5 Case Studies: Modernism at Risk

The five case studies presented in the Modernism at Risk: Modern Solutions for Saving Modern Landmarks exhibition and this accompanying publication demonstrate that design practitioners and students, armed with their knowledge of 20th-century architecture and their critical thinking and problem-solving skills and supported by organizations like the World Monuments Fund, are helping devise multifaceted solutions—including advocacy efforts, technical plans, and otherwise—that address the distinct challenges to preserving modern architecture.

The buildings presented represent the rise of modernism from its earlydevelopment during the interwar years in Europe (1930 ADGB Trade Union School, Bernau, Germany, by Hannes Meyer and Hans Wittwer) to its appearance in the United States and other countries (1939 A. Conger Goodyear House, Old Westbury, New York by Edward Durell Stone) to its proliferation during America’s postwar boom and later, often in the form of everyday civic buildings (1954 Grosse Pointe Public Library, Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, by Marcel Breuer; 1958 Riverview High School, Riverview, Florida, by Paul Rudolph; and 1972 Kent Memorial Library, Suffield, Connecticut, by Warren Platner.)