White City

White City

Tel Aviv, Israel

1930-1939

The White City encapsulates the history of international modern architecture. Influenced by the Bauhaus, Le Corbusier, and Erich Mendelsohn, architects who fled Europe in the 1930s created an architectural idiom to address climatic, regional, and traditional building issues. The construction boom that they led shaped the identity of the emerging city of Tel Aviv.

Although one thousand buildings in the historic center have been designated for preservation, neglect and lack of knowledge of restoration techniques have prevented appropriate maintenance. Plans for the revitalization of the city would allow stories to be added to the buildings, even those designated for preservation. The result would utterly destroy the architects' minimalist language.

World Monuments Watch listing in 1996 helped support the efforts of preservationists to document key examples of 20th-century architecture in Tel Aviv and raise public awareness regarding their very urgent conservation needs. Since Watch listing, many buildings have been restored and an archive was established to catalog preservation efforts. In 2003, the White City was designated a World Heritage Site.


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Battersea Power Station

London, United Kingdom

1932-1955

The four great chimney stacks of Battersea Power Station, built in 1932, have become an indelible part of London's skyline, terminating vistas along the Thames and commanding road and rail approaches to the city. The building's celebrated exterior was the work of prominent architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, famous for his monumental creations such as the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral and the Bankside Power Station (now the Tate Modern). The Art Deco interiors by J. Theo Halliday, most notably the control room and turbine hall, are among the finest public works interiors of the era. More recently, Battersea Power Station has achieved international fame through exposure in popular culture, in particular as the cover shot of Pink Floyd's celebrated 1977 album, Animals.

The building, included on the 2004 World Monuments Watch list, has been abandoned since it was decommissioned in 1983. The boiler house roof was removed during a brief period of redevelopment work in 1988, rendering the structure vulnerable to decay. In the early 1990s, a second developer proposed converting the building into a mixed-use entertainment center. In 2005, as part of this venture, the famed chimneys were declared unsound and threatened with demolition. In 2006, the building was sold to yet another developer who plans to incorporate it into a large and elaborate mixed-use complex.

The Battersea Power Station Community Group, which later formed the Battersea Power Station Company Ltd, a not-for-profit company, has campaigned for development plans to preserve as much original fabric as possible and also take community needs into account. As of 2008, the redevelopment controversy continues.

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