Metropolis profiles Atlanta’s downtown library in jeopardy
The local arts community says an architectural masterpiece is in danger.
Architecture magazine Metropolis this month profiles the effort by Fulton County Commissioner Robb Pitts to raze — or is it renovate? — the historic Atlanta-Fulton County public library located downtown.
The library, completed in 1980, is the final work of famed Modernist architect Marcel Breuer and considered a masterpiece. The architecture community, enraged by the idea, wants to preserve the building.
From the magazine:
Having secured $85 million last November through a bond referendum, Pitts hopes to incorporate retail, dining, and performance space into a high-visibility property. An early choice was a site facing Centennial Olympic Park, a tourist destination bordered by such attractions as CNN Center, the Georgia Aquarium, and the World of Coca-Cola. But opening a new main branch would mean abandoning the existing one—a design that many argue is already a world-class piece of architecture.
It’s an excellent article and worth your time. Read it in full at Metropolis’ site.
To read more about or to join the preservation effort, visit local artist Max Eternity’s website.
(Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)