Rice Architecture dedicated its 2024 Civic Forum to historic preservation with a focus on the Glenbrook Valley neighborhood in South Houston.
The annual event provides an open forum to discuss and analyze urban topics affecting people in Houston and beyond. This year, a group of local experts and leaders were invited to discuss preservation efforts in Glenbrook to uncover ways that historic preservation could benefit all.
Igor Marjanović, the William Ward Watkin Dean of the School of Architecture, welcomed participants to the event at Park Place Regional Library.
“Since it was first held in 1973, our school’s Civic Forum has provided an annual platform for raising important community issues and debating how civic leaders, community members, educators and architects can work collectively to imagine new solutions to Houston’s urban challenges,” Marjanović said.
Long renowned for its mid-century modern homes, Glenbrook Valley was designated as a historic district in 2011. The designation recognizes the area’s significance as a representation of mid-century design. However, one decade later, each month brings new cases of code violations in Glenbrook Valley to the city’s Planning and Development Department.
The forum considered this situation from various angles with the aim of celebrating Glenbrook Valley’s architecture, informing those who may be unaware of its nature and significance, advising those who may live in protected mid-century homes and face the challenges of maintenance and examining how historic preservation could benefit a larger group of citizens.
Introduced by Shantel Blakely, assistant professor of architecture and Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission member, and moderated by Amna Ansari, visiting critic at Rice Architecture, the discussion included several speakers: Roman McAllen, officer at the Houston Office of Preservation; Chelby King, independent art historian and Glenbrook Valley resident; Steve Curry, architect and Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission member; and Caroline Cheong, associate director of the Center for Housing and Neighborhoods at Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research.
"The Civic Forum helped to bring into the open the complexities of what historic district designation means for the well being of the community in Glenbrook Valley by amplifying the voices of advocates for and against the historic district," Shantel Blakely said. "The information that was shared by city officials, commissioners, and residents will enable parties on all sides to engage with one another more productively. The fact that this was a civil conversation about a very contentious issue highlights a role that Rice University can play in Houston, not only in providing expertise, as in the demographic information that was presented by the Kinder Institute, but also by creating a neutral space of engagement."
To learn more about this event, click here.