Frances Campani and Michael Schwarting of Campani and Schwarting Architects in Port Jefferson were recently awarded a coveted Advocacy Citation of Merit from Docomomo, an international organization involved with preserving modern architecture around the world, for their work to save and rebuild the 1931 Aluminaire House in Palm Springs, California.

The Aluminaire House was conceived and constructed by Lawrence Kocher and Albert Frey as an exhibition house for the Allied Arts and Industry and Architectural League Exhibition of 1931 at the Grand Central Palace in New York City. The house is constructed of mostly aluminum and glass, and was intended to be mass produced and affordable, using inexpensive, off-the-shelf materials. The three-story house was constructed for the exhibit in just ten days, and during its first week on display attracted more than 100,000 visitors.

The husband and wife architect team have worked on this project since 1987 when they rescued it from demolition in Huntington, deconstructed and reconstructed it with their architecture students at the New York Institute of Technology campus in Central Islip. Campani is presently an Associate Professor and Schwarting a Professor Emeritus of NYIT. The campus closed in 2005 and Campani and Schwarting formed the Aluminaire House Foundation and gifted it to the Palm Springs Museum of Art in 2020. It opened on the grounds of the Museum as part of their collection in March 2024.

The Aluminaire House was selected as one of 16 best American modern preservation projects at the 2024 Docomomo Modernism in America Awards ceremony in West Hollywood. The jurors noted, "This is an almost 100-year-old house that was not meant to last, but it has." "People have gone to herculean lengths to preserve it, and there is a value in recognizing the individuals who have spent decades in service to preserving this object. The new location in Palm springs makes prefect sense." "Sometimes the best preservation tool is patience."

"We are very proud of the results of 35 years of work to save this significant structure," said Schwarting and Campini in a press release. "There have many people involved to help but it is worth noting the 120 NYIT architecture students that worked and were educated by it."

Campani and Schwarting have also published a book, The Aluminaire House by Gibbs-Smith publisher. To learn more, visit the current exhibition about the Aluminaire House at the Reboli Center for Art and History, 64 Main Street, Stony Brook. The exhibit runs through April 13.