These materials were originally presented at the Docomomo National Symposium in June, 2015.
MODERN SUSTAINABILITY
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S15_MODERN SUSTAINABILITY from Amy Meller on Vimeo. |
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THE ANNUNCIATION PRIORY - BREUER'S LESSON FOR OUR TIMES
Carl Stein, Elemental Architecture
A key aspect to sustainable architecture is that the expenditure of resources for construction produces buildings that last. This is generally thought of in terms of how long a square foot or cubic foot of building remains serviceable. However, if the goal of architecture is also to affect its users on an intellectual or artistic level, the durability of its message, of its ability to elevate and educate those who experience it becomes a critical metric. More than 60 years after its inception, the Annunciation Priory in Bismarck North Dakota, a project of Marcel Breuer and Hamilton Smith, continues to support meditation, spiritual discovery and education as well as providing shelter. This is particularly apparent in the observations of the sisters living and practicing at the monastery today.
JOHN VAN BERGEN IRVING HOUSE MOVE
Chris Enck, Klein and Hoffman
With the architectural involvement of Frank Lloyd Wright, Rudolph Schindler and John Van Bergen, the house and cottage at 1318-20 Isabella Street in Wilmette IL was a unique collaboration of Prairie School architects. When the double lot was subdivided, the Wright / Schindler cottage was the first structure to be threatened. With the assistance of The FLW Conservancy and Landmarks Illinois, the house was dismantled for eventual reconstruction to suburban McHenry County. Two years later it was again threatened with demolition by a second developer. This time with no buyer found, and little power Wilmette had to intervene, demolition was imminent. Again a new site was found, and while relocation results in the loss of the original context and is not an ideal preservation solution, the house was to be saved, and serving as a positive example of a last resort effort to save imminently threatened historic resources.
