December 14, 2012

This Week

A weekly round-up of my favorite preservation related stories from around the web and in the news. Click on the title of each story to jump through to the original article/blog post.

Christmas in Colonial America – Belle Grove Plantation

It’s that time of year! Everyone is gearing up for the holiday season and preservationists are no exception. Belle Grove published a lovely post this week about Christmas traditions in colonial America. If you’re feeling the holiday spirit, jump over there to check out how the colonies celebrated.

Hudson Yard- Daily News

Image via Daily News

Preservation victory or is it a behemoth that will over shadow its historic surroundings? The 26 acre development will include “apartments 75 stories high. An observation deck shaped like a spaceship jutting out from an office tower taller than the Empire State Building. A 5-acre plaza with a sculpture as large as Lady Liberty.” All of this will be built on platforms over an existing rail yard. The engineering technology presents a lot of exciting possibilities for future development that does not necessitate demolition, but there is no arguing that this particular development is out of scale with its surroundings. What do you ya’ll think?

Cultural Authenticity in the 21st Century – Huffington Post

“For over a decade, I’ve watched heritage preservation evolve in two major ways. First, there was the shift from purely archaeological and architectural monuments to an increased emphasis on intangible heritage: folkways, languages, music, arts, costume, ritual and other traditions. Second, we are now recognizing heritage preservation as not just a series of international curation standards, bu a dynamic process whereby a community determines which elements of its past should be carried into the future.”

12/12/12- Preservation in Mississippi

Image via Preservation in Mississippi

“But the 1212 we’ve chosen to highlight today is the Gryder House, also known as the Cat House, at 1212 Iola Road in Ocean Springs, . One of our 101 Mississippi Places to See Before You Die, the house, which sits in an otherwise unprepossessing neighborhood on Old Fort Bayou was built in 1960 and designed by Oklahoma architect Bruce Goff. With its whimsical concrete forms, hyperbolic parabaloid roof (Thomas Rossell’s heart is racing even now), terrazzo floors, mast (a mast! on a house!), and moat (a moat!), the Gryder House is so full of cool hipness, it might never grow old and hopefully will reach the next 12-12-12 intact and ready for another century.”

Skyscraper for Venice? – NYT

Image via news.com.au

“If it is built, the project, called Palais Lumière, will be a glittering menagerie of private apartments, hotels, commercial spaces and even a fashion university, and it would transform a dilapidated industrial area bordering the Venetian lagoon. Mr. Cardin has described the Palais, actually three structures linked by six flat discs, as a “habitable sculpture” and said it was his dream.

While many in Venice have welcomed Mr. Cardin’s ambitions, the project has alarmed conservationists and stirred a spirited debate about the prospects of a treasured and once-powerful city that is threatened by a declining population, mass tourism and rising sea levels.”