“Architecture is the most fragile of the media”, wrote Robert Venturi in 1993 soon after he learned about the changes that were about to take place to one of his most beloved early works. “The building was recently purchased by a CPA firm,” he writes, ”they have further renovated it without respect for the original quality of its design — although the head of this firm, when the artistic significance of his building was revealed to him by a noble local architect, expressed sympathy and understanding concerning the situation.” Iconography and Electronics upon a Generic Architecture: A View from the Drafting Room (Robert Venturi 1998 MIT Press). The “noble local Architect” to whom he refers is Robert Kelly, FAIA. Despite appeals from Vincent Scully, Venturi, Kelly and others, the damage was not halted.
Built in 1961, The North Penn Visiting Nurses headquarters is Robert Venturi’s first and one of his most beloved early built works. In the aftermath of the recent Abrams House incident, Bob remounted his preservation efforts. In many ways, this building is a classic example of current trends in historic preservation, whose focus is now pivoting towards the latter half of the twentieth century. With that in mind the current research project is intended to promote fresh historic perspective and become a catalyst for reconsidering regrettable design decisions made nearly thirty years ago. The objective is two-fold: to establish protected status for the building, and to promote restoring the façade to its pre-1993 design.
