Historic Black Mountain College building receives international recognition

Excerpted from Black Mountain News, July 1, 2026. CLICK HERE to read the full article >

Black Mountain College Building designed by A. Lawrence Kocher, architect. Lake Eden Campus, 1940-41. Copyright held by Western Regional Archives, States Archives of North Carolina, sleek-mag.com/article/a-monumental-experiment-black-mountain-college

The Studies Building at Black Mountain College has been recognized as part of World Monuments Fund’s Irreplaceable America program. The announcement was made June 30 at the building.

The World Monuments Fund works to preserve diverse cultural heritage sites across the world, with more than 700 sites in 113 countries, according to its website.To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, the World Monuments Fund held an open call for nominations of sites “that encompass the multifaced history of the Unites States,” according to its website.The Studies Building was once the home of Black Mountain College, founded in 1933 as a liberal arts school with a focus on art.Architects Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer, along with A. Lawrence Kocher, initially designed the building. Kocher revised the original design and came up with what was meant to be a four-spoke building with a central radius near Lake Eden. Construction began in 1940 on the first spoke, but the remaining design was never built due to lack of funding.The Studies Building was built by the faculty and students from the college, with construction daily after morning classes. Due to a steel shortage caused by World War II, wood and stone was used.The college closed in 1957, and ownership transferred to Camp Rockmont. Today, the property is owned by Lake Eden Preserve. The Lake Eden preserve is a group of approximately 80 people associated with Camp Rockmont and work to preserve the grounds.A nonprofit known as the Black Mountain College Studies Building Foundation is working to preserve the Studies Building and operate it as a center for creative arts.Speaking at the June 30 press conference, Board Chair Matt Crawford said the announcement marks the start of a public capital campaign. He said if things go as planned, restoration work will begin in fall 2027 with completion by spring 2029.As part of the June 30 press conference, Executive Director of the Black Mountain College Studies Building Foundation Chuck Flournoy said the naming of the building to the Irreplaceable America project is fitting.“Black Mountain College and the Studies Building are quintessentially American,” Flournoy said. “The themes you’ll hear today as people speak are stories of courage, creativity, collaboration, innovation, ingenuity, resilience.”