Author: Jim

20th Century Architecture, Furniture and Finishes

Start date: 03/21/17

Molly Osler teaches this class which is for anyone interested in 20th century architecture and design. 
It investigates mid-century modern design with an emphasis on historical aspects of domestic surroundings,
including an investigation of the Bauhaus School and its influence on 20th and 21st century architecture and interiors.

Three Michigan Architects

three-michigan-architects-brigham-metcalf-and-osler-256px-256pxThree Michigan Architects: Brigham, Metcalf, and Osler

by Joseph Rosa and Nancy Bartlett

In 2014 the University of Michigan Museum of Art, as part of their U-M Collections Collaborations series, held a number of exhibition showing the work of three very talented Ann Arbor architects who helped define the mid-century modern style. This UMMA Books publication lovingly recreates and summarizes the many photographs, blueprints, and renderings that were on display.

Robert C. Metcalf Obituary

metcalf-photoWe were deeply saddened to learn that Robert C. Metcalf passed away on January 3, 2017 at the age of 93.

It is impossible for us to overstate Bob’s contributions to Ann Arbor’s rich heritage and collection of mid-century modern architecture and to A2Modern. In addition to his private practice consisting of around 150 projects, Bob was a professor at the Taubman College of Architecture at the University of Michigan and its long-serving Dean.

Along with his contemporary David Osler and George B. Brigham, with whom he apprenticed, his work forms the core of that Ann Arbor’s modern design legacy. We were thrilled when their work received recognition in the University of Michigan Art Museum’s “Three Architects” exhibit in 2014

A2 Modern is indebted to Bob for the many times he opened up the home that he and his wife Bettie built in the early 1950s and which is featured on the cover of our Ann Arbor Hills map. He was always gracious in hosting tours of his house and talks about his work. He helped us as we were identifying mid-century modern houses and their architects for our survey. We were honored whenever he could attend one of our house tours. We also know that many of those who own his homes have experienced that same honor in having the chance to talk with him.

On a personal note, my wife Nancy and I had the pleasure of being Bob’s client from 2007 through 2009. Nancy asked if he would redesign the previously remodeled entryway to our Brigham designed house. We were unsure whether he would take the project. He told us that he prepared the drawings for the house when he was an apprentice for Brigham and had not been inside it since 1951. Yet, he remembered specific details of how Brigham’s design developed as they spent more time with the client. We were thrilled when after walking through the house and listening to our goals Bob said that he would take the job because “George [Brigham] would want me to do it.”

During our project we learned many things about Bob and his work, which we greatly appreciated. He had a deep memory and liked to talk with us about his projects. Each one posed the challenges to him of balancing his client’s interests and needs with his ideas for the design and function of the home. We learned how his work was influenced by things such as a trip he took to Japan, his observation of the work of his contemporaries in Ann Arbor, and how each project could be a learning experience for him.

We also learned about how he immersed himself into his projects. He was extremely detailed, including with respect to other functional issues with the house. We were surprised when he told us the first order of business was to redesign our roof to address certain drainage problems he had noted. Only when that was completed could we talk about the design of our entrance.

He told us that the first order of business each day was to go to the job site and check on its progress. Even at the age of 84 he made sure he did the same with our project. When our roof was being reconstructed he climbed ladders to take a look. When concrete walls were being formed he was there observing. He continued to come to our house every day until our project was completely finished.

A2 Modern is grateful for the legacy that Bob and his contemporaries have left to Ann Arbor.   We are dedicated to maintaining the legacy and enhancing the appreciation of the extensive collection of mid-century modern architecture in Ann Arbor, and we plan to have continued tours of other Metcalf designed houses in Ann Arbor.

We also encourage homeowners and anyone who is interested in his work to read about him here on our website or delve into his archives located at the University of Michigan’s Bentley Historical Library.

The Taubman College of Architecture at the University of Michigan has also issued a memorial tribute.

Dave Deromedi

A2 Modern

 

 

Links

 

Here are some links to other modern architecture sites you may enjoy:

 

mi-modern-logoMichigan Modern® is a project of the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), a division of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA).

 

mid-century-michigan-logo1Mid-Century Michigan is a project aimed at documenting modern homes in Grand Rapids, Michigan. With a focus on mid-century-modernism, the homes featured on this blog were built between 1940-1975.

 

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West Michigan Modern was launched seven years ago to document modern architecture and design throughout West Michigan.   Now beginning it’s seventh year, the WMM digital archive contains information, interviews and images old and new of commercial buildings, homes, schools, churches and civic buildings.

 

docomomo_us_logo_491x77docomomo-us is the chapter of the international organization that is named for the acronym Documentation and conservation of buildings, sites, and neighborhoods of the modern movement.

 

 

Wells Bennett / Barbara Bergman Open House

Saturday, May 14th, at 2 PM, 3 PM and 4 PM

This is the first modern home that Wells Ira Bennett designed, although at that time, 1953, he’d designed almost thirty houses in more traditional styles. He is best remembered for hiring a group of stellar modern architects while dean from 1938 to 1957 of U-M’s College of Architecture.

Bennett arrived at U-M in 1912 as an instructor and rose to leadership through his early interest in low-cost housing and city planning. As a practicing architect, Bennett was active after 1921, developing a considerable residential practice, mainly with faculty clients.  His first project was a home for himself and his family at 500 Highland. He kept busy in the 1920s and early 1930s, designing homes in the styles of the time, mainly Tudor and Colonial Revivals.  He stopped during the Depression, when few could afford to build, and then became too busy in his years as dean.

Taking over the deanship from Emil Lorch, he followed Lorch’s example of encouraging new ideas and modern styles.  He invited many of leading architects of the day to participate in seminars and conferences.  After WWII, he began hiring some of the stars of  Modernism, luring both Walter Sanders and William Muschenheim from successful practices in New York City, and Edward Olencki and Joe Albano, both of whom studied under and then worked with Mies van der Rohe, from Chicago.  He also hired talented U-M grads such as Robert Metcalf and Tivadar Balogh.  These hires not only brought prestige to the U-M architecture school but built many fine examples of modern architecture in the Ann Arbor area.

In 1953, as Bennett was nearing retirement, and after a long hiatus, he designed a house, this one again for himself.  He sited it on the front lawn of his first house, on land that sloped down to Geddes.  Although this was his first modern house, he had by then seen many examples from the rest of the faculty and of course had a dream group of colleagues to advise him if he had questions. Bennett died in 1966.

Barbara and Rueben Bergman bought the house in 1980 from Sybil Bennett’s estate and moved in with their three sons. They made the house their own –enlarging windows, reconstructing the side balcony so it would be safe, enlarging and improving the master bathroom, making a closet out of a hallway for more storage, while still keeping the totally modern feel and in fact improving it with more natural light pouring in. The most interesting change is a small room with a tower added to what was basically a galley kitchen.  Designed by Janet Attarian, it not only makes the interior feel more roomy, but gives the outside of the house more pizazz.

For tickets go to a2modern.myevents.com

Grace Shackman and Jeffrey Welch.

Photo courtesy of Carolyn Lepard

 

 

 

Modern Cuba Encore

Back, by popular demand –

 

Modern Cuba:  Slideshow by Howard Shapiro

May 7, 3-5 PM:  Slide show starts promptly at 3:30 PM

Cost: $15: Proceeds will go toward upgrading our website.

 

Last October Howard participated in a do.co.mo.mo-US sponsored tour “Modern Cuba.” The architecture of Havana from the colonial area to the present was surveyed with an emphasis on the modern era prior to and following the revolution, including interior visits to numerous structures not open to the general public. Howard’s slideshow demonstrates the relationship of changing architectural styles to corresponding social changes and major historical events. Highlights include the Tropicana Cabaret (Max Borges Recio, 1951-1956), the Alfred de Schulthess House (Richard Neutra, 1956), and the National Art Schools (Ricardo Porro, Vittorio Garatti and Roberto Gottardi, 1960-1964).

To purchase tickets go to a2modern.myevent.com

Modern Cuba

Modern Cuba:  Slideshow by Howard Shapiro in his 1965 Alden Dow house, 7 Regent Drive

April 16, 2-5 p.m.:  Slides at 3 with tours of the house before and after.

Cost: $20: Proceeds will go toward upgrading our website.

 

Last October Howard participated in a do.co.mo.mo-US sponsored tour “Modern Cuba.” The architecture of Havana from the colonial area to the present was surveyed with an emphasis on the modern era prior to and following the revolution, including interior visits to numerous structures not open to the general public. Howard’s slideshow demonstrates the relationship of changing architectural styles to corresponding social changes and major historical events. Highlights include the Tropicana Cabaret (Max Borges Recio, 1951-1956), the Alfred de Schulthess House (Richard Neutra, 1956), and the National Art Schools (Ricardo Porro, Vittorio Garatti and Roberto Gottardi, 1960-1964).

To purchase tickets go to a2modern.myevent.com

 

36th Annual Michigan Modernism Exposition

The Detroit Area Art Deco Society is sponsoring a Michigan Modernism Exposition Preview party on Friday, April 8, 2016.

The 36th Annual Michigan Modernism Exposition will feature premier national dealers offering furniture, decorative and fine arts representing all design movements of the 20th century.

Each year the Detroit Area Art Deco Society cues up their biggest fundraiser of the year with an Annual Preview Party. Break out your best 1960s party attire in tribute to Detroit’s 1960’s supper clubs and sip a complimentary Tom Collins.

This year DAADS sets the stage with the theme celebrating a “Night on the Town: A Salute to Detroit’s Historic 1960’s Dining Spots.”

Take a trip down memory lane while you’re visually presented with Jeffery Bladow’s vintage 1960 Cadillac ready to roll with fashions from Leah’s Closet styled to the 1960s, Detroit’s own DJ Dave Lawson spinning vinyl tracks that he’s hand-curated from stacks of Detroit 45s from the 50s and 60s to set the tone for the evening.

On display will be a fabulous collection of vintage menus and collectibles from Detroit dinning spots presented courtesy of George Bulanda. George’s personal collection was recently presented in Hour Detroit and his collection contains iconic venues like the London Chop House, Little Harry’s, and the Pontchartrain Wine Cellars. Our curator, Rebecca Savage’s favorite “Top of the Flame” once high a top on the 26th floor of the Mich Con Building. Several other personal collections will be on display and will take you back to those glamorous and slightly crazy nights in Detroit hitting all your favorite dinning spots.

Stroll aisle upon aisle of mid-century finds designed by such greats as Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Comfort, Tiffany, Herman Miller, Heywood Wakefield, the Stickleys, and so many other talented designers representing the Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Prairie, Arts and Crafts, Surrealistic and Neo-Classical Schools of Design.

Serious collectors will be thrilled to preview the show before the public opening on Saturday morning, while others will be content to sip wine, sample the sumptuous food and enjoy the music. It’s a spectacular evening for all.

Preview Party Tickets are on sale and may be purchased for $65 in advance and this year DAADS is excited to announce our New Collector ticket of $30 under 30. Tickets are available by visiting the Detroit Area Art Deco Society website at www.daads.org

 

The Michigan Modernism Exposition Preview Party

Friday, April 8, 2016, 7:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.

Southfield Pavilion, 26000 Evergreen Road, Southfield, MI 48076

 

The Detroit Area Art Deco Society is a private not-for-profit corporation founded in 1986 by a group of collectors and enthusiasts interested in the decorative objects, architecture, preservation and design of the Art Deco period. The non-staffed organization is operated by a highly dedicated Board of Directors and a committed pool of on-call volunteers, providing education, documentation and design assistance to the community. www.daads.org

Martin Schwartz Shines in Gunnar Birkerts Talk

More than twenty brave souls made it to Martin Schwartz’s talk on Gunnar Birkerts, in spite of the dangerous driving conditions of the last big snow of the season.   Schwartz spoke on Birkerts’ unique methods of bringing light into his buildings.  We learned not only about specific Birkerts’ buildings, some not well-known, but also gained a great appreciation of the challenges of bringing in light with which all architects wrestle.

 

Lecture: Gunnar Birkerts: The Work Speaks for Itself

In his talk on March 1, Martin Schwartz will discuss his first conversations with Gunnar Birkerts about his work, researching in the Birkerts collections at the University of Michigan Bentley Library, and how this led to the book, Gunnar Birkerts: Metaphoric Modernist.  He will concentrate his remarks on his and Gunnar’s shared interest in how architecture and daylight work together to make great spaces and enhance the experience of architecture, ideas that Gunnar addressed throughout his professional career.

The lecture will take place on March 1, at 7 PM in the Whiting Room of the Bentley Historical Library, at 1150 Beal Ave., Ann Arbor, MI  48109.

Martin Schwartz is an architect as well as an Associate Professor and Associate Chair at the Department of Architecture at Lawrence Technological University.  He is the author of the architectural essays in the book, Gunnar Birkerts: Metaphoric Modernist (2009), an anthology of the architect’s career in design.

Martin’s research concerns daylight and its broad influence on architectural and urban design, specifically how a knowledge of daylight enables architects and urban designers to make a range of design decisions far beyond meeting minimum illumination standards.  His current scholarship focuses on how daylight influences the making of architectural space and form.  Martin writes a blog about daylight, Architecture in the Light of Day, which may be found at www.architectureinthelightofday.blogspot.com/.

Martin was the Willard A. Oberdick Fellow at the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan in 1991-1992.   In 1994, he was the Frederick Charles Baker Distinguished Professor in Lighting at the Department of Architecture at the University of Oregon.