Sunday, April 27, 2008

Preservation's Modernism Issue; The 'White City' of Tel Aviv


Check out the new issue of Preservation, the magazine of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which focuses on modernism. Paul Goldberger, the architecture critic of The New Yorker and a trustee of the National Trust, highlights why it so important to preserve buildings from the recent past in his Modernist Manifesto.

Other articles highlight the architecture of Palm Springs and Tel Aviv, known as White City because of the concentration of 4,000 Bauhuas buildings. In 2003, UNESCO recognized Tel Aviv as a World Heritage site. I was just there and had a chance to tour the city. If you go, check out the Buahaus Center for tours, maps and books. Also, make sure to see the recently opened Bauhaus Museum. The first exhibition includes original furniture, graphics, lamps, and glass and ceramic ware, by Mies van der Rohe, Marcel Breuer, Christian Bell, Wilhelm Wagenfeld and others. Unfortunately, when I stopped by it was closed.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Tel Aviv is full of architectural wonders but not all Bauhaus buildings are protected by preservation laws . At the moment , a beautiful Bauhaus (non classified) building on the corner of Jean Jaures and Emil Zola is waiting for a permit that will enable all traces of this style to be modified, thus changing the building as well as the neighborhood. The building is expected to rise another 4 meters in height and the girth is slated to change as well..... Unfortunately money talks...aesthetics and urban planning do not seem to be an issue here . How can this crime be stopped?