The National Trust for Historic Preservation has revealed its list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2009. On April 28, NTHP president Richard Moe and actor Diane Keaton, an NTHP trustee, delivered the announcement in Los Angeles while standing near the Century Plaza Hotel (1966), a 19-story building by Minoru Yamasaki that is one of the sites on this year’s list. The others include: Ames Shovel Shops, Easton, Massachusetts Cast-iron architecture of Galveston, Texas Dorchester Academy, Midway, Georgia Human Services Center, Yankton, South Dakota Lāna‘i City, Hawai‘i Enola Gay hangar, Wendover Airfield, Utah Memorial Bridge, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
The National Science Foundation is seeking applicants for $200 million in grants to rehabilitate research facilities at academic institutions. The funding is coming from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Letters of intent are due on July 1 and full proposals are due August 24. Universities, colleges, community colleges, research museums, and other research organizations and consortia are eligible to apply. According to the NSF, “funding will be limited to facilities where research and research-training activities focus on NSF-supported fields of science and engineering." The agency says it does not intend to use the money to finance new construction. The
Graphs courtesy AIA The Architectural Billings Index dipped to 42.8 in April, down slightly from the month prior but considerably higher than January’s 33.3, an all-time low in the ABI’s 13-year history. While many architects are still reporting “difficult conditions,” the recent figures could suggest an upswing in the coming months, says Kermit Baker, chief economist for the American Institute of Architects, which produces the index based on surveys sent to architecture firms. “The most encouraging part of this news is that this is the second month with very strong inquiries for new projects,” Baker says. In April, the inquiries
Karen Duckett, AIA, has attended pre-proposal meetings for public projects such as libraries and schools for years, usually encountering representatives of the same 15 or 20 Atlanta-area firms. Not anymore. At a recent meeting, 90 firms showed up, most seeking work to make up for the dearth of private sector projects. “The private sector is way, way down. Those firms that do development—residential, multifamily, commercial—they’re really hurting,” says Duckett, president of Atlanta-based, 20-person Duckett Design Group. Image courtesy Lake-Flato One of Lake-Flato’s projects that is still moving forward is the Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children, in San Antonio. Related
Designed by architect Gottfried Norman, a Swede-turned-Atlantan who designed expensive homes for wealthy Southerners during the post-Civil War “New South” period, the Queen Anne-style house was built for Edward Peters, financier and president of the Atlanta Railway Company. It stayed in the family until the death of Peters’ daughter-in-law, Lucille, in 1970.
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