When should we preserve old buildings?

The Cuyahoga County commissioners office will decide on Friday which proposal to accept for the design of their new office headquarters on the south east corner of East 9th and Euclid. There are six firms currently shortlisted ( I can't find the names and won't post a partial list) but only one has decided to use the existing structure.

The existing building was designed by Marcel Breuer and is a prime example of brutalistic form in an urban scale. The large concrete paneled building rises stories above the neighboring structures and creates an imposing dark facade on a sporadically rhythmic street. Personally I could go either way in keeping it. Yes it was done by a great designer but does that alone necessitate it's status as a permanent fixture? Steven Litt has argued that it should stay but also that Cleveland needs new standards of design excellence. So what is the solution? Breuers design is heavy and imposing and does not provide the county with the image of openness and progressive thinking that it wishes to convey.

I don't have the answer right now as I have not been privy to the entire discussion and wish to withhold judgment until I learn more. Until then I know that there are things I must research and even some meetings (such as AIA Forums) that I ought to attend.

The journey for the county so far has been long and arduous and Cleveland does not quite have the design voice to give it a place on the map yet. There are great public art projects, wonderful museums, inspiring plays and concerts but our skyline is a collection of mean and stark structures. Nothing that makes the heart sing or gives voice to our inner soul. This is the city that has created the "Western Reserve" design movement, we have sins to atone for that. We should either hold on to our past and create a celebration around it or cut from it quickly and rise to the sky a monument that will give the entire nation pause as it fixes it's gaze upon our wonder.