flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Philip Johnson’s 'Tent of Tomorrow' vandalized, damaged with fire

Philip Johnson’s 'Tent of Tomorrow' vandalized, damaged with fire

Vandals set fire to a stolen van in the park, which in turn caught the tarp covering the pavilion's 50-year old Terrazzo Map on fire.


By BD+C Staff | July 25, 2014

The historic New York State Pavilion in Queens, designed by Philip Johnson for the 1964-65 World's Fair, was broken into on the weekend of July 19. Vandals set fire to a stolen van, which in turn ignited a tarp covering the pavilion's Terrazzo Map, Inhabitat reports. Vandals also smashed some sections of the map with cinderblock, according to the report.

The 50-year old installation—a detailed 567-panel map of the state of New York—is an original part of the World's Fair grounds at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. 

John Piro, who co-founded the New York State Pavilion Paint Project to bring the pavilion back to its former glory, told the NY Daily News: “It was upsetting after all the work we have been doing. Why would somebody do that?”

There is still broad support for the renovation, encompassing two towers and the Tent of Tomorrow. New York City has pledged $5.8 million to the project, and volunteers are resuming their restoration work and brainstorming security measures.

 
The two towers of the New York State Pavilion, which are set to be restored. Photo credit: Noah Sheridan, Wikimedia Commons.

Related Stories

Sustainability | Apr 4, 2023

NIBS report: Decarbonizing the U.S. building sector will require massive, coordinated effort

Decarbonizing the building sector will require a massive, strategic, and coordinated effort by the public and private sectors, according to a report by the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS).

Libraries | Mar 26, 2023

An abandoned T.J. Maxx is transformed into a new public library in Cincinnati

What was once an abandoned T.J. Maxx store in a shopping center is now a vibrant, inviting public library. The Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library (CHPL) has transformed the ghost store into the new Deer Park Library, designed by GBBN.

Performing Arts Centers | Mar 9, 2023

Two performing arts centers expand New York’s cultural cachet

A performing arts center under construction and the adaptive reuse for another center emphasize flexibility.

Libraries | Feb 26, 2023

A $17 million public library in California replaces one that was damaged in a 2010 earthquake

California’s El Centro community, about two hours east of San Diego, recently opened a new $17 million public library. With design by Ferguson Pape Baldwin Architects and engineering services by Latitude 33 Planning & Engineering, the 19,811-sf building replaces the previous library, which was built in the early 1900s, damaged by a 7.2 earthquake that struck Baja California in 2010, and demolished in 2016.

Museums | Feb 22, 2023

David Chipperfield's 'subterranean' design wins competition for National Archaeological Museum in Athens

Berlin-based David Chipperfield Architects was selected as the winner of the design competition for the new National Archaeological Museum in Athens. The project will modernize and expand the original neoclassical museum designed by Ludwig Lange and Ernst Ziller (1866-1874) with new spaces that follow the existing topography of the site. It will add approximately 20,000 sm of space to the existing museum, as well as a rooftop park that will be open to the public.

Museums | Feb 17, 2023

First Americans Museum uses design metaphors of natural elements to honor native worldview

First Americans Museum (FAM) in Oklahoma City honors the 39 tribes in Oklahoma today, reflecting their history through design metaphors of nature’s elements of earth, wind, water, and fire. The design concept includes multiple circles suggested by arcs, reflecting the native tradition of a circular worldview that encompasses the cycle of life, the seasons, and the rotation of the earth.

Giants 400 | Feb 9, 2023

New Giants 400 download: Get the complete at-a-glance 2022 Giants 400 rankings in Excel

See how your architecture, engineering, or construction firm stacks up against the nation's AEC Giants. For more than 45 years, the editors of Building Design+Construction have surveyed the largest AEC firms in the U.S./Canada to create the annual Giants 400 report. This year, a record 519 firms participated in the Giants 400 report. The final report includes 137 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.   

Giants 400 | Feb 6, 2023

2022 Reconstruction Sector Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. building reconstruction and renovation sector

Gensler, Stantec, IPS, Alfa Tech, STO Building Group, and Turner Construction top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest reconstruction sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2022 Giants 400 Report.

Giants 400 | Feb 6, 2023

2022 Religious Sector Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. religious facility construction sector

HOK, Parkhill, KPFF, Shawmut Design and Construction, and Wiss, Janney, Elstner head BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest religious facility sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2022 Giants 400 Report.

Steel Buildings | Feb 3, 2023

Top 10 structural steel building projects for 2023

A Mies van der Rohe-designed art and architecture school at Indiana University and Morphosis Architects' Orange County Museum of Art in Costa Mesa, Calif., are among 10 projects to win IDEAS² Awards from the American Institute of Steel Construction. 

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