Norman Alston Architects

Trouble by the Bay

It's always a challenge to read about preservation issues when they are covered by "main stream" media because the really critical questions seem never to get asked, much less answered. In this article in the New York Times, residents of stunning historic neighborhoods in San Francisco are reported to be rebelling against the requirements associated with repair and renovation work taking place in existing historic districts. So much so, that there is fear it will undermine politically an on-going effort to protect many more nearby neighborhoods and structures. As preservation efforts are almost always grass roots efforts of the local residents, one can only wonder what has happened to bring about this sort of rebellion. Gleaning what I can from the article, I note the following hints:

• There is a stated desire to ease the provisions of the Secretary of the Interiors Standards, with no indication those standards have been augmented with more stringent local provisions, or even that their interpretation or application has been especially narrow.
• Among the modifications mentioned as likely to encounter resistance from those reviewing and enforcing the preservation district restrictions are window replacement and extending new garages into the building setback line established by the original structures. Such issues are among the most common and familiar to those working with historic districts.
• The high cost of conformance is mentioned. One again, a concern voiced repeatedly by those working withing historic districts.

I am not there, but from this article I expect we have come across an example of:

The Preservation Generation Gap

It works something like this; an historic neighborhood sits in need of stabilization and investment. Urban Pioneer types come in using the stability and predictability of historic preservation provisions as an important tool to improve the neighborhood's apprearance, liveability and, of course, property values. This wave of residents seeks to reclaim the appeal that the neighborhood was once thought to have.

Judging from the article, this has been achieved. These neighborhoods are apparently successful by anyone's standards; architecturally engaging, well cared for and valuable. They are so nice that a new generation of residents seeks them out, residents who fully appreciate the beautiful neighborhood that has been created but who may not have a real feel for how it got that way. The value of the preservation component is substantially lost on them.  Specifically because the neighborhood is so successful and subsequently so expensive, this  new generation tends to be highly educated, financially successful, politically active and used to achieving success on their own terms. "Sure this is a beautiful neighborhood, and it will be even better when I .........."

In this way, a neighborhood might very well choke on its own success. A case that bears watching.

Merry Christmas

New York Elevator Tragedy

The New York Times reports this truly horrific story about an elevator accident in Manhatten. I appreciate their restraint in reporting the more spectacular and unsettling details of this most unfortunate event. I only bring it up because in this earlier blog post of mine, I mention how I learned that with most elevator accidents, the car falls UP the shaft, not down. Sure enough.

Drury Blakeley Alexander: 1924 - 2011

I am very sad to note the passing Sunday of Blake Alexander. He pretty much was the face of the School of Architecture to me while I was at the University of Texas and he taught my very first class, Architecture and Society. Dignified and distinguished in his bow tie, he was the living image of what a college professor should be. On the last day of our Architecture and Society Class, everyone stood and applauded when he finished, a new custom adopted from the movie "Paper Chase". He was our KIngsfield. Every semester his classes waited for him to show up for class just one time wearing his Viturvian "Firmness, Commodity and Delight" t-shirt beneath his blazer. Even today his book Texas Homes of the 19th Century is the seminal work on early Texas architecture and is referred to by my colleauges and myself regularly.

A more complete and more fitting biography can be found here. First Hal Box and now Blake Alexander in 2011. Tough year.

Mid-Century Modern: When they start to recognize it as historic in New England, you have to figure it's arrived.

I came across this article in the New York Times that describes how important Modern buildings have gone main stream with the traditional historic preservation folks in New England. A sign of rapidly changing times, but a move that should help efforts to protect buildings from this area across the country. General recognition of these types of buildings as historic is likely still a long time coming.

UT School of Architecture Undergraduate Program ranked second nationally by DesignIntelligence.

Not that I didn't get a really good education at UT in my day, but  the school has certainly come  a very long way since that time. Congratulations to Dean Steiner, the faculty and the staff. The announcement can be seen here.

Economic advantages of historic preservation

I expect to be linking frequently to the work of PlaceEconomics, a consulting firm in Washington, D.C. that focuses on the economic impacts of historic preservation activities. The firm's  founder, Donovan Rypkema, is widely known for his work in this area and for the fact that he is an interesting, opinionated and "straightforward" speaker. In this first post, I am linking to a report called "Good News in Tough Times: Historic Preservation and the Georgia Economy". With economic conditions as they are, and with pressure from all sides to compromise good preservation technique, especially from the sustainability side, such information can be helpful in maintaining endangered resources.

Is Cleveland coming back through good urban design?

I'm linking to this New York Times article about Cleveland's (almost) downtown resurgence because there were a couple of things mentioned that made me think of Dallas.

If the resurgence is not quite downtown, what is the impact on downtown? Does this new development take away from the energy of a nearby diminshed downtown, or is it close enough to support and enhance it? This isn't mentioned and will warrant some additional research. One of the reasons I believe that Downtown Dallas has been slow to respond to the development activity over the past few years is that I felt it  was too wide spread. We have pockets of interesting redevelopment but seem to have trouble filling in between them; West End, Victory, Deep Ellum, South Lamar, the Main District and Main Street Gardens, the Arts District, etc. They don't feel to me like a cohesive downtown, yet. Signs do suggest, however, that our Arts District, combined with the Woodall Rogers enclosure may well be serving that purpose by acting as the one connecting piece while also bringing in a vibrant Uptown. Which leads to the other issue.....

Is Cleveland achieving this with their Arts District development just as I have described for Dallas? Sure looks that way from this article. This will be worth following up on.

The Empire State Building continues to demonstrate that historic preservation and sustainability can coexist.

I posted a report back in March about sensitive energy upgrades on the Empire State Building and how this looked to be a good example of how to upgrade an historic building without sacrificing historic significance. Now comes an update from the National Trust further outlining the ongoing success of this effort.

Norman Alston Architects to move to historic 400 North Ervay.

I am excited to announce that beginning January 1, 2012, Norman Alston Architects will be officing in the former US Post Office and Courthouse Building in Downtown Dallas, now known as 400 North Ervay. We have been working with building owner Shawn Todd on the restoration and adaptive reuse of this beautiful historic structure for more than 4 years. I have previously reported the completion of the project, a step that will make some of Dallas' most beautiful and historic interior spaces accessible to the public after being shuttered for more than a decade. Now I can imagine no more fitting way to begin the year than showing up to work in one of Dallas' most historic structures. More information and a date for an open house will follow.