Why, after so many years of excellent public and commercial architecture in Columbus, Indiana, are there almost no modern houses? Why, when you drive north from Florida’s South Beach passing miles and miles of waterfront houses, less than one percent are anything we would call architecture? Why do Americans drive designer cars and drink designer coffee but live, most all of them, in a house or apartment that is pretending to be the home of some wealthy ancestors long deceased?

Are we determined as a profession to continue to define ourselves in ways that isolate us from the greater part of the society in which we practice? Can we find some definitions of architectural excellence upon which we can agree and that we can explain successfully to the silent majority? Is it even something we want to do?

Join us as we visit the work of Eliel and Eero Saarinen, Kevin Roche, I.M Pei, William Rawn, Stanley Saitowitz, Paul Kennon, HHPA, Deborah Berke and others. Enjoy a unique visit to a collaborative masterpiece, the Miller House by Eero Saarinen, Dan Kiley and Alexander Girard.

We will be joined by the following architects, all of whom have work in Columbus: Gunnar Birkerts, Ben and Cynthia Weese (representing Harry Weese), Daniel McCoubrey and Nancy Rogo Trainer (representing VSBA), Ralph Johnson of Perkins+Will, Carlos Jimenez, Jane Weinzapfel,, Kevin Kennon and Fred Koetter and Susie Kim.

Registration
Early registration closes Feb 29th
AIA Members (and guests): $600
Non-Member Professional: $700 Optional Tour – West Baden $275

Hotel Reservations
Hotel block closes March 9th
Hotel Indigo Columbus, Indiana
400 Brown St, Columbus, IN 47201
812-375-9100

Itinerary and Education
Full Conference Itinerary
Over 15 CEHs will be available

Limited Edition Signed Commemorative Poster
100 available at $25 each

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Detroit chapter invites you to join the 2011 AIA Bloomfield/Bloomfield Hills House Tour. Touring these homes, designed by AIA architects, will envelop participants in the rich history of residential design. From post-industrial through mid-century modern to the contemporary. Generations of cutting-edge design are on display combining famous names like Wright, Saarinen and Birkerts with local modern design pioneers McIntosh Poris, Wolk and Fanning Howey.

The tour starts at the Bloomfield Township Public Library on Telegraph and Lone Pine Road in Bloomfield Hills, MI (map). The tour begins at 11am. Tickets are $25 day of tour, $20 in advance. Tickets may be purchased in advance at several local businesses, www.aiadetroit.com or by calling AIA Detroit at 313-965-4100. Please make checks payable to AIA Detroit. Sorry, no refunds, cameras or children under 12.

Douglas House, Harbor Springs, Michigan. Designed by Richard Meier and constructed in 1973.

Dwell.com recently published an article by J. Michael Welton that discusses the restoration of Richard Meier-designed Douglas House by the home’s new owners.

Constructed in 1973, the Douglas House is, as Lissa Edwards notes, a “daring, liberating engineering and design feat that resulted in the internationally acclaimed.” Paul Goldberger, then-architecture critic for The New York Times, wrote in 1974 that the house was “the best example yet of Meier’s evolving style–and it is perhaps one of the most skillfully wrought pieces of American housing design in years.”

Photographs of the restored home, taken by Dean Kaufmann, can be viewed at the Dwell.com site.

General Motors Technical Center, Warren, Michigan. SHPO National Register of Historic Places file photograph.

The State Historic Preservation Office of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to develop a National Historic Landmark nomination for the General Motors Technical Center in Warren, Michigan, designed by Eero Saarinen.

The 2000 General Motors Technical Center National Register of Historic Places Registration Form can be downloaded here.

The RFP is available on the Bid4Michigan website.

Proposals are due on September 15, 2011 at 4 p.m.

UPDATE 8/22/2011:

If your company is a non-Michigan (foreign) entity that wishes to submit a proposal in response to the RFP for the General Motors Technical Center National Historic Landmark nomination, you do NOT need to have an office in the State of Michigan as indicated on page 2, II. Required Qualifications (E) of the RFP. Your company does need to submit a Certificate of Status from the Michigan Department of Economic Growth that shows they are authorized to do business in Michigan.

Firms that have been approved for the MSHDA RCQ for Technical Assistance for Cultural Management 2011-2012 list DO need to file a Certificate of Status form for the GM Tech RFP.

According to the descriptions, the two videos below were created by Alden B. Dow in the summer of 1933 at Taliesin. The narrator is William Wesley Peters.

The videos provide an intimate look into the casual side of life at Taliesin.

Note that the audio seems to go in and out on the Part 1.

A workshop presented by the National Preservation Institute in cooperation with the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority

Advance registration through August 1, 2011 $450; after August 1 $500.

William & Mary Shuford Palmer House, Ann Arbor, Michigan

A registration form is available at the NPI website. Registration includes the 2-day workshop, lunch, and an evening tour of the 1952 Frank Lloyd Wright-designed William B. & Mary Shuford Palmer House on September 13.

The Dahlman Campus Inn, centrally located in downtown Ann Arbor, was designed by architect R. Gould of the Detroit architectural firm King & Lewis in 1968. A block of rooms has been reserved at the inn under State Historic Preservation Office or Block #5463. Please call the inn directly at 1-800-666-8693 to reserve a room or visit their website.

Workshop
The workshop will provide an overview of the development of post-World War II architectural resources. Discussion will include property types from motels to suburban office parks; the variety of styles and character defining features of common Post-War house types such as the ranch and split level; modern materials and construction techniques including concrete, pre-fab, and Lustrons; and development trends from Levittown to Urban Renewal. Emphasis is on mass merchant designs as opposed to architect designed buildings. An agenda is available at the NPI website.

Who Should Attend
Architects; historic preservation consultants; historians; planners; federal, state, and local agency cultural resource managers; historic district commission members; students; professors or anyone interested in architectural history.

• AIA/CES. This seminar meets the criteria for programs in the American Institute of Architects Continuing Education System and AIA members will receive 6 learning units each day.
• The workshop will address the evaluation of post-war buildings in terms of their significance for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, with consideration of Section 106, Section 110, and Section 4(f) issues.

Instructors
James C. Massey, architectural historian and planner, former HABS chief, contributing editor to Old-House Journal, and historic preservation consultant with a particular interest in the mid-20th century.

Shirley Maxwell, historian, historic preservation consultant, contributing editor to Old-House Journal, and co-author of House Styles in America and other publications.

Questions?
Please contact the National Preservation Institute via email or at the address below.

Jere Gibber, Executive Director
National Preservation Institute
P.O. Box 1702, Alexandria, VA 22313
703/765-0100; 703/768-9350 fax

The National Preservation Institute, a nonprofit organization founded in 1980, educates those involved in the management, preservation, and stewardship of our cultural heritage.

The 2011-2012 National Preservation Institute seminar schedule is available online.

The 2011-2012 NPI News Release includes the calendar and seminar descriptions.

John Lautner

Beginning on August 19, 2011, the DeVos Art Museum at Northern Michigan University (NMU) will be holding an exhibition of the work of John Lautner, a Michigan native and NMU alumnus.

After graduating from NMU Lautner studied with Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin before moving to Los Angeles. “Considered one of the visionary architects of the twentieth century”, Lautner “became well known for designing innovative structures, particularly residential buildings that demonstrated a true sensitivity to location, space, structure and the wishes and needs of the clients he worked with.”

The exhibition features a number of lectures and film screenings.

For more information about the exhibition, please see the DeVos Art Museum website.

Edmund S. & Catherine Botch House, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Designed by Robert C. Metcalf, 1957.

The National Preservation Institute (NPI) is offering a seminar on the identification and evaluation of mid-20th century buildings in Ann Arbor on September 12-13, 2011.

The seminar will “discuss how post-World War II structures fit into today’s and tomorrow’s historic preservation patterns. With an emphasis on the 1950’s and 1960’s, examine era-specific factors that help to identify and evaluate post-war buildings in terms of their significance for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, with consideration of Section 106, Section 110, and Section 4(f) issues.”

To register or for more information visit the NPI website.

What: a2modern walking tour

Where: tour will highlight fabulous mid-century architecture in Ann Arbor Hills

When: thursday, july 28, 2011 6:30

Cost: $10 donation to a2modern for future programming, $8 students

Note: due to the high response to the walking tour held june 22, we are offering this tour again!

Join a2modern for a walking tour of one of the cool concentrated pockets of mid-century architecture in Ann Arbor Hills.

Learn who designed what and for who circa 1950-1960

Architects featured include Robert Metcalf, George Brigham, William Muschenheim, Herb Johe, Edward Olencki and David Osler.

This tour will be an exterior housewalk and is limited to 20 persons.

Please rsvp to Tracy Aris.

Details on meeting place will follow with rsvp confirmation!

Join the Detroit Area Art Deco Society for an evening of architecture, music, and design.

Enjoy a lovely selection of hors d’oeuvres, hand-selected wines, beverages, and a silent auction.

The Wendell Harrison Swing Trio is ready to set the tone of this special evening for our members.

Valet parking included.

Tickets must be purchased in advance. There are a limited number of tickets available due to the home’s capacity. Tickets are first come, first served.

Please note: Members may purchase up to two (2) tickets at the $100 price by July 1st.

Tickets are available here.

• $100 – Detroit Area Art Deco Society Member Ticket
• $125 – Join & Go Ticket – this includes an individual membership to DAADS at a discounted rate (one time offer)
• $150 – Champagne and tour with homeowners Norm Silk and Dale Morgan. Tour begins at 6:00 P.M.

Proceeds from this event benefit the Detroit Area Art Deco Society’s scholarship program. The Detroit Area Art Deco Society is a Michigan not-for-profit 501 (c) (3) organization.

Location: 2760 West Seven Mile Road, Detroit, MI (map)

Date & Time: Saturday, July 23rd, 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM