 1933, the observation deck at Rockefeller Center was designed to evoke the elegant promenades found on the period's luxury transatlantic liners—only with views of the city's skyline instead of the ocean. In 1986 this cultural landmark was closed to the public and sat unused for almost two decades.

| Aug 11, 2010

Putting the Metal to the Petal

The Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine was founded in 1985, but the organization didn't have a permanent home until May 2008. That's when the Michael Klahr Center, which houses the HHRC, opened on the Augusta campus of the University of Maine. The design, by Boston-based architects Shepley Bulfinch Richardson & Abbott, was selected from among more than 200 entries in a university-s...

| Aug 11, 2010

Jefferson Would Be Proud

The Virginia State Capitol Building—originally designed by Thomas Jefferson and almost as old as the nation itself—has proudly served as the oldest continuously used Capitol in the U.S. But more than two centuries of wear and tear put the historical landmark at the head of the line for restoration.

| Aug 11, 2010

Let There Be Daylight

The new public library in Champaign, Ill., is drawing 2,100 patrons a day, up from 1,600 in 2007. The 122,600-sf facility, which opened in January 2008, certainly benefits from amenities that the old 40,000-sf library didn't have—electronic check-in and check-out, new computers, an onsite coffeehouse.

| Aug 11, 2010

American Tobacco Project: Turning over a new leaf

As part of a major revitalization of downtown Durham, N.C., locally based Capitol Broadcasting Company decided to transform the American Tobacco Company's derelict 16-acre industrial plant, which symbolized the city for more than a century, into a lively and attractive mixed-use development. Although tearing down and rebuilding the property would have made more economic sense, the greater goal ...

| Aug 11, 2010

Bronze Award: Alumni Gymnasium Renovation, Dartmouth College Hanover, N.H.

At a time when institutions of higher learning are spending tens of millions of dollars erecting massive, cutting-edge recreation and fitness centers, Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., decided to take a more modest, historical approach. Instead of building an ultra-grand new facility, the university chose to breathe new life into its landmark Alumni Gymnasium by transforming the outdated 99-y...

| Aug 11, 2010

Fleet Library, Rhode Island School of Design

When tasked with transforming an early 1920s Italian Renaissance bank building into a fully functional library for the Rhode Island School of Design, the Building Team for RISD's Fleet Library found itself at odds with the project's two main goals. On the one hand, the team would have to carefully restore and preserve the historic charm and ornate architectural details of the landmark space, d...

| Aug 11, 2010

Gold Award: The Lion House, Bronx Zoo Bronx, N.Y.

Astor Court sits at the heart of the 265-acre Bronx Zoo, and its six Beaux Arts buildings were constructed at the turn of the 20th century to house exotic animals from around the world. When the Lion House was built in 1903, the brick and limestone facility was considered state-of-the-art, but as standards of animal care advanced, the lions were moved into a more natural setting, and the Lion H...

| Aug 11, 2010

The pride of Pasadena

As a shining symbol of civic pride in Los Angeles County, Pasadena City Hall stood as the stately centerpiece of Pasadena's Civic Center since 1927. To the casual observer, the rectangular edifice, designed by San Francisco Classicists John Bakewell, Jr., and Arthur Brown, Jr., appeared to be aging gracefully.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category



Museums

UT Dallas opens Morphosis-designed Crow Museum of Asian Art

In Richardson, Tex., the University of Texas at Dallas has opened a second location for the Crow Museum of Asian Art—the first of multiple buildings that will be part of a 12-acre cultural district. When completed, the arts and performance complex, called the Edith and Peter O’Donnell Jr. Athenaeum, will include two museums, a performance hall and music building, a grand plaza, and a dedicated parking structure on the Richardson campus.


halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021