Help Wanted! Modern Georgia Needs YOU!

help-wanted

Modern Georgia Needs Your Experience and Help!

DOCOMOMO/US, Georgia Chapter is planning a series of great events for 2009 and we need HELP!

As an all volunteer non-profit organization, our continued success depends upon you. Planning for upcoming tours, exhibitions, competitions, and special events is underway, and we need assistance with a variety of tasks, including:

  • Architectural and event photography
  • Preparation and submission of National Register Applications for local Modern landmarks
  • Preparation and submission of DOCOMOMO Register forms for local Modern sites
  • Fundraising
  • Sponsor committee
  • Tour committee, including identifying sponsors and tour sites for the 2009-2010 season
  • Graphic design and printing -Assistance at events (docents, ticket sales, information, etc.)

In addition, the Chapter is seeking nominations for the vacant position of Secretary.

Candidates should be members of DOCOMOMO/US and a resident of Georgia. Tasks include:

  • Preparation of minutes of meetings
  • Keeping mailing lists up-to-date -Assistance with posting electronic and printed notices
  • Assist with writing of press releases and updates for newsletters

If you are interested in helping out with any of these tasks, let us know! info@docomomga.org

The Lost Vanguard: Soviet Modernist Architecture, 1922 – 32, Events April 2009

Melnikov House © Richard Pare

Melnikov House © Richard Pare, courtesy Lumiere

UPDATE: Join DOCOMOMO/US Georgia Chapter and the Young Architects’ Forum of AIA Atlanta for a special gallery tour, Thursday April 30th, at 6:30 PM. Refreshments will be served.

Check back for more details soon.

ATLANTA, GA – Lumière is pleased to announce an important exhibition of
Richard Pare’s exceptional photographs of Soviet modernist architecture
constructed in the years immediately after the revolution, from 1922 – 1932,
when the Stalinist regime put an end to one of the most innovative
experiments in the history of architecture.  It was proposed as a new
architecture for a new age and a new society. The works in the exhibition
are coming to Lumière after being shown to wide acclaim at New York’s Museum
of Modern Art in 2007. Continue Reading »

MA - Contemporary Design Events - May 12-17

From MA - Modern Atlanta - a series of events May 12-17 ma-logo

For six days in May, Atlanta is hosting the best in modern design and architecture.

Join MA and modern enthusiasts for the MA09 “Design is Human” Event and Home Tour, May 12-17, 2009.

MA 09 “Design is Human” will feature:

  • Modern Home Tours – May 16-17
  • MA Launch Party, Architect Models and Renderings, and Modern Design Exhibit featuring local designers and student work from GA Tech at White Provision
  • MA’ology Italian Design Event, Fashion Show & Fundraiser for CARE at White Provision featuring the paintings of Marco Grassi, fashion by Jeffrey and a exhibit of the iconic Sacco Chair by Zanotta Continue Reading »

What’s up with the Atlanta Constitution Building? April 2009 Update

Constitution Building

To the City of Atlanta: It is encouraging to see progress made towards implementation of long-anticipated transportation plans. That progress was made clear when the City of Atlanta, along with a variety of partners, signed the Beltline Framework agreement in March 2009. This kind of collaboration is necessary to solve Atlanta’s growing transportation problems.

The Beltline Framework includes a number of items that will make the Beltline possible, including redefining the function of the downtown Multimodal Passenger Terminal (MMPT). DOCOMOMO Georgia believes that this reevaluation of the terminal design is an opportunity to seriously consider rehabilitation and adaptive use of the historic Atlanta Constitution Building.

While existing plans for the MMPT (that predate the recent agreement) include demolition of the Constitution Building to make way for passenger platforms, we understand that new platform arrangements under consideration may provide an opportunity for integration of the Constitution building into terminal plans, providing opportunities for development of retail and office space. We also believe that the Constitution Building could be adapted for below street access to and from the MARTA Five Points station, and that a rehabilitated Constitution Building could become an around-the-clock asset, not just a train platform - abandoned after rush hour.

Research of public records conducted by the DOCOMOMO Georgia indicates that GDOT planners never considered adaptive use of the building a real option, even after the   structure was found eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. Now is the time to seriously consider adaptive use of the Atlanta Constitution Building.

Why preservation is important

The Constitution Building’s value as a historic resource cannot be questioned: It is the largest and most significant remaining Moderne-style structure in Atlanta; it was designed by Robert and Company during Ralph McGill’s tenure at the newspaper; and it served for decades as the Atlanta headquarters of the Georgia Power Company.

It is clear that there is substantial support for preservation. The Constitution Building has been listed on the Atlanta Preservation Center’s list of endangered places since 2003, and the movement to preserve the building has been the subject of several newspaper articles. DOCOMOMO Georgia has collected over nine hundred signatures in support of preservation of the building.

Many significant changes have occurred affecting both downtown Atlanta and the expectations for the MMPT since the early 1990’s: The Atlanta Constitution Building was acknowledged as eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995; plans for the MMPT have been drastically scaled back (and likely will not include high-speed rail service and perhaps eliminate Amtrak service as well); there is now a better understanding of the negative environmental impact when large buildings are demolished; and the impact of the Beltline upon the MMPT is only now being considered, since the concept did not exist when initial studies were conducted.

What can be done?

DOCOMOMO Georgia believes that the earlier finding of no significant impact (FONSI) prepared during initial design of the MMPT in 1995 and updated during 2000 was incomplete at the time and is severely outdated.  It does not include consideration of the impact of the Beltline upon the design; the increased awareness and understanding of the historic significance of the Constitution Building, given the additional years since the first evaluation; nor the significant environmental impact of such a large demolition project.

DOCOMOMO Georgia therefore encourages the City of Atlanta to request that the GDOT reconsider the MMPT FONSI for these reasons, and to include serious consideration of adaptive use of the historic Constitution Building as part of this reevaluation, before finalizing turnover of the property to the GDOT. Continue Reading »

Facebook: DOCOMOMO Georgia wants you as a Fan!

facebook logoDOCOMOMO/US, Georgia Chapter, Inc. DOCOMOMO/US Georgia has now created a page in addition to the Facebook Group. Please join us and become a “fan”of this page, so you can follow updates easier.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/DOCOMOMOUS-Georgia-Chapter-Inc/68704572060

We will post info to both the group and page for a while, but will be making a transition to a “page” format to simplify getting the word out.

URGENT HELP NEEDED! TAKE ACTION NOW!

Forwarded from Georgians for Preservation Action:

URGENT HELP NEEDED! TAKE ACTION NOW!

The Senate Appropriations committee just passed the SFY 2010 budget. The senate committee did add back $100,000 of the $279,000 archaeology budget cut by the house. They then eliminated 2 vacant historic preservation positions (one of which is an archaeology position in the $279,000) for $100,000. This leaves a net balance of $50,000 in the archaeology budget, which is not enough to fund even one position with benefits. The other eliminated position is the architects position in the technical services unit who reviews tax act projects, grants and 106 projects. The changes increase the likelihood that Federal and state projects would be delayed in the historic preservation office because of lack of resources and that DNR will have to pay for consultants in order tocomply with state and federal law. Continue Reading »

A Search for a More Thoughtful Architecture: Jerome Cooper, FAIA

jerry-cooper-2008Jerome Cooper, FAIA Lecture at Georgia Tech

If you attended DOCOMOMO Georgia’s home tours last fall, you visited several of Jerome Cooper, FAIA’s  residential designs. Cooper is speaking about his career and work at an upcoming Georgia Tech event:

A Search for a More Thoughtful Architecture: Centennial Lecture
Location: College of Architecture Auditorium

Event Date: April 1, 2009

Time: 6:00 PM-7:30 PM

Distinguished alumnus Jerome M. Cooper, (BS Arch 1952, B Arch 1955) will discuss his journey, from the questions learned in school to making cities. Continue Reading »

Twitter

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DOCOMOMO Georgia is now twittering away - follow docomomoga on Twitter for periodic announcements.

DOCOMOMO + YAF = Phoenix Flies

UPDATE: Both events were a great success, thanks to all who volunteered, presented, and attended - and especially the staff at the two libraries who were so helpful!

A great group and discussion about the Buckhead Branch Library’s design and preservation were enjoyed by all attending. Most took time to take a self-guided tour afterwards.

Kemp Mooney’s passionate presentation regarding Marcel Breuer’s work and his final built project, the Atlanta Central Library, was the highlight of the Wednesday event. The presentation was followed by a tour including the Library Boardroom and roof terrace, spaces not normally open to the public. The number and enthusiasm of those attending attests to the growing interest for preservation of the Breuer building.

Galleries from both events have been posted, see links in comments following this post.

Scogin and Elam’s Buckhead Branch Library
Presentation and self-guided tour
11:30
Saturday March 7

Marcel Breuer and Atlanta’s Central Library
Presentation and self-guided tour
6:30
Wednesday March 11 Continue Reading »

First ranch house in Georgia to be individually listed in the National Register

league-house_001Press release from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Historic Preservation Division:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Joseph and Mary Jane League House Listed in National Register
First ranch house in Georgia to be individually listed in the National
Register

ATLANTA (February 25, 2009) -The Joseph and Mary Jane League House,
located in Macon, Bibb County, was listed in the National Register on
January 9, 2009. The League House is the first ranch house in Georgia
to be individually listed in the National Register. The National
Register nomination was prepared by a consultant as part of the Historic
Preservation Division’s women’s history project for its association with
two important women architects. The precedent-setting design of the
house was identified through the Division’s ongoing study of
mid-20th-century houses in the state. The nomination is
enthusiastically supported by the property owners, who are the original
owners of the house.
Continue Reading »