National Trust for Historic Preservation Launches Modernism + Recent Past Initiative

Initiative Will Partner with National and Local Organizations to Save Significant 20th Century Resources

The National Trust for Historic Preservation (www.PreservationNation.org) is a non-profit membership organization bringing people together to protect, enhance and enjoy the places that matter to them. By saving the places where great moments from history – and the important moments of everyday life – took place, the National Trust for Historic Preservation helps revitalize neighborhoods and communities, spark economic development and promote environmental sustainability. With headquarters in Washington, DC, nine regional and field offices, 29 historic sites, and partner organizations in all 50 states, the National Trust for Historic Preservation provides leadership, education, advocacy and resources to a national network of people, organizations and local communities committed to saving places, connecting us to our history and collectively shaping the future of America’s stories.

Washington, DC (April 15, 2009) – The National Trust for Historic Preservation today announced the launch of its Modernism + Recent Past Initiative with the hiring of Christine Madrid French as the director of the program.  The Modernism + Recent Past Initiative, housed in the Western Office in San Francisco under the guidance of regional director Dr. Anthea Hartig, focuses on significant buildings, structures, and landscapes of the modern movement,  as well as places of social, economic, and cultural importance that were built within the last fifty years. Primary funding for the Initiative was generously provided by the Henry Luce Foundation.

With this initiative, the National Trust for Historic Preservation plans to elevate public appreciation for both modern and recent past resources and demonstrate the significance of these buildings in the history of American architecture and culture.  ”The National Trust is fully committed to preserving modern heritage,” said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, “and this initiative will foster the partnerships necessary to build awareness and support for modernist resources.” Development pressures, the vagaries of the economy, and aging infrastructure put thousands of homes, office buildings, schools, libraries, and airports in jeopardy. Although the historic significance of these places may not be commonly recognized, many clearly contribute to community life and have enduring worth. And while all of these resources may not merit full protection, none should be destroyed without careful review.

“Under this program, we hope to broaden the national conversation on historic preservation of twentieth-century resources and articulate to a wider audience practical approaches to saving modernist and recent past buildings,” said French.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation brings broad organizational capacity, deep technical resources, extensive public policy expertise, and a broad national perspective to this issue. As the owner of the Philip Johnson Glass House and Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House, the National Trust for Historic Preservation already serves as a major curator of Modern masterpieces. As a part of the Initiative, Philip Johnson Glass House, under executive director Christy MacLear, will act as a center for modernism providing leadership for the preservation of modernist architecture and landscapes. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has also issued numerous publications focused on the study and preservation of the recent past and frequently covers the subject in the print and online versions of Preservation Magazine.

The Initiative’s goals include:

• Engage national and local partner organizations to build consensus and create a shared policy agenda for modernist and recent past resources; establish a strong national network to strengthen partners’ work.
• Provide high-quality educational programming, technical resources, and research for local organizations working to save, maintain, and reuse modernist and recent past resources.
• Advance policies that support Twentieth-Century architectural and cultural heritage in collaboration with national, regional, and local partners; integrate efforts with the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Sustainability Initiative to ensure that older and historic structures, including modernist and recent past resources, positively contribute to sustainable development plans at all levels of government.
• Engage individuals and targeted audiences across the country in modernism and recent past issues.
• Create and implement a comprehensive communications strategy that raises public awareness and galvanizes support for M+RP.

About Christine Madrid French:

Trained as an architectural historian at the University of Utah and the University of Virginia, French is a co-founder and past president of the Recent Past Preservation Network, the first national non-profit organization dedicated to saving resources built during the last fifty years. French is a member of the 20^th Century Heritage Scientific Committee for the International Council of Monuments and Sites, and previously worked as an historian with the National Park Service in Washington, D.C.  She has contributed to numerous architectural books and magazines and consulted on modern visitor centers for Ken Burns’ upcoming documentary about the National Park system.

The Henry Luce Foundation (http://www.hluce.org/) was established in 1936 by Henry R. Luce, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Time Inc., to honor his parents who were missionary educators in China. The Foundation builds upon the vision and values of four generations of the Luce family: broadening knowledge and encouraging the highest standards of service and leadership; and, operating as a not-for-profit corporation under the laws of the State of New York, aims to exemplify the best practices of responsible, effective philanthropy. The Henry Luce Foundation seeks to bring important ideas to the center of American life, strengthen international understanding, and foster innovation and leadership in academic, policy, religious and art communities.

And I’m going to contact them to find out what I can do and we as a Dallas Community of Modern Home appreciation can do to support this effort. I like that this is where preservation meets modernism and we do something that helps educate and extend appreciation around homes that need it.

I saw this link from a friend of mine Dennis Convington. I don’t think he has a blog or I would link to him and give him some search juice but for now. LOOK AT THIS CHAIR.

This is from the site.

Designed by Isamu Kenmochi for Tendo Japan in 1961. The Kashiwado chair was actually created for a famous Sumo wrestler named Kashiwado from that time. This chair is truly a work of art. Craftsmen first cut out several blocks of the bottom roots of a Japanese cedar (Sugi) and then carefully select the best wood with the most tree-rings. The blocks are then carved and layered on top of each other by hand then polished and coated.

If you are a chair aficionado- check these links out.
Chair Blog
And the
Contemporary Australasion Chairs – Awesome chairs.

Enjoy.

Speaking of feedback. I got some from the owner of Zuri Furniture. I don’t want to quote the whole e-mail because I haven’t asked if it’s cool to but I think that based on the e-mail that if store reflects the owner ya’ll are in good hands. Good, sassy, comfortable but amazingly fresh design hands.

Some additional facts. They have TWO locations. I’ve conveniently put them below with links to the maps. Cause I’m helpful like that.

4880 Alpha Road / Dallas, TX 75244 – Click on the Zuri Furniture to the left and see more information
7884 S.H. 121 / Frisco, TX 75034

Also I would like to quote one little itty bitty snippet which I think reflects exactly what we want in Dallas and what we want in our homes.

“No one really understood what we Texans must have in our homes, unique style that doesn’t sacrifice comfort. We all want home to be where we can relax and find ease. That is the inspiration behind our entire product line. We look for one-of-a-kind pieces with clean lines and modern finishes but we never sacrifice on quality and comfort.”

That is what I’m talking about. One of the prime reasons I fell in love with Modern Homes and Modern Furnishings. Unique look, unique feel, total freedom and ultimately relaxation in our homes.

So there you have it. Go see the fine folks at Zuri Furniture and look for more information about Modern on the Move in Dallas here.

Here is a small sample of what they say about themselves.

CCM - Expert, Excellent Builders of Modern Homes

4300-4310 Abbott Avenue – view profile
4438 Cole Avenue – view profile
2414-2416 Throckmorton Street – view profile
4431-4437 Travis Avenue – view profile

What I like about their style is their integration of innovation and creativity in their homes as they are built. Not necessarily afterthoughts but key concepts in every detail. For example I know on Cole Avenue project had glass imported from Sweden that let in light without heat. Materials are used that can shock the casual observer but add to the aesthetic appeal once the entire project is taken on the whole. 22 Vanguard for instance has green slate covering the outside completely. As my Scottish friend noted upon seeing it – “That house will be here in 100 years and will look virtually the same. In Aberdeen (ed. note his home town) homes are built using the same material and they just keep going and going.” That’s innovating building, my friend. As an owner of a house not 50 years old and seeing troubles that crop up in that, I have no doubt that house isn’t just beautiful, it’s a practical investment to it’s roots. Add that most of the projects now are built to Green standards, LEED Certified and help reduce the footprint of the home on it’s environment from construction through ownership and you have to admit CCM is the real deal in terms of Modern Builder.

No house is the same – just the the base elements of quality, creativity and hot modern stylization.

I’m not sure what their totals were but there were plenty of people but not enough to be crowded. Rather than do a play by play which would probably bore you guys to tears, I am going to do list the features or details I loved and try and find an appropriate picture to illustrate. I am also adding all the homes on the tour, to the Google Mash-up of the Modern Homes in DFW that I’m working on. I’ll post that tomorrow.

1. Windows in interesting places:
This one was taken from the 4633 Cherokee Trail house.

4633 Cherokee Drive

The window to the right of the door, is in the kitchen and it adds so much natural light and it’s located in place normally that would be dead space and not expected.

709 Kessler Woods Court

The second story window that runs along the entire top portion is actually much lower than you would expect.  It’s not at the normal window area and really again, added light and texture to that particular hallway.

2.  Unique Furnishings

I’ve been looking for pictures of some of the furnishings I loved.  There were sinks (of course, I love me some sinks), there was some textiles, some flooring and doors.  I have been looking for pictures to illustrate the visual concepts.

Sinks – Square sinks, interesting other shapes and faucets made all the sinks very appealing to me.  Here is an example of one I saw.

Duravit Sinke

Fan – Clear fan blades made this fan very visually stimulating in a weird way. You look up and see the fan but only catch glimpses of the edges of the fan. It added such a unique perspective to a mundane object and function.

Artemis - Clear Fan Blades

I have to hit the bed, so I’ll finish this tomorrow!

That reminds me, that I need to actually find and do some research about homes over in our sister city Ft. Worth.  I worked in Ft. Worth for years and love the genuineness of the people and the energy that it contrasted with Dallas.  There is a ying and yang aspect to the pull and push of the two cities but as both continue to grow, it won’t be unthinkable to view the two cities as one very large city.  That’s my thought anyways.   I can here both residents of the cities collectively shout out “No” because we both like the seperateness of the cultures.  Either way, I need to dig in an do some research on the modern homes of Ft. Worth and report back to you.

Don’t forget that the AIA Home Tour is next weekend.  I’m very excited about the event and can’t wait to report back.  For tickets, go here.

And I ran across this shot the other day and wanted to share.  It’s a cabinet with a unique style.  From Yoav Avinoam, the designer’s home page.

in an ever changing world people are having their LCD TV hung on the wall. suddenly the cabinet doesn’t have to hold the weight of the T.V. This cabinet is preserving the qualities of the iconic wood cabinet texture with laminated bamboo plates to create similar and yet new flavored cabinet.

There is an entire site of great works from this Industrial Design in Bezalel.  Check it out.