James Howard Kunstler, author of several books (both fiction and nonfiction) on the the folly of our system of sprawl development and the coming danger of peak oil, gave the key note address to the National Trust for Historic Preservation conference at Sheas Theater a little over a week ago.
Kunstler also has a weekly internet podcast (posted each Thursday at kunstlercast.com) hosted by Duncan Crary. Last Thursday's program was recorded on the thruway, the day after the key note as Duncan and James headed back to their home base in the Albany area. Being that their trip was all about preservation Duncan interviews Kunstler on his Buffalo lecture. Anyone who was at the Buffalo event knows that Kunstler can give a powerful and provocative talk. In this podcast he expounds on his Buffalo speech and does a little (misinformed) beef on weck trash talk. Much of the conversation revolved, not around saving very old classical buildings, but around what to do with buildings of our recent past (aging modern buildings). They also discussed the state of downtown Buffalo, critiqued the City Court Building, gave a shout out to the Buffalo Young Preservationists and talked about people moving to Buffalo. He gets a few facts wrong here and there but he is an out-of towner so cut him some slack.
If you are a Kunstler fan you might also check out the new Kunstlercast book available in stores soon or immediately on line at the Kunstlercast web site. I hope to do a review of the book when time allows. In the meantime check out the cover of the book (seen here). It is an amazingly accurate critique of what we accept today as good enough in our built environment. The full illustration can be seen at the Kunstlercast site. It makes me sick thinking about how this happened and how so many people blindly accept this sorry landscape as inevitable.
![Preservation Ready: [Not So] Fairfield Library](http://www.buffalorising.com/assets_c/2011/11/Fairfield-Library-NY-Buffalo-thumb-145x145-24979.jpg "Preservation Ready: [Not So] Fairfield Library")
Well, he had buffet beef on weck - probably not exactly the best representative of that humble sandwich.
I knew Kunstler would ruffle some feathers among the preservationists and I was apparently right, judging by what I heard about the chatter after his talk.
Preservationists and urbanists are usually allies for now. There will be a bit of a schism when and if preservation organizations start to campaign to enshrine the aging McDonalds and Walmarts of the country, simply because they've gotten old enough to be "historic".
I consider myself a preservationist, but one who wants to preserve older buildings not because they are old, but because they are 100x the quality of almost anything built today, in terms of craftsmanship and in terms of urban design.