Helping Columbia students connect Preservation and Sustainability

As part of Françoise Astorg Bollack’s “Old Buildings - New Ideas,” seminar at Columbia University, Principal Angel Ayón shared important case studies from his 2019 book, Reglazing Modernism. He presented numerous buildings, discussed both positive and negative outcomes of interventions in Modern building envelopes, and shared recent discoveries in his current additional research.

Angel’s lecture was followed by a discussion with Eliot Benor from Building Envelope Testing, who offered further information about building envelope testing, energy retrofits of existing buildings, and heat flow measurements. Afterward, he provided a lab demonstration to give students to have a hands-on experience about the visual and thermal properties of glass as a significant Modern building material.

The lively and engaging talk was organized by GSAPP Adjunct Associate Professor Bollack for students in the Historic Preservation program. She was highly complimentary, saying “What is wonderful is that you clearly reinforced what I have been telling them for a few weeks now. I could see the students were really engaged!”

Docomomo US announces 2022 Modernism in America Award winners!

Principal Angel Ayón helped critique the submissions and determine the winners of the ninth annual Docomomo US 2022 Modernism in America Awards.

This year’s awardees included the Walter & Sylvia Stockmayer House from 1961, which won a Residential Design Award of Excellence. Practicing “minimal design intervention,” the 2015 renovation was cited for its rare and well-preserved example of a Usonian design in Vermont. Using archival correspondence, photographs, sketches, and plans, Ayón described it as “contemporary where needed, while not falling into trendy midcentury modern redesign pitfalls.”

UMassBRUT, a multidisciplinary campaign led by contingents from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, won an Inventory/Survey Award of Excellence. Spreading awareness about the value and history of the iconic 1960’s and ‘70’s buildings within their local campuses and communities, Ayón described the effort as “exemplary and responsible stewardship of a massive educational site. “Brutalism is ugly – but they leaned into it and made a case for why it is important.”

Another winner — the SurveyLA Historic Context Statement – L.A. Modernism, 1919-1980 — received an Inventory/Survey Citation of Merit. A deep dive into the history of L.A.’s built environment, the compendium tracks the development of Prewar and Postwar styles and architectural responses to both. A model for other cities, it’s also easily accessible and written on a level for everyone to understand and enjoy. Ayón described it as “a thorough, expansive, and breathtaking resource… generously inclusive of both mundane and refined works of architecture… while not being overly academic.”

APT Bulletin publishes excerpt from Reglazing Modernism

Still looking for a reason to pick up your copy of 2021 Lee Nelson Book Award winner Reglazing Modernism: Intervention Strategies for 20th-Century Icons? If so, the most recent issue of APT Bulletin: The Journal of Preservation Technology offers a great teaser.

Focusing on the Zeche Zollverein case study, the two-page excerpt highlights the authors’ critical assessment of the multiple glazing interventions completed as part of the renovation efforts at the former coal mine in Essen, Germany. Most of the buildings on the property, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001, were “reused for permanent cultural and historical purposes.” And because “each building was treated differently,” the complex is “a showcase of façade refurbishment at its best.”

Co-authored by AYON Studio Principal Angel Ayón, Reglazing Modernism contains 19 more case studies and was reviewed in a previous issue of APT Bulletin last year. Whether your interest in Modern architecture is your passion or your profession (or both!), make sure to purchase the full book for the full story behind interventions to the steel-framed glazing assemblies on other Modern icons (and World Heritage sites) throughout the US and Europe, such as Fallingwater in Pennsylvania, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, and the Fagus Factory and Bauhaus Dessau, both also in Germany.

Also offering information on emerging technologies that may offer higher performance in the future, Reglazing Modernism won APT’s 2021 Lee Nelson Book Award, presented every three years to the best book-length work on preservation technology.

Bringing Indoors and Outdoors Together through Mid-Century Design

Built in 1963 as a spec house by theater stage set designer Ralph Alswang in a new style he called “carpenter modern,” Blau House is a Modern home that reflects the legacy of Westport, Connecticut’s Mid-20th century era. When the Blau’s bought the house the following year, they began work on a surrounding garden, lush with a unique combination of shade trees, rhododendrons and a blend of native and exotic plants that contrasted neighbors’ highly manicured grassy lawns. Now an integrated indoor-outdoor property, the Blau House and Gardens combines clean lines with a fusion of organic and manmade materials, and large modern windows to frame views and open up to nature.

On Friday, August 5th, AYON Studio principal Angel Ayón joined other architects and preservationists for a tour and roundtable to envision the house and gardens as one, and save them as a new cultural and horticultural destination. Organized by the Blau House & Gardens, the round table discussed ways to save the Blau property from demolition and development and how it can be transformed into a community resource for educational programming.

The Blau House and Gardens, Inc, (BHG) is a non-profit public charity highlighting mid-20th century modern design through horticulture, arts, and culture. The charity aims to establish the house and gardens for community use. The Blau tour and roundtable aim to create awareness of the property while discussing the value of Mid-century Modern homes and sites.

Touring the Heights this Saturday!

© Copyright Warner Bros., 2021

If you’re in the New York City area this weekend, come join AYON Studio principal and founder Angel Ayón, as he walks around Washington Heights sharing stories about its history and various points of interest. Hosted by the Historic Districts Council, the tour is based on his talk earlier this spring with Samson Jacobson, location manager for 2021’s hit movie musical In The Heights.

The tour will be held at 11 am on Saturday, June 25, and will explore this neighborhood’s buildings and public spaces, offering a unique experience of Caribbean culture. Home to one of the largest concentrations of Puerto Rican and Dominican communities outside of the islands, Washington Heights is celebrated for its unmatched vitality and strong connection to the vibrant Caribbean culture and music that has flourished there.

AYON Studio is currently working on several projects in the neighborhood, including properties at Saint Nicholas Place; on Broadway; at South Pinehurst and Pinehurst Avenues; on Bennet Avenue; at Saint Nicholas Avenue; and at Haven Street.

The tour is $15 for HDC Friends and Seniors, $25 General Admission. Register here!

Angel Ayón is a 2022 MASterworks Jurist!

The Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS) is currently accepting nominations for its 2022 MASterworks Award, and AYON Studio principal and founder Angel Ayón will be among those selecting the best!

Angel will join Debbie Millman, Host of Design Matters; Pascale Sablan, Senior Associate at Adjaye Associates; Tina Vaz, Head of Open Arts at Meta; and Sara Zewde, Principal of Studio Zewde. Together, they complete a notable roster of previous jurors including Justin Davidson, Architecture Critic at New York Magazine; Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner of BIG; Alexandra Lange, Architecture Critic for Curbed; Benjamin Prosky, Executive Director of AIA New York; and Rafael Viñoly of Rafael Viñoly Architects.

Each year since 2001, MAS has paid tribute to local New York City projects—from iconic buildings to hidden neighborhood gems—that exemplify excellence in architecture and urban design. Past winners include the Manhattan District 1/2/5 Garage & Salt Shed, McCarren Pool and Bathhouse, the Tenement Museum, the TKTS Booth, the High Bridge, and LaGuardia Terminal B Arrivals & Departures Hall. The awards program helps MAS in its 125-year mission to help build a future in which all New Yorkers share in the richness of city life—where growth is balanced, character endures, and a resilient future is secured.

Hurry, nominate your favorite project of 2021 by Thursday, June 30!

Using New Technology to Preserve Mid-Century Modern Homes

Image Courtesy of Curb Philadelphia

Often overshadowed by centuries-old buildings, mid-century Modern structures sometimes aren’t considered “historic” enough to restore or even leave intact for future generations. For example, Richard Neutra’s 1961 Hassrick House in Philadelphia was left abandoned and deteriorated before its most recent owners bought it in 2008. Now the public face of Thomas Jefferson University’s Center for the Preservation of Modernism, the residence is an exemplar case study of the challenges posed by mid-century Modern houses. On Tuesday, May 31st at 1 p.m.,  it will be both the subject of and venue for an upcoming talk from AYON Studio principal Angel Ayón.

“Yo! Richard Neutra! A Modern House Conservation Panel, Tour and Demonstration” will feature Ayón and fellow panelists Kelly Sutherlin McLeod and Tara Ikenouye in a discussion of the Hassrick House’s new lease on life. They’ll share their specialized expertise on how advanced preservation techniques—such as thermography, photogrammetry, LiDAR scanning and reglazing—can help similar structures endure and flourish. The presentation will be followed by an in-depth tour of the home, during which the speakers will demonstrate ways to conserve specific materials and details, such as concrete block, glass doors and windows, flat roofs, and cork flooring.

The event kicks off the 2022 Docomomo US National Symposium, confirming architectural conservation’s critical role in securing the future of the contemporary building

Nitehawk Cinema is Entering the Renewable Energy Age

It’s a new day for the historic Nitehawk Cinema in Park Slope, Brooklyn! This Prospect Park outpost of the chic dine-in independent film house, opened in 2018 at the former Pavilion movie theater. Completed in 1928, this windowless building is getting a sustainability upgrade with the addition of solar panels.

AYON Studio, who has worked with Nitehawk on the exterior repairs since the building conversion, is working with Sunkeeper Solar on the design of the eco-friendly measure to this building. The result will help offset the electrical energy use, particularly in the screening rooms and commercial kitchen where the lights are always on. According to principal Angel Ayón, "We're trying to maximize the use of the existing roof... and strike the right balance between preservation and sustainability."

As covered by Patch, the solar panel design was unanimously approved by the city’s Landmarks Preservation Committee, as well as by Brooklyn Community Board Six. The panels’ slight increase in height and minimal change to the building exterior structure was a selling point for the Commission and the Board, as was their enthusiasm about the benefit to the theater, the community and society. "I look at solar panels like I look at ADA ramps," said and LPC Commissioner during the Public Hearing. "These are signs of our progress towards a better way of living. I think they're actually lovely to look at."

Principal Angel Ayón serves on Docomomo US 2022 Modernism in America Awards jury

Principal Angel Ayón has the honor of joining six esteemed colleagues serving as the Docomomo US 2022 Modernism in America Awards jury. The only national awards program of its kind, the Modernism in America Awards is now in its ninth year and recognizes efforts to preserve our modern heritage in three categories: Design, Inventory/Survey, and Advocacy.

 Angel will join chair Henry Moss, AIA, LEED AP, Principal at Bruner/Cott & Associates and founder of Docomomo US/New England; Caroline Constant, professor of architecture emerita at the University of Michigan and a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome;

Glenn LaRue Smith, FASLA, Co-founder and Principal of PUSH studio; Susan Macdonald, ICCROM, RIBA, PIA, Head of the Buildings and Sites Department at the Getty Conservation Institute; and Docomomo US Directors Theodore Prudon and Meredith Bzdak.

 The Awards will go to building owners, design teams, and advocacy and preservation organizations that champion the aesthetic and cultural value of modern buildings, structures and landscapes built in the United States or on U.S. territory. These can range from iconic monuments and regional masterpieces to the modern house next door.

 Hurry and get your entry in; submissions are due June 10th!

Telling the Full History – A Bright Light for Marginalized Communities

Image courtesy of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

For over 25 years, architect and preservationist Angel Ayón, principal of AYON Studio, has advocated for and designed with the idea that conserving our built cultural heritage for future generations is a responsibility, not a choice. Therefore, when he was asked to serve as a Selection Committee member for the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s (NTHP) Telling the Full History Preservation Fund program, he knew it was both an honor and a mission.

NTHP created the Telling the Full History grant program, together with National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), through the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021. The program helps interpret and preserve historic places of importance to underrepresented communities across states and territories of the United States.

With this mission in mind, Angel, along with the other members of the Committee, went about reviewing, scoring and commenting on the applications submitted. Ultimately, $2.5 million in grants were awarded across 39 states to 80 grantees. Their inspiring stories reflected compelling places, showcasing the multi-layered intersections of underrepresented communities. What's more, they model innovative approaches and inclusive participation, and are particularly relevant to our challenging times and the need to reckon with history and legacies.

Angel’s investment of time and effort in this selection was truly a passion project, perfectly aligning with AYON Studio’s fundamental values and culture. The process was exhilarating, profound and offered great hope for the future of the untold stories of the underrepresented communities that have helped to shape our built environment.

On the Demolition of the historic Harlem Hospital Women’s Pavilion

Phil Greitzer/New York Daily News Archive, via Getty Images

Principal Angel Ayón was quoted in the Columbia Daily Spectator about the impending demolition of the former Harlem Hospital Women’s Pavilion, which holds notable historic significance as the medical facility where Martin Luther King Jr. was rushed to and treated for a stab wound in 1958.

 New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation plans to turn the site into an all-new community health lab, with no preservation of the original building, which could have been adaptively reused to accommodate the needed services. “There is no reason anyone would have to argue that these new services are incompatible with the existing building,” Ayón said. “Of course that building could have been saved for labs and for whatever else is required. I see no reason why this wouldn’t have been done.”

 Ayón further noted that the existing building is structurally sound, and likely could have been preserved, even added to for increased capacity, at less cost than taking it down and rebuilding on the site. Referring to the slow demolition process, Ayón added, “This is slow dying. This is not ‘I’m going to kill you at once.’ This is ‘I’m going to let you bleed and watch you die.’ That’s really what it is, and that is just a way to add insult to injury in the middle of what has been happening in Harlem for too many years—where there’s been a significant amount of lack of investment and meaningful protections.”

 According to the article, CB10 has formally rejected the rezoning proposal of the Women’s Pavilion site, and several community activists and groups are still working to save it.

Discussing the Significance of Caribbean culture “In the Heights”

The Broadway show and movie musical, In The Heights, featuring music and lyrics by award-winning composer Lin-Manuel Miranda, has become a hit around the world. Offering a unique glimpse into the history and culture of Washington Heights, one of the largest Latin American enclaves in NYC, the authenticity of place was critical to the movie’s success.

On Thursday, March 31, AYON Studio Principal Angel Ayón joined the movie’s Location Manager, Samson Jacobson, in a conversation hosted by the Historic Districts Council. Their discussion explored the logistics of the production, which showcases the neighborhood's unique urban sites, open spaces, transportation facilities, and recreational venues, and how they depict the neighborhood’s unmatched vitality and its connection to the vibrant Caribbean culture and music that has flourished there.

With a variety of characters representing the stories of many Caribbean immigrants, In The Heights portrays the residents’ unique way of life, and celebrates the special ways in which the culture they brought with them has enriched that of New York City itself.

Click here to replay the event in You Tube.

Spreading the Word about “The Impact of Preservation” with AIA Brooklyn Members

On Wednesday, March 23rd, Principal Angel Ayón moderated a discussion about how preservation can make a measurable positive impact on community and help foster more equitable, participative and sustainable historic buildings and districts. He was joined by panelists Andrea Goldwyn, Director of Public Policy at The New York Landmarks Conservancy; Tiffani Simple, Principal of Simple Design Studio Architects; and Claudette Brady, co-founder of The Bedford Stuyvesant Society for Historic Preservation.  The main question posed to the panel was how Historic Preservation can continue to position itself as a guiding practice to face the challenges of today regarding representation, diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, undoing racism, decarbonization, climate resiliency, social justice, affordability, housing and world peace. The panelists discussed not only how Preservation has been an impactful force within the history, development and evolution of New York City, and also how it can continue to do so. In Angel's words, part of the challenge is figuring out how Historic Preservation "can be more impactful on the communities that it is meant to save and protect." You can watch the panel discussion here.

Teaching Pratt Preservation Students about the advantages of Adaptive Reuse

Much of NYC’s architectural history is found in its cultural buildings. Unfortunately, however, many of them have also fallen into various states of disuse and disrepair over the last several decades. But that doesn’t mean they’re obsolete. Finding ways to creatively adapt and reuse these structures for evolving programs and future purposes is not only more sustainable than building new – it also helps preserve much of what NYers and visitors alike love about the city.

On March 10, Angel Ayón and Sanika Kulkarni from AYON Studio shared their knowledge of the adaptive reuse and redevelopment of historic churches and theaters with Historic Preservation master’s candidates at Pratt Institute’s Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment (GCPE).

Setting the stage with AYON Studio’s own work — from St. Paul’s German Evangelical Lutheran Church and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and concluding with Times Square Theater and Flushing RKO Keith’s to the Nitehawk and Theater 80  — their presentation focused on the specific challenges and opportunities commonly found in these types of buildings. They also shared a range of global case studies: theaters that were turned into gyms, sports and e-sports arenas, bookstores, grocery stores, and parking garages; as well as churches that were converted into performing arts venues, residences, hotels, restaurants, co-working and event spaces – and even tattoo studios and skate parks!

Sharing Reglazing perspectives at APT’s "Modern Building Envelopes" seminar

Finding feasible reuse strategies for many Modern buildings that no longer perform like their current-day peers is a challenge. An even bigger one is addressing the deficiencies in their exterior envelopes, particularly those in the glazing assemblies.

To ensure these structures are viable investments for the future, lessons learned from past intervention strategies must be carefully examined, as they were in APT’s virtual seminar series in early March. As part of the series, AYON Studio Principal Angel Ayón and his co-author Uta Pottgiesser presented their research from Reglazing Modernism, sharing insights on curtainwall repair and upgrades from the 20 global case studies explored in the book.

The seminars, entitled “Modern Building Envelopes: Conservation, Repair, Improvement & Replacement,” brought together leading practitioners to discuss technically sound approaches for building envelope interventions that can meet and sustain current performance standards over a building’s extended life cycle. Hosted by APT’s Technical Committee on Modern Heritage, the classes explored how these methods can help Modern buildings achieve these goals while respecting their character-defining design attributes and historic materials.

Docomomo_US publishes excerpt from Reglazing Modernism

As Reglazing Modernism: Intervention Strategies for 20th-Century Icons celebrates its third year in print, it is still being heralded as the definitive book on interventions to steel-framed glazing assemblies in Modern buildings.

 Featured in its latest newsletter, Docomomo_US recently published an excerpt of the book, one that focuses on interventions at the UNESCO World Heritage Site Zeche Zollverein. This Bauhaus-influenced mine complex (1927–1932) and coking plant (1961) in Essen, Germany, was designed and built to improve the system of coal extraction and processing. Interventions over the decades since the mine and plant concluded operations in 1986 and 1993, respectively, included the following:

• Simply restoring the steel profiles with the existing single-glazed panes or with new wired glass panes (Halls 2 and 5)

• Adding new slim IGUs partly with wired glass panes (Hall 7)

• Installing a thermally broken frame with IGUs with wired glass (Hall 9)

• Installing insulated partitions with secondary glazing consisting of single-pane steel frame casement windows set within an interior insulated partition built parallel to the existing exterior walls, thereby creating a large insulating air cavity (Halls 6 and 10).

Co-authored by Principal Angel Ayón, Reglazing Modernism was awarded the 2021 Lee Nelson Book Award from the Association for Preservation Technology International (APT), The book — recognized for being the most outstanding and influential book-length work on preservation technology in three years — was published in 2019, followed by a private book signing and launch celebration in February 2020 at the TWA Lounge at One World Trade Center in New York City.

The New York City Historic Properties Fund is turning 40!

© NY Landmarks Conservancy

Some New Yorkers who own Landmarks often don’t have the means to hire the right specialists to engage in restoration projects for their properties. They turn to the New York City Historic Properties Fund (HPF), which offers low-interest loans and project management assistance to such owners, mostly in low- to moderate-income communities.

 Since 1982, The New York Landmarks Conservancy (NYLC)-operated HPF has loaned over $31.6M to owners of over 273 buildings, including homeowners, co-ops, non-profits, and religious institutions throughout the city’s five boroughs. In celebration of the program’s 40th Anniversary, NYLC just launched “HPF People.” The informative video series will run throughout the year, with each episode featuring a special New Yorker involved with the loan program.

The first video interviews Deb Howard, former Executive Director of IMPACCT BROOKLYN and a longtime resident of Fort Greene / Clinton Hill. “[HPF] has funded 84 restoration projects in the neighborhood,” she says. “The longevity of the program over the last 40 years has allowed the Conservancy staff to make meaningful impact on our community. From Brooklyn to across the other boroughs, their work is making immediate impact on our neighborhoods and preserving buildings for generations to come.”

 AYON Studio has participated in the HPF program as a trusted advisor and preservation Architect for property owners in Bedford–Stuyvesant and Harlem. In the intro to the video, you’ll even catch a glimpse of Principal Angel Ayón at one of our projects in Lefferts Gardens! The Studio is currently working on another project in Bed-Stuy.

Refurbishing a Storied UWS Icon

AYON Studio is excited to working on the exterior rehabilitation of one of NYC’s most notable Art Deco co-ops. Recently featured in Curbed, this “Particularly Eccentric Upper West Side Apartment Building” has served as a multi-disciplinary arts space and home for a diverse array of people, including Roerichism fanatics and practicing architects. Living in nearly all studio apartments, sans full kitchens, micro-communities have formed over the years within the 300-plus-unit, brick-and-terracotta building.

Designed by Harvey Wiley Corbett and completed in 1929, the Master Apartments opened just two weeks prior to the famed stock market crash and ensuing Great Depression. The tallest building on Riverside Drive, this NYC Landmark frames amazing Hudson River views with corner windows “reputed to be the first in Manhattan.” Since 1996, the historic building has experienced numerous interior renovations, and many apartments have been combined to capture panoramic views and multiple terraces.

Now, the exterior will get a refresh, including masonry restoration at the tower and rehabilitation of the monumental steel-framed transom windows at the entrances, which was based on precedents analyzed in Principal Angel Ayón’s book Reglazing Modernism.

Savvy SVA students learn about Adaptive Reuse

On November 9th, SVA’s School of Interior Design brought together two of NYC’s best preservationist architects for its INSIDE THE BOX Lecture Series — AYON Studio Principal Angel Ayón and Françoise Bollack, a fellow practitioner and Adjunct Associate Professor at Columbia GSAPP. Angel and Françoise presented their own thoughts then engaged in a Q+A discussion immediately following.

The Adaptive Reuse Panel was moderated by Dr. Carol Bentel, Chair of SVA’s BFA Interior Design program “Built Environments,” who thanked the speakers afterward, saying they “turned the tide on the conventional understanding of what “adaptive reuse” is… I am certain we will have some continued discussions at school.”

Angel’s presentation offers detailed case studies for protecting historic fabric through adaptive reuse, including two of NYC’s most famous theaters – The Times Square Theater and Flushing RKO Keith’ — as well as the former Excelsior Club, a historic gathering place for African Americans in Charlotte, North Carolina. To learn more about these solutions and others, watch the full lecture here.

Reglazing Modernism Wins the APT Lee Nelson Book Award!

Principal Angel Ayón’s book, Reglazing Modernism - Intervention Strategies for 20th Century Icons (Birkhäuser, 2019), has won the 2021 Lee Nelson Book Award from the Association for Preservation Technology International (APT)!

The publication was recognized for being the most outstanding and influential book-length work on preservation technology. Given only every three years, the honor places Reglazing Modernism among merely seven previous winners, and is a tribute to the late Lee Nelson, an outstanding preservationist, APT founder, and long-time editor of the APT Bulletin. The award was announced at the 2021 Preservation Beyond Politics annual conference in Washington, DC. 

According to Gina Crevello, the APT president at the time,

"the jurors agreed that the book increases our technical understanding of a key component for the preservation of [Modern] buildings. And that it is valuable to both the student and the practitioner. The book includes historic images for all case studies, as well as photographs and technical 3D details of original conditions and alterations, highlighting the main intervention strategies for restoration, rehabilitation and replacement. The jurors were impressed with the clear presentation of the topic; how well it is written, and edited, and beautifully laid out; and voted Reglazing Modernism - Intervention Strategies for 20th Century Icons by Angel, Uta and Nathaniel as the best preservation technology book of the year."

Ms. Crevello congratulated the authors for "an excellent book” that she deemed “an excellent choice for the Lee Nelson Award."

Co-authored by Uta Pottgiesser and Nathaniel Richards, Reglazing Modernism provides 20 in-depth case studies of Modern architectural icons in both Europe and the Americas. Focusing on interventions to their steel-framed glazing assemblies, the book offers a critical assessment of these, while also exploring emerging technologies that may offer higher performance in the future.

For more on Reglazing Modernism, see https://www.ayonstudio.com/book.