Two Columbus buildings receive Getty Foundation grant

The Getty Foundation has announced that two buildings in Columbus are among the recipients of more than $1.6 million in architectural conservation grants. North Christian Church and Miller House and Garden, both designed by architect Eero Saarinen, are receiving funding as part of the foundation’s “Keeping It Modern” initiative.

Heritage Fund of Bartholomew County, on behalf of Landmark Columbus, will receive $150,000. With grant support, stewards will develop a conservation management plan to provide the historical context and strategic guidance needed for the church’s long-term upkeep. In addition, a team of designers, engineers and landscape architects will assess all aspects of the site’s condition and create an inventory of past changes. Officials say the results will be gathered into a detailed social, economic, and cultural study in an effort to protect and promote the future of the site.

The Indianapolis Museum of Art, Inc, owner of the Miller property, is receiving a $170,000 grant to address problems and call for a plan to prioritize conservation issues. Getty officials say the Indianapolis Museum of Art will work with experts to identify the most critical building systems and materials issues and establish protocols for
assessment, monitoring, and conservation treatment.

Getty says that work at both sites will pave the way for policy-based conservation planning for architecture in Columbus.

The other eight sites receiving funding from the Getty Foundation this year are:

– Buzludzha Monument, Hadzhi Dimitar Peak, Bulgaria (architect: Georgi Stoilov)
– Torino Esposizioni, Turin, Italy (engineer: Pier Luigi Nervi)
– Beira Railway Station, Mozambique (architects: Paulo de Melo Sampaio, João A. Garizo do Carmo, and Francisco José de Castro)
– Villa E-1027, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France (architect: Eileen Gray)
– Laboratory for Faculty of Chemical Technology at Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania (architect: Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis)
– Uganda National Museum, Kampala (architect: Ernst May)
– Escuela Superior de Comercio Manuel Belgrano, Córdoba, Argentina (architects: Osvaldo Bidinost, Jorge Chute, José Gassó, Mabel Lapacó, and Martín Meyer)
– Paraninfo at the Universidad Laboral de Cheste, Spain (architect: Fernando Moreno Barberá)

“Keeping It Modern grants are making a collective impact, with stewards of modern buildings increasingly adopting comprehensive planning as a long-term strategy,” says Joan Weinstein, director of the Getty Foundation. “Our grantees are putting in the work, delivering fantastic results, and sharing their findings with the field to lift the level of architectural conservation practice worldwide.”