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Former Rensselaer Dean of Architecture To Discuss Preservation in Troy March 24
Bernd Foerster, a preservation pioneer and former acting dean and professor in Rensselaer's School of Architecture, will return to Troy Wednesday, March 24 to discuss architectural preservation in the Capital Region in a talk titled "We Are What We Keep: More Architecture Worth Saving." The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will be held at the First United Presbyterian Church, 1915 Fifth Ave. in Troy at 7:30 p.m.
"Dr. Foerster's work saved more than blocks of buildings in Troy; it preserved an urban lifestyle that is now so valued it is being replicated in new urbanist developments all over the country. We have the real thing, and it is the basis for Troy's economic renaissance today." His preservation work is "proof that individuals can galvanize a community and that communities can shape their future."
Barbara Nelson, project manager of campus planning and facilities design at Rensselaer
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Foerster — who is now professor and dean emeritus of the College of Architecture, Planning and Design at Kansas State University — taught at Rensselaer in the 1970s. During his tenure, he was a leader in historic preservation and worked to prevent the demolition of buildings in the area even while huge swaths of cities in the capital region were being cleared for massive public projects. Foerster will discuss the evolution of historic preservation locally and evaluate specific aspects of some of the urban renewal projects, including Albany's Empire State Plaza and Troy's Kennedy Towers.
"Dr. Foerster's work saved more than blocks of buildings in Troy; it preserved an urban lifestyle that is now so valued it is being replicated in new urbanist developments all over the country," said Barbara Nelson, project manager of campus planning and facilities design at Rensselaer. "We have the real thing, and it is the basis for Troy's economic renaissance today." His preservation work is "proof that individuals can galvanize a community and that communities can shape their future," she added.
"Dr. Foerster is someone who was carefully cataloging the loss of whole streets, and arguing that rehabilitation — not demolition — would help revive cities," said Michael Lopez, a preservationist with the Troy Architectural Program Inc. (TAP) and an organizer of the program. "We'll hear how those times shaped the cities we live and work in today, and how communities can use historic preservation as a key to their future successes."
In 1965, Foerster published Architecture Worth Saving, a seminal book on significant architecture in Troy and Rensselaer County that urged readers to consider architecture as art. He was also featured in the 1964 National Educational Television documentary, What Do You Tear Down Next? The black-and-white film features raw, edgy images of the destruction of row upon row of buildings in downtown Troy and stark vistas of vacant land in Schenectady, where development schemes went awry. The film will be screened before the lecture.
Rensselaer partnered with Troy Architectural Program (TAP) Inc. and the Siena Program for Sustainable Land Use to sponsor Foerster's lecture, which is partly funded by the New York Council for the Humanities, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The March 24 talk will be the centerpiece of activities during Foerster's three-day visit, which will include sessions for architecture and planning students at Rensselaer and Siena.
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