The Connecticut Architecture Foundation recently honored Dr. Theodore Prudon, FAIA, with the 2022 Distinguished Leadership Award. Prudon is a professor at Columbia University and a leading expert on the preservation of Modern architecture. He founded the first US Chapter of Docomomo 25 years ago and has just stepped down as its president. Docomomo, whose name is derived from DOcumentation and COnservation MOdern MOvement, is the leading international organization dedicated to the preservation of Modern architecture, landscapes and design. It envisions a world where people value modern heritage and use it to shape vibrant cities.
The evening began with a reception in the Hotel Marcel”™s Sunken Lounge, in New Haven, followed by dinner in the Forum and Function Room. After dinner, Prudon and the CAF Board Member and University of Hartford professor Michael Crosbie, Ph.D., FAIA, discussed the preservation of Modern buildings, educating and inspiring all to appreciate and care for our modern surroundings.
They discussed the lack of appreciation for Modernism, awareness of Docomomo, what buildings should be preserved, challenges to preserving Modern structures, pressing preservation issues, such as pressure from the real estate industry for valuable sites.
New Haven was cited as a mecca with its wealth of Modern architecture that has been saved, restored and preserved. Modernism has never been a popular movement with the general public, but projects like Hotel Marcel can help to change that.
