Rudolph's Orange County Government Center Not Saved

The most vocal opponent of plans for demolition of part of the building with a new section constructed in its place has been Micheal Kimmelman, who has used his architecture critic position at the New York Times to urge legislators to "do the right thing Thursday [5 March]... and reconsider demolition." But come yesterday, "Orange County legislators took no action during their monthly meeting on Thursday to block reconstruction of the county government center in Goshen," according to the Mid-Hudson News.

The main alternative to the reconstruction plans came from architect Gene Kaufmann, when he offered to buy the building, convert it to artists' residences and exhibition space, and design a new government center. Kaufman's proposal was vetoed by Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus in January, a veto Kimmelman was asking legislators to overturn. Instead, as Orange County Chairman Stephen Brescia stated, "We are moving ahead and we are ready to go. Demolition is going to start and reconstruction."

Plans for the reconstruction are being carried out by Clark Patterson Lee after Boston's designLAB, the firm responsible for doing a similar rehab/addition for Rudolph's Claire T. Carney Library at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, pulled out of the project last August. Although designLAB's experience with renovating and adding to a Rudolph building would have bode well for Goshen, the rendering revealed late last year for Clark Patterson Lee's proposed addition makes it clear why Kimmelman, among others, was so vocal about protecting the Rudolph building.