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Originally Posted by vid
When you think about it, we don't do this to any other artform except architecture. There was no point where everyone got together and said, "music from the early 1900s is shitty! Let's destroy all the records from that era and never listen to it! Everyone should replace their tastes with Rock and Roll!"
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A bit off topic, but something like this did actually happen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disco_Demolition_Night
Back to the topic at hand, I think there is definitely a case for preserving some Modern architecture (I believe the same will be true of some Postmodern as well). Not all pre-war buildings are worth saving, and similarly not all Modern buildings are worth saving. The point was brought up that re-using pre-war buildings can be difficulty because of their layout.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jasoncw
Or continuing with the subject of functionality, prewar buildings have horrible floor plans. The floor plans tend to be bad for offices because the floors are small and convoluted, and they're bad for residential because so many of the windows either face alleyways, or are party walls between the buildings.
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Now, what makes a modern building "obsolete"? A modern building is obsolete when it needs new windows.
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This is missing one of the major problems with a lot of Modern architecture. One that was highlighted with the old Safeway Buildings up thread. Similar to how many pre-war buildings have floor plans that don't fit with modern use, many Modern buildings have site plans that don't really jive with how we want buildings to fit in with the urban fabric these days. Back in the 50s and 60s, there was a push for making things convenient for the automobile and buildings tended to turn their backs to the street. Current planning practices have gone in the other direction. Parking is still important for many projects, but I think most of us would agree that a surface parking lot in front of a building is not ideal in an urban setting. I'm not talking about the burbs here, I'm talking about many Modern buildings in the heart of cities that plop surface lots, garages, or blank walls down at street level.
Here's an example in Philly:
School of Design students fight to save 'Roundhouse' from demolition
http://www.thedp.com/article/2013/01...rom-demolition
(Picture from the linked article.)
The building is aesthetically interesting and worth preserving in that sense, but it makes terrible use of the lot its on (the entire site is surrounded by a blank wall). I think this kind of layout is every bit as obsolete as a pre-war building that just so happens to have a lot of interior columns breaking up the space (something that isn't as much of an issue for, say residential use)
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