• A new proposal for historic preservation

    Why the key question, always, is this: "Is this this an upward trade?"
    The core problem that led to the modern preservation movement had been building since early in the Great Decline (1925-1945) and boiled over midway through the Dark Ages of Architecture (1945-1980) with the destruction of Penn Station. That problem was the fact that a new building replacing an...Read more

  • From McMansion to McMain Street

    Like the McMansion, the McMain Street attempts to mimic the complex roof massing of many buildings in a single building. Here are ideas on better ways to preserve or create Main Street character.
    Drive through any middle-class suburban neighborhood built in the last 25 years and you will encounter the “McMansion,” the aspirational mega-house with its overly complex roof form, dumbed-down architectural details and grandiose double-height foyer. The term McMansion is embedded in the American...Read more

  • A chance for transformation

    A redesign for the obsolete 1956 Buffalo Skyway addresses multiple community goals: enhancing mobility, promoting economic development, creating jobs, and reimagining the possibilities of Buffalo’s waterfront.
    Note: This article was written for The Buffalo News in response to a redesign competition for the Buffalo Skyway, an elevated freeway through the city's waterfront. The Skyway was on CNU's 2014 Freeways Without Futures list and also a topic of discussion at CNU 22 in Buffalo that year, and now a...Read more

  • The map of CNU Congresses

    CNU created a map (see below for interactive version) of all of the past and upcoming Congresses . The map offers an overview at the history of CNU, the geographic range of the Congresses, and the issues that concerned the Congress attendees in years past (click on locations for details). The first...Read more