The Wayfarers Chapel, known locally as "The Glass Church," was designed by Lloyd Wright, the eldest son of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and completed in 1951. Located in the Palos Verdes peninsula in Los Angeles, its design aimed to blend the lines between architecture and nature, with large-span glass panels opening up to space toward the redwood canopies. Last year, the structure was designated a national historic landmark. Now, due to “accelerated land movement” in the area, the structure, which has been closed off to the public since February, was announced to be disassembled to protect it from further damage.
The Palos Verdes Peninsula in Southern is experiencing a geological phenomenon, as the dormant landslide complex that shaped the south side of the peninsula thousands of years ago was reactivated over half a century ago, threatening to destabilize significant areas of the peninsula, including the Portuguese Bend area. While the landslide has not stopped since 1956, this geological movement has accelerated in recent years, making the Portuguese Bend landslide the largest and fastest-moving landslide in the United States.
In the case of the chapel, damage has been observed in the metal framing in both the walls and ceiling, causing them to toque and bend, according to the press release by the stewards of the chapel. Most of the glass panels have been fractured, and several doors are no longer operable. The damage is also visible in the concrete floor, now heavily cracked, while the cornerstone laid in 1949 also shows signs of damage. The severe damages are expected to progress, making the preservation efforts more and more difficult.
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How to Save a Building from Demolition: Emerging Procedures to Uncover the Potential of Existing StructuresTo save the Chapel, its stewards are collaborating with historic preservation experts, led by Architectural Resources Group (ARG) of Los Angeles. Together, they are working to carefully deconstruct the chapel and preserve as many original materials as possible, cataloging and documenting each piece. The assessments have determined that immediate disassembly is the safest and most viable option to preserve the historic monument. The team is also evaluating the options for reconstruction on the same site or one nearby.
So many of the chapel’s original materials that were part of the Lloyd Wright design cannot be replicated today: the old-growth redwood glulam, the blue roof tiles, and the elegant network of steel that holds the windows together. With each passing day, more of this material is lost or irreparably damaged. Our team is working against the clock to document and move these building components to safety so that they can be put back together again. - Katie Horak, Principal of Architectural Resources Group
As a structure that has not been designed for disassembly, the reconstruction of the Wayfarers Chapel is prone to be challenging. While we have examples of historical structures that have been demolished and rebuilt afterward, raising questions regarding the identity of these architectural replicas, the case of the Wayfarers Chapel is a particular one, as the original materials are preserved. The structure is carefully documented before being taken apart. Across the world, efforts are made to preserve structures built within the last century, which are under a contradicting status, on one hand, gaining notoriety within their context, but on the other hand, losing their functionality which creates pressure to demolish and redevelop.
