The debate over whether to preserve or demolish Warren Platner’s 1973 Kent Memorial Library in Suffield, Connecticut is both a frightening and healthy sign of current efforts to preserve modern architectural landmarks. Frightening because a distinguished building could be lost. That there is some debate, however, is encouraging. For far too long, cities and towns across America have routinely demolished their post-war modern buildings. Deemed unsightly or outdated, they are bulldozed only to be replaced by new structures that basically serve the same purpose—without giving the original buildings a second chance, or a second thought. Like so many others like it, Kent Memorial deserves a chance for its community to consider how it could be adapted to meet the expanded requirements for its library.
Those in the Suffield community who are working to save Platner’s forward-looking design are, unfortunately, not alone in this type of struggle. It was in response to the increasing number of modern buildings facing this same fate that the World Monuments Fund (WMF) created its Modernism at Risk program. Many great architects of the twentieth century like Marcel Breuer, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Paul Rudolph, created not only some of the best known icons of modern architecture in America, but also many of its everyday structures—libraries, city halls, and schools, — that are now integral parts of the American Main Street. More than just good architecture, America’s “Main Street Modern” buildings embodied the ideals of Modernism and especially the fundamental tenet that good design should be part of everyday life. Suffield is fortunate to have one of these buildings.
Two examples of Main Street Modernism that WMF is working on may offer a model for Kent Memorial. The first is a library in Grosse Pointe, Michigan designed in 1953 by Marcel Breuer, the architect of the Whitney Museum in New York. Like Kent Memorial it was a “total commission – Breuer designed the building, its interiors and even the furniture. After 50 years, the town decided that the library was too small and outdated, and planned to replace it with a larger one. After an outcry from local citizens and the wider architectural community, the town reconsidered and decided to investigate how to incorporate the original building into an expansion plan. With funds from Knoll, Inc., which helped WMF establish its Modernism at Risk program, WMF supported archival research to document the building’s history and significance, and the creation of a plan to save and restore its most important features as part of any expansion plan. Happily, the library recently voted to restore the original Breuer building as part of a new library complex.
Meanwhile, in Sarasota, Florida, the local school board decided to raze Riverview High School—a seminal building by Paul Rudolph, the founder of the influential Sarasota school of Architecture—and replace it with a new high school. When this plan drew international protest, WMF supported an international competition to find alternative uses for the building. The winning proposal faces a crucial vote this spring.
Once a building is demolished, there are no second chances. As Grosse Pointe and Sarasota have demonstrated, there are modern architectural gems tucked away throughout this country that deserve to be protected. I hope the people of Suffield will be given the opportunity to fully consider whether Kent Memorial may be one of them.
Modernism at Risk, Hartford Courant, March 23rd, 2008
