“A box is the easiest thing to build. This ain’t no box,”
said Paul Rudolph in response to criticism of the
Government Center he designed in the town of
Goshen, New York. Completed in 1967, the Brutalist
building is considered one of Rudolph’s greatest
achievements. However, the structure landed on
the World Monuments Fund watch list after poor
maintenance led to deterioration and a series of
damaging storms caused its closure in 2011.
Preservationists want it saved, many in the Orange
County legislature do not, and – in an interesting
11th-hour twist – architect Gene Kaufman recently
offered to buy the building and transform it into art
studios and exhibition spaces. [Read more on
Design Within Reach Blog] or