Demolition: The Latest Architecture and News

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has just announced its plan to demolish India's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (SVP) Stadium. The structure was initially designed by Charles Correa and engineer Mahenda Raj in the 1960s. A testament to “the progressive ideals and experimental spirit that characterized India’s post-independence period,” this iconic modernist structure has hosted ample cultural events for the city.

The structure was originally built to host international and domestic cricket matches. In the 1950s, the Cricket Club of Ahmedabad was granted 67,000 sqm of land to construct a Cricket Stadium. It was the country’s first “turf ground,” hosting the first cricket match in India. For the cricket community in the country, the SVP represents a venue that has nurtured and honed young cricketers from all over the state, and it has been graced by several of India's legendary players in both test and one-day cricket matches.

Milan’s iconic Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, also known as San Siro, has been saved from demolition after a decision of the Regional Commission for the Cultural Heritage of Lombardy has determined that the stadium holds cultural significance. The stadium, home ground to f AC Milan and Inter Milan football teams, was set to be replaced by a new stadium, named “The Cathedral”, designed by American architecture studio Populous. The office continues to work with Inter Milan football club to develop a new stadium proposal in the Rozzano neighborhood, according to reporting in the La Gazzetta dello Sport.

The former animal laboratories of the Charité in Lichterfelde, also known as the Mäusebunker building, have now been placed under monument protection, saving it from the threat of demolition that has been slated since 2010. The brutalist structure was designed by architects Gerd and Magdalena Hänska and built from 1971, and put into operation in 1982. While its strong image, combined with its function as a laboratory for animal tests, resulted in the general public’s distaste for it, the Brutalist building slowly gained acceptance and even a cult status among brutalist fans.

Developed by GXN for the 2023 UIA World Congress of Architects in Copenhagen, The (P)RECAST Pavilion explores the possibility of reusing precast concrete elements from existing buildings to promote circularity and reduced carbon emissions in the construction industry. The pavilion showcases salvaged concrete elements alongside 200-year-old timber beams, highlighting their aesthetic and structural value. Following the same motivation but through a different approach, MEE Studio has developed The Regenerative Cabin. Located in Copenhagen, the structure explores the applied use of regenerative biogenic materials to reduce the carbon emissions associated with the building materials.

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Local governor Toyohito Ikeda of Takamatsu, in Japan, announced that the famous Kagawa Gymnasium will be demolished. Built between 1961 and 1964 by the Pritzker Prize winner Kenzo Tange, the structure is a landmark of the modernist post-war era in Japan. This news has sparked the creation of a petition in an effort to save this 47-year-old monument.

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On November 3^rd, 2022, the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) announced the decision to end the restoration works for elements of the campus designed by Louis Kahn with Indian architects Balkrishna V. Doshi and Anant Raje in 1962. The decision affects the faculty blocks, classroom complex, and dorms other than dorm D15. According to the statement, the institution plans to replace some of the buildings, as the complex is “facing structural damage, deterioration and have become uninhabitable, posing a safety concern for the campus's residents.” This represents a reversal of the decision to withdraw the first demolition plans following global protests, announced in January 2021.

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The rights to reconstruct Kisho Kurokawa's iconic Nakagin Capsule Tower are currently sold on one of the largest NFT sites. While the tower’s demolition has begun earlier this year, the auction sells the right to rebuild the structure, in both the metaverse and in real space. The idea of recreating the Metabolic building in a virtual space seems natural. It could allow a larger community to explore an iconic piece of architecture and encourage them to experiment with it, an initiative in line with Metabolist ideals. On the other hand, the idea of reconstructing a demolished historical building in the physical world raises a different set of conflicting emotions. Architectural replicas are not the norm, but their existence raises questions regarding the identity and authenticity of works of architecture.

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This article was originally published on Common Edge.

My first encounter with saving a building landed me in handcuffs and a trip to the Long Beach Police Department. A friend and I were frustrated that our hometown was demolishing good buildings—because they did not conform with the current style of architecture—only to replace them with parking lots! All in the name of “progress.” In 1988, when we learned that the Jergins Trust Building, a Beaux-Arts beauty, was slated to be torn down with no plans for the site, we jumped into action and chained ourselves to the building to stop the wrecking crew. Our efforts kept it up for another four hours. And then it was gone forever.

The Smithsonian Institution has announced that the glass-clad pyramid restaurant of Washington D.C's National Air and Space Museum, designed by Gyo Obata, FAIA, co-founder of renowned architecture firm HOK, will be demolished this spring and replaced with a new educational facility titled the Bezos Learning Center. The restaurant is one of two buildings designed by the late architect for the National Mall, originally constructed in 1988 as an additional structure to the National Air and Space Museum, that served as a dining area for the museum's visitors.

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Following months of uncertainties and preservation attempts, Kisho Kurokawa's iconic Nakagin Capsule Tower will be demolished on April 12th of this year. Tatsuyuki Maeda, one of the current owners of the tower, explained that a team will try to preserve some of the capsules, and regenerate them as accommodation units and museum installations across the world.

Less than two months ago, the future of an 1894 Dutch Colonial-style home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright wasn’t looking all that bright after it hit the market for $1.3 million in the Chicago suburb of Hinsdale, Illinois. As of this week, however, the historic Frederick Bagley House, described by the nonprofit Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy as a “unique and irreplaceable” early work of Wright, has found a very happy ending—or, more aptly, a new beginning.

Following China's rapid urbanization and emergence of new districts and public buildings, MAD Architects, led by Ma Yansong, has won an international competition to design the new Zhuhai Cultural Arts Center. Their proposal, titled "Village Under the Dome", will be situated within China’s Pearl River Delta in the Yinkeng Village, a historic town that has recently been demolished and relocated by the municipality to make room for new projects. Instead of rebuilding over the demolition, their design offered a conservation and renewal of the village, creating a new function of the original site.

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One of the most iconic examples of Metabolist architecture, Kisho Kurokawa's Nakagin Capsule Tower, might be headed for demolition, as the building was sold by the management association to the landowner earlier this year, as reported by Japan Forward. The tower's demise has been intensely speculated in recent years due to the structure's precarious state and incompatibility with current seismic standards.