Preservation of 1970s Solar Architecture

City of Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Municipal Building, original solar panels removed (link)

I’m working with a collaborator who wants to designate historic examples of solar architecture as an ‘endangered species’. I agree and I’m happy to help!

In fact, in 2019 I identified dozens examples of 1970s solar architecture, located them on Google Maps street view, or found other photos, and determined that the majority of them appeared to be demolished or significantly altered. I concluded:

“Apparently, the loss of 1970s solar architecture has been an unnoticed preservation crisis occurring for years.” (link)

To support the effort to protect this category of buildings, I created these first-draft lists. These are selected examples, chosen for prominence, and very preliminary and incomplete. In most cases my confidence is 99%, based on circumstantial evidence (meaning I haven’t necessarily visited these sites or talked to the owners).

Demonstration houses or buildings destroyed

Solar One by University of Delaware, 1973 (Architect: Harry Weese)
Solar Village by Colorado State University, 1974 (Architect: Richard Crowther). One house remains.
Ohio State University house by Ohio State University/Homewood Corp., Columbus, OH, 1974
Decade 80 Solar house by Copper Development Association, Tucson, AZ, 1975 (Architect: M. Arthur Kotch)
PPG Solar Center by PPG Industries, Harmarville, PA (Allison Park?), 1975
NASA Tech house at Langley Research Center, VA, 1976
University of Tennessee Solar House, 1976
TERA One by Pacific Power & Light/Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Portland, OR, 1977 (Architect: SOM)
Brookhaven House by Brookhaven National Laboratory/DOE, Upton, NY, 1980
Solarex Technology Center, Frederick, MD, 1982

Solar system removed; building intact

New Mexico Dept. of Agriculture Building, Las Cruces, NM, 1975 (Architect: W.T. Harris & Assoc.)
Towns Elementary School, Atlanta, GA, 1975 (Architect: Burt Hill)
Bighorn Canyon Visitor Center, Lovell, WY, 1976 (Architect: Wirth Design Associates)
Santa Clara Recreation Center, Santa Clara, CA, 1977 (Architect: D.C. Thimgan)
Troy-Miami County Library, Troy, OH, 1977 (Architect: Richard Levin & Assoc.)
Wheat Ridge Municipal Building, Wheat Ridge, CO, 1978 (Architect: HDR) see above
Spearfish High School, Spearfish, SD, 1980

Let’s crowd-source this effort! Anything incorrect here? What examples are missing? Please comment.

Now: At the policy level, what should be done about buildings with solar systems which are problematic or defunct, but visibly representative of an important historic moment? I don’t know. These are political questions to be decided by local communities (or federal owners). In my view, the role of an outside expert in preservation issues is to educate, perhaps to offer an opinion, but not to become an activist.