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April 29, 2010
Pittsburgh report recommends razing Mellon Arena
There's a brewing preservation mini-controversy in Pittsburgh, where the Penguins want to raze their old home, Mellon Arena, and replace it with housing, offices, stores, and restaurants, while preservationists want to gut it and turn it into ... housing, offices, stores, and restaurants. A city economic impact report says that demolition would be the better option, but an architect who wants to save the arena calls the analysis "incomplete."
Without even attempting to determine who's right here, I'd just like to say that having been to the hollowed-out remnants of the Montreal Forum, it's hard for me to get too excited about the prospect of saving only the shell of an arena. Especially if it involves plastic fans.
www.reusetheigloo.org (and on facebook groups)
Above is a link to information on the ideas and advocacy for the Reuse of the Igloo (aka Civic Arena). We are serious architects, planners, development experts and professional preservation planners. We have an economic plan and a developer waiting to step forward. Since the Penguins see this as an obstacle rather than opportunity we have had to use legal means to get their attention. This is more than a cool hip 1961 building, it is an opportunity to demonstrate that economic development and sustainability is about reuse, repurposing and innovative public spaces, like the Highline in NYC.
Posted by Rob Pfaffmann on February 10, 2011 10:13 PM