The Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously rejected the proposal that would have moved the Aluminaire House to Sunnyside, Queens at a hearing last week, according to Queens Crap. The proposal's demise was thanks in no small part to the overwhelming opposition from the Sunnyside community, which swarmed a public hearing back in October to voice its concerns about the Aluminaire House being un-contextual, a target for graffiti bandits, and potentially a thing that would exist In Their Backyard. (Another particularly unsavory part of the plan: a pair of two-story condo buildings with four units each.) The multiple elected officials who delivered testimony against the proposal also didn't hurt.
It's unclear what's next for the Aluminaire House, which became the United States' first all-metal house when it was constructed in 1931 and which New York Times architecture critic Paul Goldberger later referred to as one of "the pivotal works of modern architecture in America." Stewards Michael Schwarting and Frances Campani, the married pair of architects/professors who were behind the Sunnyside proposal, will presumably get to work on another plan, in a neighborhood that is somewhat more amenable.
· LPC rejects Aluminaire House [Queens Crap]
· Landmarks Commission rejects Aluminaire House proposal [Sunnyside Post]
· Modern Artifact: The Story of Aluminaire House [NYIT]
· Aluminaire House coverage [Curbed]
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