Demolition Permit for 1st Modern School in New Orleans

Permit here. View vintage photo in The Historic New Orleans Collection

The Avery Alexander (McDonogh 39) Elementary School in Gentilly (3800 St. Roch Avenue) was designed by Curtis and Davis in 1952.  It was recognized as a model facility and was the first modern school built in New Orleans. This is a "finger school" in plan, with four lengths of classrooms connected at one end to a broad wing of administrative offices, the library and auditorium. The bands of classrooms are connected by an exterior corridor on one side. Both sides of the classrooms and the hall have operable aluminum and glass windows, so they benefit from ample natural light and ventilation. In addition, the hall also filters the sunlight from the classroom, reducing heat gain. Grassy courtyards fill the space between the stretches of classrooms. While the school flooded post-Katrina, the design of the structure is historically significant and appropriate to our climate. 

In 2008 the Louisiana Landmarks Society acknowledged McDonogh 39 along with Wheatley, Lafon and Carver Schools in its New Orleans Nine Most Endangered List. The school is outside the jurisdiction of the NCDC, so the demolition permit was granted without review. 

Nominations to the 2010 New Orleans Nine Most Endangered List are due March 22. [info, forms]

Save Wheatley School!

Charles Colbert's master work is threatened with imminent demolition at the hands of the Recovery School Board. Docomomo Louisiana considers Phillis Wheatley Elementary School one of the ten most important modernist buildings in the state. They have presented the RSD with a vision of how this important historic building can be renewed and adapted as part of a state-of the art school for Tremé. Now it's your turn.

Please submit comments in support of the preservation of the Wheatley School (Charles Colbert, 1955) and Lafon Elementary School (Curtis and Davis, 1954) to the FEMA 106 site.

http://www.crt.state.la.us/culturalassets/fema106/

Comments are due by September 30, 2009.

Hoffman Elementary (threatened)

Hoffman Elementary (threatened), originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

The New Orleans City Council will determine the fate of Hoffman elementary on Thursday 9/17. Email your comments to Stacy Head. shead@cityofno.com

Statement from the Board of the Louisiana chapter of docomomo*:

"The proposed demolition of Hoffman Elementary is the latest in a series of losses of significant institutional works of twentieth century architecture in New Orleans. The building is one of the few extant designed by Charles Colbert, one of Louisiana's finest mid century architects. It demonstrates a commitment to sustainable design through excellent attention to natural ventilation and daylighting in the classrooms. It was frugal in energy use, with covered outdoor circulation rather than air conditioned corridors. Colbert's commitment to progressive buildings to enhance public education was widely recognized in New Orleans and nationally. Given the large number of available school sites, demolishing this important work is unnecessary and anti-historic. If the RSD is not interested in renovating the building, a less costly alternative than new construction, it should sell the building so that this important artifact of New Orleans history is preserved."

* docomomo is the international committee for documentation and conservation of buildings, sites and neighbourhoods of the modern movement

Form follows function

Hoffman Elementary (THREATENED), originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

This sectional diagram of the Hoffman Elementary School (Charles Colbert, 1948-1954) illustrates how the inverted steel truss spanning the roof provides both sun control and ventilation. The school is threatened with demolition and is on the NCDC agenda today June 1, 2009. Meeting is at City Hall Council Chambers, 1300 Perdido at 2 pm.

Hoffman Elementary (threatened)

Hoffman Elementary model, 2622 S. Prieur New Orleans, originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

Hoffman Elementary is on the NCDC Agenda on Monday June 1, 2009. It was the first school designed by Charles Colbert, who later designed McDonogh 36 and the iconic Wheatley Elementary. The following description is from Idea: the Shaping force by Charles Colbert.

'Hoffman Elementary (1948), first referred to by the School Board as "that cowshed," was designed before the general use of air conditioning and responded to such educational concerns of the day as variable classroom sizes, direct access to outdoor instructional area, sun and breeze control devices, and the reduction of visible distractions. A scale model of a typical classroom was used to determine the precise distribution of natural light; while entire walls of operating doors and windows allowed the passage of evaporative breezes over the students' bodies. Classrooms were isolated from corridor activities by a barrier wall as air movement was directed upward by a sloping ceiling above. An inverted truss created a sun protective overhang on the air entry side, while on the opposite side of the classroom, the sun was refiected from the flat corridor roof to the inclined interior ceiling, for diffusion to work surfaces below. The use of the inverted truss resulted from two functional necessities, air movement and the distribution of daylight. A study model was used to determine the most effective angle for the overhead ceiling at New Orleans' particular latitude. The use of the inverted roof truss merely accommodated these dictating needs. The profile of the roof truss is exposed on the exterior of each building wing by colorful enamel panels. The dictates of light, sound, air movement and the elimination of unnecessary visual distractions actually shaped the cross section of the building. The building's exterior shape was merely the result of interior requirements.'

the child is the monument

Thomy Lafon Elementary School (THREATENED), originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

Dozens of public school buildings in Orleans Parish are threatened by demolition or "complete replacement" in the preliminary School Facilities Master Plan.

Tonight (Thursday 7.10) there is a Facilities Master Plan Community Update Meeting at the Dryades YMCA, 2000 Philips St. @ 6:30 PM.

My concern for the fate of our Modernist monuments does not supercede my concern for the fate of our children. In fact, they are entwined. Charles Colbert, architect was the original designer of the new school building program initiated in 1950. He encouraged his fellow architects to consider the "emotional and spiritual needs of children" in their design of school buildings. "The child is the monument," he wrote.

Two of unoccupied school facilities, Thomy Lafon Elementary and Phillis Wheatley Elementary, were built on raised piers which saved them from the flood. The initial design was driven by a desire to create ample play space protected from the elements on an urban site. They were designed in a period of sheer optimism and growth. The conservation of these structures can serve as symbols of the city's rebirth, as we recover the future from the past.

4940 St Roch (Lustron House)

4940 Saint Roch ( Lustron House), originally uploaded by katrinaevacuee200.

Thanks to Randall for bringing 4940 St. Roch to our attention. FEMA 106 comments

This is a Lustron House - one of just a handful in New Orleans.

"The Lustron House was an innovative solution to the post-WWII housing crisis. Many thought the porcelain enamel clad wonder would be the General Motors of the housing industry. Production began in 1948, but by 1950 production problems and a corruption scandal brought it to a halt. The factory was closed and the equipment sold or scrapped. All in all, only about 2,680 of these unique homes were built. Sadly, it is estimated that only 1,500 of these unique homes survive today. Each year, dozens more are lost to demolition, neglect, and unsympathetic changes and alterations." - Lustron Preservation

Apparently the owner of this Lustron house at 4940 St. Roch Avenue in Gentilly Terrace has applied for voluntary demolition. It's very difficult to fight for preservation of a structure that the owner wants to demolish. However, as this pre-fab house arrived on a truck, it could be dis-assembled rather than demolished. Perhaps the owner might be persuaded to allow someone to move the structure to another site?

Lustron Homes were designed by Carl Strandlund, a native of Sweden. These factory built homes are not native to Louisiana and our vernacular architecture. However, they are relatively rare and certainly worthy of preservation. An added caveat: the enamel-clad steel Lustron Homes are known to withstand high winds better than stick-build structures (and they provide the perfect environment for a collection of post-K IKEA furniture).

Another local Lustron in Hollygrove has been renovated and is currently on the market.

Speaking of real estate, we have a new crib::::::::::::::
xxno.blogspot.com has become regional-modernism.com

Pan American Life Insurance

The Pan American building, 1952, designed by Skidmore Owings and Merrill marks a turning point in New Orleans corporate architecture. Located on the 2400 block of Canal St. the Pan American Life Insurance building is set back from the street occupies an entire city block. The building is one of the first corporate buildings in New Orleans to adapt the international style to local conditions. Employing a skin of metal fins to block the sun and a steel structure that allow spans of over 60’, the building marks a turning point in corporate local modernist architecture. Originally located in a residential district, the Pan American building rises to a mere 6 stories with a 2-story plinth in the back.

Phillis Wheatley Elementary School

PhillisWheatley2, originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

The Phillis Wheatley Elementary School served the Treme neighborhood, on 2300 Dumaine Street, New Orleans for over 45 years. Wheatley Elementary is celebrated as architect Charles R. Colbert's most important work. Built in 1954, the school is a key example of Modern Architecture in the city. The use of large steel trusses allow the classrooms to be cantilevered over a play area. Progressive Architecture recognized the Wheatley Elementary school design in a 1955 article. The school was reviewed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and considered to be “substantially damaged” by Hurricane Katrina. The New Orleans Recovery School district has since slated the school for demolition. If the building will no longer be used as a school, perhaps it could be used as a community center or have some other purpose to serve the community.

By: Teresa Muniz