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The
Following Article By AIA Indiana Executive Board Member Drew
White, AIA. Appeared In the Op-Ed section of The Indianapolis Star Newspaper May 30, 2008 |
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My View: Drew White, AIA Modern structures become part of architectural history Like other American cities, Indianapolis faces an architectural challenge: What do we do with structures built within the last 50 years? Too often, the answer has been, "Demolish them," "Slap additions onto them," or "Put incongruent faces on them." It seems we almost never say, "Let's embrace them as a part of our historical fabric and culture." We have guidelines for protecting structures designed in styles such as Italianate or Neo-Classical, and we have developed protected historic districts such as Meridian Street and Massachusetts Avenue. We must demonstrate a similar reverence for creations of the recent past. The word modern is confusing when it comes to architecture. Many architects, including myself, believe the modernist period hasn't ended, but it's most commonly associated in the United States with a period from 1940 to 1975. Inspired by Germany's Walter Gropius, the movement was led by the likes of Philip Johnson, I.M. Pei and Paul Rudolph. A true visionary, Johnson helped the cause of modernist preservation by leaving his 1949 all-glass house in Connecticut to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, prompting some people to wonder, "An all-glass house . . . left to the National Trust for Historic Preservation?" Using Johnson's Glass House as a launching pad, the Trust set its preservation sights on other modernist structures, including Mies Van der Rohe's Farnsworth House in Illinois and iconic Route 66 motels. Such attention is necessary because modern structures are at risk.
The World Monuments Fund's "100 Most Endangered Sites," commonly
associated with ancient and historic places, includes modernist
structures such as the deteriorating New York State Pavilion and
Louis Kahn's San Diego Salk Institute, which is threatened by an
addition that would block the Pacific Ocean views that help to
define it. Indiana has fine examples of modernist architecture. To aid in their preservation, Historic Landmarks of Indiana formed the Landmarks of the Recent Past (LORP) Committee, which identified more than 250 modernist structures. Local examples include two Skidmore, Owings and Merrill-designed buildings: the Standard Life Insurance Company Building at 300 E. Fall Creek Parkway and the American Fletcher Bank Building on Monument Circle. Various residences also fit the description, including Evans Woolen "beauties" in Devonshire and homes in Arden, Williams Creek, Wynnedale and Spring Mill neighborhoods. LORP is working to prevent the loss of mid-century design by educating the community about modernist architecture. As part of this effort, it's offering on Saturday "Back to the Future: The Mid Century Modern Home Tour," an event that will open five local modernist residences to the public. LORP also is involved in an Indiana building survey that will work with an interactive educational tool and associated blog to educate the public and provoke conversation on the challenges and importance of preserving the modern. My challenge to you is to engage. Take the "Back to the Future" tour. Slow down as you drive Downtown to consider the architecture of the modernist period. And take a fresh look at these structures so that, when someone asks, "What do we do with these 50-year-old buildings," you'll know to say, "Appreciate them. And save them."
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