SLU Profs To Give Presentation on the “Crisis of Modern Public Housing.”
Two Professors from Saint Louis University, Joseph Heathcott and Todd Swanstrom, will be presenting what promises to be a very interesting topic:
The Crisis of Modernist Public Housing: Pruitt-Igoe in St. Louis and Bijlmermeer in Amsterdam
Pruitt-Igoe, of course, is the failed housing project on the near north side that was imploded in 1972, less than 20 years after completion. The architect, Minoru Yamasaki, also designed the World Trade Center destroyed on September 11, 2001. The Pruitt-Igoe site has been vacant for nearly 35 years.
This will be contrasted with Amsterdam’s Bijilmermeer project which Heathcott and Swanstrom visited this summer while researching abroad. Both projects had seemingly similar origins yet vastly different outcomes. Heathcott and Swanstrom should be able to shed some light as to the reasons why.
This presentation will be held on Thursday, November 2, 2006 at 4:30pm at the SLU Cook School of Business in Room 236 (Building #7 on campus map, caddy corner from The Coronado) and is sponsored by the St. Louis Metropolitan Research Exchange (STLMRE) and the SLU Department of Public Policy Studies. The event is free and open to the public with a reception to follow!
Dang! Thanks for the tip. I’ll be there.
One small point–the P-I site isn’t wholly vacant, just mostly. Gateway Michael School was built in its footprint in the mid 90s.
Thanks for the info Steve. I look forward to seeing you there!
Thanks for the tip…I’ve always been fascinated by P-I. See you there!
I’m sure I’m not alone among out-of-towners and others who can’t attend in asking you, please, to post a detailed report–or, if that’s not possible (or warranted), a summary and highlights.
Many thanks!