Utah Heritage Foundation

Presented by Salt Lake City Film Center in partnership with the Utah Heritage Foundation, University of Utah College of Architecture + Planning, AIA Utah, and APA Utah.

Sponsored by 3form.

This new series celebrates the creative spirit of architecture and design.  Our first selections explore how important both are to our everyday existence and how we engage with the designed world around us.  Please join us in this exciting new partnership to view the films and participate in discussion led by the partners involved.

All films are free and open to the public, and all will start at 7:00 PM at the Salt Lake City Main Library, Nancy Tessman Auditorium, 210 East 400 South.

Preview all four films in the series.

September 20  My Playground

MY PLAYGROUND explores the way Parkour and Freerunning is changing the perception of urban space and how the spaces and buildings they are moving on are changing them.

This morning it was reported in the Salt Lake Tribune that The Leonardo will go before the City Council tonight with a request for a $600,000 loan to pay salaries.  Really?  They’ve spent all their finances on the capital project and now don’t have enough to keep their staff.  I’m not sure this bodes well for the future.

The preservation ethic that’s been established at The Leo also doesn’t bode well for the future.  The city received a grant from FEMA to do seismic stabilization to the former library building.  Under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, providing these federal funds required that impacts to the building from a new seismic system be reviewed by the Utah State Historic Preservation Office and interested consulting parties, of which Utah Heritage Foundation was one.  Utah Heritage Foundation helped make the case that the former Main Library is a significant structure that is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places even though it had not reached the 50 year age mark.  We spent more than two years in intensive discussions with representatives of The Leonardo, FEMA, state emergency management, and Salt Lake City Public Services and Engineering.  On several walk-throughs of the building, we collectively identified the character defining features of the building to be preserved including the large plate glass windows, cast concrete panels, sculptural mural on the south side, leaflights, escalators, the auditorium, and several areas of extensive wood and marble paneling.

After many meetings, an agreement was reached about the best type of seismic system to be installed in this historic structure and how to lessen its impacts to the character defining features of the building.  These features were then protected during the renovation in order to satisfy the FEMA grant.  At the time of a walk through to see a “nearly completed” project (April 2011), we saw that all of the historic features were intact and in good condition.  The Leonardo indicated that they were within 1-2 months of opening and we walked away feeling good that the public would have a chance to experience the former library in a new way.  It’s exactly how the Section 106 process should work successfully.

Unfortunate

Watch here for an announcement of our next event, coming Summer 2011.

Please remove the previously announced date of June 18 from your schedules.

In the meantime, we encourage you to like SL Modern on Facebook or send us an email to join the SL Modern email list for future announcements.

The Recent Past Preservation Network (RPPN) is proud to announce its new scholarship for the National Trust for Historic Preservation Annual Conference. This year, in Buffalo, New York.  The Conference Scholarship is open to all active college students who are RPPN members.  Student membership is only $5 and you can join here to be eligible.  The scholarship is designed to give students with an active interest in recent past preservation, and an opportunity to broaden their education by attending the National Trust for Historic Preservation Annual Conference where they will be able to connect with their peers and learn from their predecessors through a variety of educational sessions.

In addition to receiving paid conference registration, the recipient will serve as a liaison for RPPN and will have the opportunity to write a featured article about the Conference for the RPPN Bulletin, our high-quality quarterly magazine, which is read by preservationists throughout the country.

Visit our website for eligibility criteria and to apply.

Since 2004, UHF has been raising awareness about the historic and architectural significance of the former Salt Lake City Main Library.  Completed in 1964, the style structure originally designed by Edwards & Daniels Architects (now EDA Associates) was determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places because of the work of UHF and the Utah Division of State History Preservation Office.  Due to a grant from FEMA for seismic upgrade, the project went through the Section 106 process during design arriving at a system of steel framing within the public space of the to be museum space to be.  The Leonardo embarked on the $15 million rehabilitation in January 2010 with a goal to open in Summer 2011.  The current project architect is AJC Architects, Salt Lake City.  As another positive step, the project has been designed with excellent environmental considerations, including historic preservation through materials conservation, and will apply for LEED Gold designation.  In the end, it appears that using the braced frame seismic system, recommended as the preferred option over concrete shear walls by preservationists due to its transparency, will also save the city and The Leonardo money as it will be nearly $300,000 cheaper than the original estimate for concrete shear walls.  A fabulous example of meeting both the goals of preservation and engineering safety is an elegant manner.

We recently toured the building to see the progress and wanted to give you a look at the work in progress.

Top left: View of seismic braced framing.

We recently had the good fortune to get a guided tour of the recently rehabilitated Calvin D. Wilson South American Pavilion in Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake City.  This uniquely multi-sided structure to display the equally interesting bird exhibits was designed in 1970 by John N. Clawson.  Severe deterioration and deferred maintenance that reduced overall usability, closed it to public access, and threatened the zoological status of the aviary led them to address the issues.  The building as well as the entire aviary are listed on the Salt Lake City Cultural Register and thus garnered review from the city through the Historic Landmarks Commission.  It has an impressive air handling system to keep the building at optimal temperatures and humidity for the birds as well as keeping the building odor-free for patrons.  We hope you'll agree that the results are breathtaking and extremely enjoyable, and encourage you to visit soon.  The Wilson Pavilion, a work of Utah modernism, is a fabulous example of preservation of the recent past and combination of preservation and sustainability principles as the building has been certified LEED Gold.

All I can say is, Wow!  If you love modern architecture and design, Palm Springs Modernism Week is for you.  Modernism “week” is actually 10 days of tours, lectures, screenings, parties and exhibits.  On a limited schedule this year, my first time there, I only managed to attend two lectures and a movie screening – to my great regret.

War and Peace, the California Design Dividend was a fascinating lecture by Bill Stern, executive director, Museum of California Design, about how the material shortages of WWII sparked the spare, but brilliant innovations by small California startup design companies that we now call Mid-Century Modern style.

The screening of Peter Moruzzi’s Desert Holiday (book title Palm Springs Holiday), a humorous vintage postcard tour of early Palm Springs architecture and resorts was a big hit, presented in a packed ballroom at the Riviera Palm Springs decked out as a movie theater, complete with complementary popcorn. 

In October 2010, about 200 lucky people got to see one of the hidden gems Utah - the Westshire neighborhood in West Valley City.  Billed as Salt Lake Modern's Mini Mod Tour, four private homes were graciously opened to the public in this unique enclave off 2700 West and 4000 South.  The entire neighborhood was designed by architect Ron Molen and built by Research Homes starting in 1963.

We're pleased to say that the excitement generated by the tour hasn't ended.  The popular mid-century modern magazine Atomic Ranch has published a short piece in their Winter 2010 issue in the section titled "modern wisdom" on one of the tour's houses (pictured left, photo by UHF) along with two photographs.  Congratulations to Chris and Tessa Linford for getting included in the magazine!

We'll encourage all our readers to pick up a copy before the March 1 newsstand deadline to see it as well as the other articles on Palm Springs, Kentucky modern, Arkansas ranch, Open House:  Elm Grove, Wisconsin, dressing up your historic ranch, and Historic Georgia.  I will even add a personal endorsement as this is one of my favorite mags in print and always look forward to it coming in the mailbox in case you need some additional encouragement.

We just received family photos of architect Ed Dreier's work from a website comment that we have received permission to repost on the Salt Lake Modern Facebook page.

Here is a preview of these incredibly rare shots.  If you would like to know more about Dreier, download his bio.