At AIA conference, post-war buildings getting some respect

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Brian Johnson
BridgeTower Media Newswires

Love them or hate them, post-World War II buildings deserve a closer look when it comes to their preservation, historic significance and possible new uses, design experts said this week at a gathering in Minneapolis.

At this year’s American Institute of Architects Minnesota, three design experts on a panel went deep into the weeds about the difficulties and opportunities presented by the sorts of postwar buildings that sprouted up like weeds between the late 1940s and early 1970s.

“Fifty-five percent of the building stock in the country is of that era,” said the panelist Michael Blomberg, director of design for Minneapolis-based PVN Works. “So how do we treat it and how do we be mindful of it?”

The other Barbara Mitchell Howard, managing partner and director of heritage preservation for Minneapolis-based Stonebridge Learning; and

Among the difficulties: Postwar buildings weren’t necessarily “built to last” like some older structures, and many of them use outdated materials, such as single-glazed curtainwalls, that fall short of complying with current requirements, Bjornberg said.

Some buildings may be more important historically, though, than they appear at first glance, the panelists said. What’s more, they are likely to make up a big part of future building activity. The rehabilitation of existing buildings will account for 75 percent of construction activity by 2030, according to AIA Minnesota.

“We do need to use these buildings,” Bjornberg said. “There will be a variety of ways they get reused. They may just get the skin stripped off, the structure reused.”

Building owners and architects should keep at least three things in mind when considering changes to postwar buildings: know the property, have a plan and do no harm, Howard said.

“When all else fails, don’t touch it,” she said. “Do no harm. Be gentle.”

Design professionals need to be mindful of the possible historic significance of any building they plan to work on, Bjornberg said.

The KSTP-TV building on University Avenue in St. Paul may not strike most casual observers as anything special, but the late 1940s structure has a significant post-modern style designed by the famed Minneapolis-based Liebenberg & Kaplan firm, Bjornberg noted.

From that standpoint, it’s “obviously something to be looked at,” Bjornberg said.

John Smoley, an urban planner and historian for the city of Minneapolis, said context is important when considering the historical significance of a postwar building. In Minneapolis. Properties that are associated with milling, the chain of lakes, or even music icons like Prince may get points for historic relevance.

“We’re not just looking for superlatives – oldest, tallest, first,” he said. “Those all help, definitely. But carefully consider the context.”

The postwar Riverside Plaza apartment complex in Minneapolis, for example, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2010 as an example of “urban renewal.” In 2012, Sherman Associates completed a $75 million rehabilitation of the complex, which provides 1,303 affordable units in the six buildings.

Smoley said the rehab work ties in with local priorities like providing affordable housing and developments built with public transportation in mind. But the complex hasn’t always been looked at favorably.

Like a lot of postwar construction, the six-building complex at 1600 Sixth St. S. was “unloved” after it opened in 1973 – and it’s “still not terribly loved today,” Smoley said.

“It was intended to be the first phase of the redevelopment of the entire Cedar-Riverside neighborhood,” Smoley said. “But like a lot of HUD (Housing and Urban Development) projects from that time, it didn’t live up to its grand vision.”

Although many postwar buildings may not be outwardly attractive, Bjornberg cautioned not to put too much weight on aesthetics. Tastes change and “you don’t want to start throwing stuff out” solely because of its appearance, he said.

“I remember when we didn’t like going into buildings where the plaster wasn’t all perfectly restored,” Bjornberg said. “Now there is this sort of ‘kitschiness’ about going into places where it’s really rough.”