News

Event at David Osler's Former Architectural Studio-Thank you!

Thanks to all that made the event on August 10th, 2014 at David Osler’s former architectural studio and former Ann Arbor Light and Power station a memorable afternoon. Thanks to Molly and Connie Osler for sharing so much about the history of the building, the work on restoring the building and how it was used. Thanks to the current owners Dr. Kristine Freeark and Dr. Robert Zucker for opening the building to a2modern and sharing your experience with working with David Osler on retrofitting the space to work for your business. And, thanks to Helen Aminoff, Osler’s office manager and several former employees for being there to share your stories! Enjoy a few photographs courtesy of Susan Wineberg.

Three Michigan Architects: Part 3—George Brigham (new addition, Free Press Review)

Three Michigan Architects: Part 3—George Brigham

Also, see August 21 review of the show by Michael Hodges, Detroit Free Press.

July 19–October 12, 2014

Three Michigan Architects: Part 3—George Brigham is the last in a series of three consecutive exhibitions. Part 1 of the series presented the work of David Osler (December 21, 2013–March 30, 2014) and Part 2, the work of Robert Metcalf (April 5–July 13, 2014). The series will culminate on October 5, 2014 with a symposium that will explore the importance of this circle of Ann Arbor-based architects, situating their regional body of domestic work into the larger context of modern architecture in the U.S. that developed on the East Coast and West Coast from the 1930s–1980s. Symposium participants include UMMA Director Joseph Rosa, Head of the University Archives Program at the Bentley Historical Library Nancy Bartlett, Bentley Associate Archivist and Head of Digital Curation Services Nancy Deromedi, and Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning faculty Claire Zimmerman, Greg Saldaña, Craig Borum, and Robert Beckley.

This exhibition is part of the U-M Collections Collaborations series, which showcases the renowned and diverse collections of the University of Michigan. This series inaugurates UMMA’s collaboration with the Bentley Historical Library, and is generously supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Lead support for Three Michigan Architects.

Image source: George B. Brigham, Architect, Hazen Residence exterior, Ann Arbor, MI, 1949, Courtesy of the U-M Bentley Historical Library

Patterson house tour: thank you!

a2modern thanks everyone who came Saturday to the Patterson House tour! We would like to thank the homeowners, Audra Wenzlow and Dave Hollinden; special guests Eunice Burns and Ann Ormand; and several UMMA docents. We hope you enjoyed the afternoon and wanted to note that the Robert C. Metcalf exhibit at the University of Michigan Museum of Art ends July 13th.

Rendering: Robert C. Metcalf Collection, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan

a2modern is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization formed to raise the appreciation and awareness of modern architecture and design in Ann Arbor. Contact: modernists@a2modern.org

Paul Evans: Crossing Boundaries and Crafting Modernism (exhibit at Cranbrook)

Paul Evans: Crossing Boundaries and Crafting Modernism
ArtMembers’ Opening Reception: Friday, June 20, 2014
Public Exhibition Dates: June 21, 2014 – October 12, 2014
Note: Cranbrook Art Museum will be closed Friday, July 4, 2014

This first comprehensive survey of Paul Evans’s work, this exhibition will document Evans’s role in the midcentury American studio furniture movement, his approach to furniture as sculpture and abstract composition, and his unremitting new approaches to metal. Opening earlier this year at the Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and then traveling to Cranbrook Art Museum—the only other venue for the exhibition—Paul Evans: Crossing Boundaries and Crafting Modernism will be comprised of some sixty-eight works, spanning the artist’s entire career. It includes choice examples of Evans’s early metalwork and jewelry, collaborative pieces made by Evans and Phillip Lloyd Powell during the fifties when they shared a studio, as well as a comprehensive selection of Evans’s studio work representing his sculpted steel; verdigris copper; copper, bronze and pewter; argenté sculpted bronze, and cityscape techniques. The show will also include examples of Evans’s sculpture as well as a selection of work he produced for Directional Furniture Company. The presentation at Cranbrook Art Museum will include work by Evans’s contemporaries selected from Cranbrook’s permanent collection, including the celebrated Shuey Collection, placing his pioneering designs for furniture with the context of concurrent trends in midcentury art and design.

Paul Evans studied Metalsmithing at Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1952 and 1953, working with Artist-in-Residence Richard Thomas.

For an interview with architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien on Paul Evans, please click here.

Paul Evans: Crossing Boundaries and Crafting Modernism was organized by the James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and curated by Constance Kimmerle. The presentation at Cranbrook is supported, in part, by the David Klein and Kathryn Ostrove Exhibition Fund.

a2modern is officially a 501 (c) 3 organization

(June 2, 2014)

a2modern is now a not for profit 501 (c) 3 organization! As of today, a2modern can accept donations, gifts, and other transfers to the organization. All proceeds from the organization are used for the mission of the organization which is to raise the awareness and appreciation of modern design and architecture. To date, a2modern has done this through programs, tours, research, lectures and printed materials like the a2modern map! Please consider giving to a2modern to continue the work we have been doing and to support new programs and projects!

Expanding the Line: Architectural Delineation (exhibit closes May 30th!)

Expanding the Line: Architectural Delineation

Exhibit: April 14th-May 30th

Location: Gallery One, Washtenaw Community College Student Center Building Room 108

This exhibition chronicles architectural drawing techniques from the 1920’s through the present day with illustrations of local buildings. Methods include drawing on vellum, mylar, and blueprint as well as sepia and blackline reproduction techniques. Technologies include a pin register drafting system, Computer-Aided Drafting, laser scanning, and Building Information Modeling (BIM).

Exhibits will include Hill Auditorium and General Motors Headquarters by Albert Kahn Associates, the Jean Paul Slusser home by George B. Brigham, the Dale Fosdick residence by David W. Osler, and the E. W. Reynolds home by Robert C. Metcalf.

Gallery One is located on the first floor of WCC’s Student Center building. Its hours are Monday and Tuesday from 10:00am to 6:00pm, Wednesday and Thursday from 10:00am to 8:00pm, and Friday from 10:00am to noon.

See WCC site for further information.

"Historic Ann Arbor: An Architectural Guide" Book signing this Thursday 5/22

For Immediate Release
May 10, 2014

The Ann Arbor Historical Foundation proudly announces the publication its new book Historic Ann Arbor: An Architectural Guide.
The book describes over 350 buildings in Ann Arbor, including 40 University of Michigan buildings. Style sections describe those of the 19th and 20th centuries including Mid-Century Modern. Superb examples of this style can be found in many parts of Ann Arbor.
The authors, Susan Wineberg and Patrick McCauley, will be signing books at a book release event on May 22 from 4-8 PM at the Ann Arbor City Club at 1830 Washtenaw Ave. Refreshments will also be served.

Contacts:
Patricia Austin, pkweaustin@comcast.net, President of the Foundation
Susan Wineberg, swines@umich.edu
Patrick McCauley, patrickmmccauley@hotmail.com

Michigan Modern: Design That Shaped America, GRAM exhibit now open!

Michigan Modern: Design That Shaped America
Exhibit now open through August 24, 2014
Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids, Michigan
For more information on the exhibit and video see: http://www.artmuseumgr.org/michigan-modern/

When Michigan’s industry and design intertwined, Michigan became an epicenter of modern design, with visionaries statewide turning from the simple generation of products to design that rippled throughout the country. Detroit’s automobile manufacturers styled automobiles synonymous with the American dream. The state’s furniture designers revolutionized the look of the American office and home. Michigan architects Albert Kahn, Eero Saarinen, and Minoru Yamasaki defined an era. Michigan’s industry, prosperity, and educational institutions attracted the design talent that formed the foundation for modern American design. This exhibition celebrates Michigan’s outstanding contributions to Modern design, and highlights the people who made it happen.

This exhibition was organized by the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office in association with Cranbrook Art Museum and curated by MPdL Studio of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Also, see review article by Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk | jkaczmarczyk@mlive.com at: http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2014/05/how_michigan_designs_shaped_th.html#incart_river_default

Michigan Historic Preservation Network Conference "Michigan Places Matter"

a2modern was asked to participate in panel discussion at 2014 MHPN Annual Statewide Preservation Conference – “Michigan Places Matter”

On Friday, May 16, 2014 from 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM, a2modern will be participate in a panel discussion on Modernism at the Michigan Historic Preservation’s statewide conference in Jackson, MI. Michigan Modern: The Local Side to the Designs that Shaped America, will showcase the growth of local efforts to recognize and protect the wealth of Modernism in Michigan communities. It includes the efforts in Ann Arbor, Midland and Southfield.

The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) will provide an overview of how Michigan continues to redefine the influence it exercised as Modernism spread nationally. Following that presentation, each local community has been asked to present each has worked with their diverse resources to survey, research, and promote Modernism in their community. This includes discussing how their activities might apply to the communities of those participating in the session.

Tracy Aris is representing a2modern on the panel that includes Brian Conway, SHPO; Craig McDonald, Director of The Alden B. Dow Home and Studio; and Kenson J. Siver, City Council President, City of Southfield. Melissa Milton-Pung of the Washtenaw County Planning Office will be the Panel Moderator.

“a2modern is pleased to be asked to participate in this conference,” explains Nancy Deromedi. “It is a recognition for our activities and partnerships that highlight and promote Ann Arbor’s significant contributions to Modernism.”

New Michigan DoCoMoMo chapter to meet at MHPN conference May 15th

The newly formed Michigan Chapter of DoCoMoMo will hold a meeting during the Michigan Historic Preservation Network’s Annual Conference in Jackson next week. We hope you can join us for our first general meeting as a provisional chapter, all are welcome. Bring your own lunch, there is a food vendor at the conference location.

While you are encouraged to register for the MHPN conference , it is not required in order to attend this special DoCoMoMo Michigan Chapter meeting.

Thursday, May 15th, 12:15 PM

The Atrium Area-Second Floor

(across from the Deli outside room 299, use WEST entrance for easiest access)

Commonwealth Commerce Center

209 E Washington Ave, Jackson, MI 49201

Look for Amara, she will be standing with a DOCOMOMO sign, call her at 303-819-2486 if you get lost.