Location: Atlanta, GA [map]
Architect: Marcel Breuer
Year Built: 1980
Related Works: Whitney Museum, NY
Amazingly, this work by Breuer - one of the last of his lifetime, as he died one year after the building's completion - remains largely anonymous even though its origins in the International Style distinguish it from almost any work in the Southeast outside of Florida. The building is wonderfully integrated into the complicated and often disjointed block layouts of downtown, and is yet another showcase of Breuer's lifelong affinity for cast-in-place concrete as a material that plays the dual role of dictating both structure and form. From a philosophical standpoint, the work reflects Breuer's pragmatic attitudes towards civic buildings (especially those that house books and art) in dense urban areas.
We in Atlanta are privileged to have a building of this quality in our architectural heritage, yet our government's unforunate and rather pathetic disengagement from the art & design community - Georgia, for example, almost became the first state to disband its Arts Council - has once again placed a modern masterpiece in jeopardy of demolition. Thankfully, with the help of generous donors and grassroots support, the building stands and remains as it should - a testament to the talents of one of America's truly great architects.
Here are a few sites, some of which describe the building's design in much greater detail, that document the efforts to preserve the library:
Creative Loafing Blog, Feb. 2009
Preserving a Legacy
Metropolis Magazine
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