News & Events

cranbrook, flw in the area

This past weekend several of us carpooled to Cranbrook Art Museum for a guided tour of the George Nelson exhibit–it was fantastic. We then had a tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright designed “Gregor Affleck” home on Woodward avenue. What a beautiful home. Just so you know, the Nelson exhibit continues at Cranbrook until October 14, 2012. In addition, there is an accompanying exhibit “Vision and Interpretation: Building Cranbrook 1904-2012” in the lower level of the museum. For FLW enthusiasts, Cranbrook is sponsoring a tour of the Smith house on September 30, 2012 at 1:00 and 3:00. Tickets are $25 and you can obtain them by calling 248-645-3319.

Photographs of a2modern at the Gregor Affleck residence by Frank Lloyd Wright. The tour was lead by Brian Shell.

umma 2 great exhibits to see this summer

The University of Michigan Museum of Art currently has until September 2, 2012 two great exhibits. One is abstract art form the collection (including works by Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Helen Frankenthaler, Robert Motherwell and Joan Miro) curated by Professor Celeste Brusati and the other (exhibited in the gallery next to the abstract art) is a wonderful architectural photograph exhibit “The Flatness of Ambiguity.” The photographs are by Judith Turner and include photographs of architectural works by Wright, Alvar Alto and Meier. Both exhibits are outstanding and a2modern highly recommends a stop at the museum before September 2.

residential modern receive ann arbor awards

Six modern homes received Ann Arbor Historic Preservation awards this past Monday evening June 4th at the 24th Annual Ann Arbor Preservation Awards ceremony held at the City Council meeting! As Susan Wineberg, chair of the preservation awards committee states “Mid-Century Modern is getting more attention.” Six such properties were recognized, five of which are in the Ann Arbor Hills neighborhood.

Preservation awards are in recognition of superior maintenance of a significant property to preserve its essential historical, cultural or architectural value for a period of 10 years or more.

Let’s celebrate:

1. Kenneth and Elizabeth Baird – 1223 Pontiac Trail. Residence built by Jean Paul Slusser, designed by George Brigham (1939)

2. Kenneth and Elizabeth Nesbit – 1334 Arlington Boulevard, originally built for UM Professor Carl Rufus and his wife; House known by its “Moon Gate” in the front yard, inspired by original owners’ work in astronomy and world travels.

3. Jane and James Kister – 2250 Belmont Road
• Built in 1950
• Designed by Walter Sanders, UM Professor.

4. Peter Hinman – 1075 Chestnut Street
• Built for physician Dr. Lyle Elliott and his wife Pauline in 1961
• Designed by UM Professor of Architecture Robert Metcalf

5. Glenn Watkins – 1336 Glendaloch Circle
• Built in 1959
• Designed by UM Professor of Architecture Herbert Johe

6. Myron and Barbara Levine – 356 Hilldale Drive
• Built for the Levines in 1962 • Designed by Donald Van Curler

In addition, a2modern received a Special Merit Award for the promotion of modernism in Ann Arbor!

Related article:
See related full article at: Concentrate Media

preservation news:

Architect Minoru Yamasaki’s work to be restored at Wayne State University
by John Gallager, from the Detroit Free Press:
“One of Detroit’s most significant works by famed architect Minoru Yamasaki will be restored thanks to a $1.8-million project beginning next month.

The work will restore the pools of water and surrounding sculpture garden at the McGregor Memorial Conference Center at Wayne State University.

The jewel-like McGregor Center has long been considered by many to be among the finest buildings designed by Yamasaki, the Detroit-based architect best known for designing the World Trade Center towers in New York City. Yamasaki died in 1986.

The McGregor Center was built in 1958. The pools remained filled with water until the early ’80s, when leaks and other functional problems led Wayne State to drain them. The pools have remained empty and something of an eyesore ever since.

See full article at: Architect Minoru Yamasaki’s work to be restored at Wayne State University

ann arbor women's city club tour

Interior view: Robert C. Metcalf’s home

This year, Robert C. Metcalf’s modernist home will be part of the Ann Arbor Women’s City Club tour Sunday June 3, 2012. This is a wonderful opportunity to experience Ann Arbor modern. Even if you have had the opportunity in the past to see this home, Bob added an addition in 2008 that includes an office and garage. Definitely worth seeing the seamless integration of the original 1952 home with the 2008 addition. See the Ann Arbor City Club website for further information and hold this date!

See annarbor.com article at Women’s City Club Features Metcalf home

conference: michigan historic preservation conference

Michigan Historic Preservation Conference

2012 Conference:“Model Change-Over: A New Era for Historic Preservation in Michigan”

The Michigan Historic Preservation Network announces that its 32nd Annual Statewide Preservation Conference will take place May 10-12, 2012, in Flint, headquartered at the historic downtown Masonic Temple.

A model change-over, for those of us who have lived in the automobile capitol of the world for any length of time, is a time of expectation. It happens every Fall when the assembly lines are stopped and re-tooled. At the North American International Auto Show in January, you then may find that your long-time favorite has some subtle restyling, or there’s the flashbulb-popping excitement of a completely new model. When the concept of model change-over is applied to historic preservation, however, and is introduced at a time of economic uncertainty and a significant change in our state’s political direction, it is anything but benign. In the work we do – in which an impossibly delicate balance is maintained saving irreplaceable historic buildings while using their preservation as a sturdy tool of economic revitalization – ill-designed adjustments under the hood can cause more harm than good…or inspire fresh, creative thinking.

Of particular interest to a2modern see May 10th 3:15-5:00 session on the Michigan Modern project.

Complete Schedule

a2modern in the news

State Historic Preservation Officer Brian Conway speaks on the importance of a2modern residential architecture in
Ann Arbor’s modern architecture matters too, May 2, 2012

exhibit: inside lafayette park

LAFAYETTE PLAZA, 1565 EAST LAFAYETTE STREET

What: An exhibition on Lafayette Park featuring THE SETTLEMENT SHAPE, a project by Milan Politecnico University; work from THANKS FOR THE VIEW, MR. MIES, a book forthcoming Fall 2012; and an installation by ROGUEHAA. Opening Reception
Sat. 4/14, 6–9 pm

Open to the Public
Sun. 4/15, 12–4 pm Wed. 4/18, 7–9 pm
Sun. 4/22, 12–4 pm And by appointment Contact: Noah Resnick (resnicns@udmercy.edu)

This exhibition is made possible by Milan Politecnico University, University of Detroit-Mercy School of Architecture, Lawrence Technological University, Wayne State University, RogueHAA, Detroit Creative Corridor Center, Lafayette Foods, Preservation Wayne, and the Deco Society.

preservation award for "In Memoriam, Carlson Terrace, 1957-2007"

Ethel Goodstein-Murphree has received the 2011 Ned Shank Award for Outstanding Preservation Publication from the Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas for her article, “In Memoriam, Carlson Terrace, 1957-2007.”

This article, published in Preservation Education and Research, the journal of the National Council for Preservation Education, examines the challenges of preserving mid-century modern architecture through a case study of how this project designed by Edward Durell Stone was lost. Built in three phases between 1957 and 1964, Carlson Terrace offered functional, low-cost housing to accommodate the influx of married students who flocked to the campus early in the post-World War II era. For 50 years, Carlson Terrace was called “home” by generations of University of Arkansas students. But after falling into disrepair, it was razed in 2007, adding to a growing list of works by the Fayetteville native that have been demolished or irrevocably altered.

Ethel Goodstein-Murphree is associate dean and professor of architecture in the Fay Jones School of Architecture at the University of Arkansas. She has a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. Goodstein-Murphree is strong advocate for the preservation of mid-century modern architecture. Please see the entire news release

See also a very interesting video on You Tube called “Clean Lines, Open Spaces: A View of Mid-Century Modern Architecture” that Professor Goodstein-Murphree served as architectural advisor.

conference: Society of Architectural Historians-Detroit

What: Society of Architectural Historians
Where: Detroit
When: April 18-22, 2012
Program and further information

The Society of Architectural Historians is a group that resonates fully with the emphasis on placemaking that is key to Michigan’s future because buildings are among the most significant ingredients of “place.” At the recent 2011 Annual Conference in New Orleans, there was buzz about coming to Detroit. Members already know that the City has magnificent buildings – from early 19th century remnants to stunning Mid-Century Moderns – because they know the auto industry produced wealth unparalleled by any other city of its time. Those influencing the look of Detroit were carmakers shaping American taste and on the cutting-edge of everything from architectural style to materials to color. Other manufacturing cities also produced wealth, but it was one thing to make steel, construct railroad cars, and assemble cash registers, and quite another to be sculpting the American automobile – the direct route to the national psyche with promises of freedom and speed.

– Janet Kreger, 2012 SAH Annual Conference Local Committee