Albert Kahn the architecture of

Act 1: Toward an American architecture

Quick Factscareer spanned 60 years9,000 structures, all facets of society!1,000 for Henry Fordmodest workaholic that supervised every project within the firm

henry hobson richardson

In the seventies and eighties a giant loomed on the horizon of the American architectural scene in the person of Henry Hobson Richardson. After graduating from Harvard in the class of 1859, he took up the study of architecture at the cole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. One of the first Americans to receive such splendid academic training, he returned to his homeland in 1865. All about him he found architecture in a distressing state of pettiness and indecision.

One might have expected him to launch forth on a crusade of French academic dogma, but apparently he must have felt that classicism in America was already a thing of the past. There was something about the Romanesque of southern France that appealed to his sense of honesty and simplicity, for there he found building masses resolved into elemental geometric components and the essential quality of masonry expressed in rough-hewn surfaces and sturdy round arches with deep reveals.8 Using this style as a point of departure, he was prepared to explore its possibilities in terms of the society in which he lived.

The first monument of the Romanesque Revival in America was Richardson's Trinity Church (1872-77) in Boston. Although the church proper was in the French Romanesque style, the design of the tower was borrowed from the Cathedral of Salamanca in Spain. Stained glass windows were designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones and John La Farge, and the latter also painted large figure panels. Such a triumph of architecture and allied arts received great acclaim, and soon the church became a model for similar structures throughout the nation.

The style became known as Richardson Romanesque Revival.

In Detroit, Mason and Rice rose to the occasion with the First Presbyterian Church (1889) on the northeast corner of Woodward avenue at Edmund place.' As at Richardson's Trinity, enormous masonry arches supported the massive tower, but there were certain marked differences from the Boston masterpiece. Rock-faced red sandstone was used instead of granite, the detail was less archeological, and the general outline was much more compact.

In Detroit, Mason and Rice rose to the occasion with the First Presbyterian Church (1889) on the northeast corner of Woodward avenue at Edmund place.' As at Richardson's Trinity, enormous masonry arches supported the massive tower, but there were certain marked differences from the Boston masterpiece. Rock-faced red sandstone was used instead of granite, the detail was less archeological, and the general outline was much more compact.

albert kahnborn in 1869, Rhaunen Germanyson of a Rabbioldest of six childrenrelatives in Detroit- moved in 1880

albert kahndreamed of bring an artistfamily impoverished Julius Melcher- sculptor and family frienddiscovered Kahn was partially colour blind1885- landed him a position with Mason & Rice

1891european apprenticeship

1891Italy, France, Belgium, Germany

1893william livingston house

1896Nettleton, Kahn & Trowbridge

1900Mason & Kahn

first experiment with reinforced concrete

1903Albert Kahn Associates

movement away from prison factories- conventional mill construction

1905Albert Kahn Associates

1905Albert Kahn Associates

1907Chalmers Motors

1909Albert & Henry

mass production: entire plant under one roofno dividing wallsindustrial steel from England- merged with concrete

1910Albert & Henry

1913Moving Assembly Line

game changerfactory that changed the world

Model T1908-1927- 15 million!

Ford Rouge1914-1930

Glass Plant1922

Ford engineering lab1925

ford airplane hangar- 1925

Albert & Henry

Kahn and AutomakersHudson Motor CompanyChalmers Motor CompanyFisher BodyContinental Motors CompanyStudebaker Motor CompanyDodge Brothers Corp.

1910Albert Kahn AssociatesResidential: captains of industryCommercial: modern AmericaInstitutional: University of MichiganPublic: Theatres, Schools, Temples

form follows function

belle isle conservatory, 1904

belle isle aquarium, 1904

National TheatreVinton Building

National Theatre

country club of detroit, 1905

detroit creamery, 1910

1910Albert Kahn Associates

Dodge Main

1915 Albert Kahn Associates

Fisher Body Flint MI.

fisher body flint

langley field 1917

fisher #21- 1919

parke davis- 1921

GM Headquarters1922

GM Headquarters1922

truscon steel- 1923

Fisher building1927

Fisher building1927

Maccabees building1927

albert kahn bldg.1931

Ford rotunda1934

The Rotundas central hall, suggestive of a huge gear or transmission, contained an inner ring of steel and glass with columns shrouded in chromium-plated copper focusing attention on the Central Rotunda which was open to the sky. At one point, it was the fifth most popular tourist destination in the United States in the mid-twentieth century. This futuristic structure received more visits in the 1950s than did the Statue of Liberty. The Rotunda was destroyed on November 9, 1962, due to a fire. The Ford Rotunda housed the Ford Archives, which survived the blazes intact due to a special carbon dioxide (cardox) fire protection system.[10] These archives then considered the most complete single collection of its kind consisted of over 14 million items, including business papers, memorabilia, and over 250,000 photographs.

Chrysler Sales1935

Glenn L. Martin1937-1939

Glenn L. Martin1937-1939

in only 77 days!

Chrysler dodge1938

Chrysler dodge1938

Burroughs Company1938

Chrysler tank assembly1942

Willow Run Bomber Plant1943

Willow Run Bomber Plant1943

Dodge Chicago1943

kahn in russia1930-1933

kahn in russia1930-1933

Residentialcranbrook house- 1905

Henry B Joy House- 1908

Residentialedsel ford house - 1926

Act 2:Kahn Builds Walkerville

1896Nettleton, Kahn & Trowbridge

1894Hiram Walker seeks new headquarters

pandolfini- florence

pandolfini- florence

pandolfini- florence

pandolfini- florence

pandolfini- florence

Victoria Fountain1897

The Garden Plan

The garden city movement was a method of urban planning that was propagated by Sir Ebenezer Howard in the United Kingdom. Howards vision of garden cities were intended to be planned, self-contained communities surrounded by greenbelts, containing proportionate areas, of residences, industry, and agriculture. Walkerville seemed well-suited to the concept and Edward Chandler and his wife Mary Walker set out to develop Walkerville south of Wyandotte employing Ebenezers ideas.

EdwardChandlerWalkerThe Garden Plan

Kahn commission flourished in Walkerville

Albert Kahn was commissioned by Hiram Walker to build the worlds first electric sign supported by structural steel, dubbed The Spectacular. At 150 wide by 60 feet tall, the sign lit the night sky along the Detroit River until it replaced by an equally impressive Canadian Club sign atop the Hiram Walker & Sons grainery.

1869-1942