ArchitectureBoston | PRESERVE Fall 2015

Past is prologue (Part 1 of 5)

The notion of a “preservation architect” has often been treated as an oxymoron, subversive of architecture’s fundamental professional identity as the creator of new buildings. And yet about 70 percent of architects’ billable hours are devoted to existing buildings.

ArchitectureBoston | PRESERVE Fall 2015

Past is prologue (Part 2 of 5)

The formal preservation movement in the United States started inauspiciously in 1931, when South Carolina authorities moved working-class African-Americans into New Deal–funded housing and away from Charleston’s “Old and Historic District.”

ArchitectureBoston | PRESERVE Fall 2015

Past is prologue (Part 3 of 5)

It’s been 10 years this fall since Hurricane Katrina slammed New Orleans — the worst storm in its history, if you count the ensuing flood. Plus it ignited a conflagration afterward, with planners center stage, debating how and especially where to rebuild.

ArchitectureBoston | PRESERVE Fall 2015

Past is prologue (Part 4 of 5)

When W. Brown Morton penned the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Historic Preservation in 1976, he addressed the craft aspects of project planning and execution.

ArchitectureBoston | PRESERVE Fall 2015

Past is prologue (Part 5 of 5)

Imagine jumping forward 100 years to visit a building you designed. Will it still be there? What will it look like? Will anyone want to preserve it?

ArchitectureBoston | PRESERVE Fall 2015

In October 2011, Michael Graves’ Portland Building, at the sprightly age of 29, was named to the National Register of Historic Places.