APT Presents Lecture with Jorge Otero-Pailos on Cold War American Embassies on Feb. 27

On Monday, February 27, the Association for Preservation Technology (APT) presents a lecture by artist and preservation architect Jorge Otero-Pailos. The lecture runs from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. at ATP's D.C. location.

Otero-Pailos will delve into the creative process and history leading to artworks in his sculpture exhibition, Analogue Sites, displayed on Park Avenue in Manhattan in 2024. 

The presentation examines the architectural vision of American embassies constructed during the Cold War and Otero-Pailos’ artistic intervention at the decommissioned Cold War-era U.S. Embassy in Oslo, Norway, designed by Eero Saarinen. Otero-Pailos will discuss the sculptures he crafted from the steel fence that once safeguarded the embassy, an artifact he rescued from the scrapyard, considering it a vital piece of history.

The embassies were architectural masterpieces, designed by some of America’s greatest modern architects, including — in addition to Saarinen — Edward Durell Stone, Richard Neutra, Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer, and Josep Lluís Sert. The structures shared unique design features, unimaginable in embassies today. They were cultural centers, immigration gateways, and diplomatic offices with free and open public libraries, art galleries, and theaters.

The lecture offers an insightful look at the intersection of art, diplomacy, and preservation, revealing how Otero-Pailos’ work captures and reimagines these historical narratives through his artistic lens.

Date: February 27, 2025
Time: 2-3 p.m. EST
Location: 1802 Vernon St., NW, #1153, Washington, D.C.
Register here: apti.org/25TCMHcoldwarembassies