To Save Brutalism or Not to Save Brutalism?
Over the weekend, The New York Times posted a story titled “Architecture’s Ugly Ducklings May Not Get Time to Be Swans,” about the plight of the Brutalist-style Orange County Government Center in Goshen, New York. The pixelated concrete building — designed by modernist architect Paul Rudolph and completed in 1967 — was closed last September following damage from Tropical Storm Irene, and is currently in danger of being demolished.
The Times opened the topic up to debate in their opinion section, asking the question “Are Some Buildings Too Ugly to Survive?” To open discussion, they asked for statements on the building, its style, and its worth from five people, all coming from different perspectives.
