Richard Meier, Thom Mayne, Steven Holl, Hugh Hardy and Robert A.M. Stern are among the prominent architects who on Monday called for the Museum of Modern Art to reconsider its decision to demolish the former home of the American Folk Art Museum.
“The Museum of Modern Art—the first museum with a permanent curatorial department of architecture and design—should provide more information about why it considers it necessary to tear down this significant work of contemporary architecture,” the letter said.
“The public has a substantial and legitimate interest in this decision, and the Museum of Modern Art has not yet offered a compelling justification for the cultural and environmental waste of destroying this much-admired, highly distinctive twelve-year-old building.”
Earlier this month, MoMA announced that it would raze the building – which it purchased in 2011 – and replace it with an expansion that will connect to a new tower. The building’s architects, Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, have expressed their disappointment with the decision and a number of others in the profession have publicly registered protest.
The open letter was written by the Architectural League of New York, a nonprofit organization, and signed by members of its board of directors. The folk art museum has relocated to a smaller space on the Upper West Side.
MoMA said in a statement that it would not comment on the letter at this time.
In an interview last week, Barry Bergdoll, MoMA’s chief curator of architecture and design, said the decision was not an easy one. “It’s incredibly painful to see a really significant building go,” he said. “The conclusion reached makes sense for the future evolution of this complex of buildings and coming up with something that can really show off this collection to its greatest effect.
“Here’s a building that was made for an incredibly important folk art collection that was abandoned by that museum,” Mr. Bergdoll continued. “It’s a kind of bespoke suit for folk art that has tremendous obstacles. You can’t punch walls in the side and expect it to still be the same space.”
(http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/22/architects-announce-opposition-to-moma-plan-for-former-museum-site/)
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
CHPS debuts high-performance building products database
The Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) made a new tool available to product manufacturers to help customers identify building products that contribute to sustainable, healthy, built environments. The tool is an online, searchable database where manufacturers can list products that have met certain environmental or health standards ranging from recycled content to materials that contribute to improved indoor air quality.
| Aug 11, 2010
ICC launches green construction code initiative for commercial buildings
The International Code Council has launched its International Green Construction Code (IGCC) initiative, which will aim to reduce energy usage and the carbon footprint of commercial buildings.Entitled “IGCC: Safe and Sustainable By the Book,” the initiative is committed to develop a model code focused on new and existing commercial buildings. It will focus on building design and performance.
| Aug 11, 2010
Green Building Initiative launches two certification programs for green building professionals
The Green Building Initiative® (GBI), one of the nation’s leading green building organizations and exclusive provider of the Green Globes green building certification in the United States, today announced the availability of two new personnel certification programs for green building practitioners: Green Globes Professional (GGP) and Green Globes Assessor (GGA).
| Aug 11, 2010
Potomac Valley Brick launches brick design competition with $10,000 grand prize
Potomac Valley Brick presents Brick-stainable: Re-Thinking Brick a design competition seeking integrative solutions for a building using clay masonry units (brick) as a primary material.
| Aug 11, 2010
Outdated office tower becomes Nashville’s newest boutique hotel
A 1960s office tower in Nashville, Tenn., has been converted into a 248-room, four-star boutique hotel. Designed by Earl Swensson Associates, with PowerStrip Studio as interior designer, the newly converted Hutton Hotel features 54 suites, two penthouse apartments, 13,600 sf of meeting space, and seven “cardio” rooms.
| Aug 11, 2010
HDR, Perkins+Will top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 100 largest healthcare design firms
A ranking of the Top 100 Healthcare Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Steel Joist Institute announces 2009 Design Awards
The Steel Joist Institute is now accepting entries for its 2009 Design Awards. The winning entries will be announced in November 2009 and the company with the winning project in each category will be awarded a $2,000 scholarship in its name to a school of its choice for an engineering student.
