Philadelphia's award winning police headquarters, called "the Roundhouse", has received a belated 50th birthday present: the threat of demolition.
Nicole Anderson brings news that the Brutalist "Roundhouse", designed by architectural firm, Geddes, Brecher, Qualls, and Cunningham (GBQC), and recipent of the American Institute of Architects’ Gold Medal Award for Best Philadelphia Architecture in 1963, has become the latest icon from the controversial period of architectural history to face an uncertain future. With the city planning to relocate the police department to a renovated building on Market Street, Mayor Nutter has announced plans to sell the unique building, with the site having been previously identified as likely for redevelopment.
Philadelphia's design and preservation community isn't taking the threat lying down, however. "Right now, graduate students at the University of Pennsylvania’s Historic Preservation Graduate Program have teamed up with Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Architecture to come up with different reuse strategies for the Roundhouse," says Anderson. "Two graduate students at UPenn, Kimber VanSant and Allee Berger, have launched a campaign, Save the Roundhouse, on Facebook."
In a column last month, the Philadelphia Inquirer's architectural critic Inga Saffron argued for the building's design merits. "With its sinuous, double-barreled profile, washboard abs and sculptural details, it has real style, which is more than you can say for many of today's bland, glass towers," she opined. "Our eyes and taste change. You might not like the Roundhouse now. But I predict you will - assuming it survives."
"Berger and VanSant plan on pursuing landmark status for the building," adds Anderson, "but fear that with a backlog of nominations waiting for approval at the Philadelphia Historical Commission, time might run out before the city’s development gets underway. The two preservationists are also concerned that city officials have misrepresented the condition of the building."
FULL STORY: Pending Sale of Philadelphia’s Roundhouse Police Headquarters Spurs Campaign for Landmark Status
Coming Soon to Ohio: The Largest Agrivoltaic Farm in the US
The ambitious 6,000-acre project will combine an 800-watt solar farm with crop and livestock production.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
Dallas Surburb Bans New Airbnbs
Plano’s city council banned all new permits for short-term rentals as concerns about their impacts on housing costs grow.
Divvy Introduces E-Bike Charging Docks
New, circular docks let e-bikes charge at stations, eliminating the need for frequent battery swaps.
How Freeway Projects Impact Climate Resilience
In addition to displacement and public health impacts, highway expansions can also make communities less resilient to flooding and other climate-related disasters.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.