Solution or Sacrilege

“Solution or Sacrilege” explored the viability for modern preservation in the 21st century and inaugurated the series of Glass House Conversations. Architects and design thought leaders convened for a day and a half intensive dialogue, addressing challenges and opportunities for teaching, practicing and preserving modernism.

Architects referenced their work that included houses, prefabrication manufacturing, urban development projects, to transportation hubs and historic airline terminals. The progressive canon of modernism was sited as a reference for challenges of preserving these structures in the 21st century. A great debate about integrating innovation in design and materials in this new era of preservation resulted in consensus that extensions, restorations and additional buildings referencing historic structures needed to have new views and materials.

Several participants are educators and connected the “Conversations” experience with dialogues underway in schools of architecture, including Cranbrook, Parsons and Harvard. Steven Heller, School of Visual Arts, described how the “Conversations” program model would inspire the development of a new graduate program at the School of Visual Arts.