Architectural History in Grand Rapids

[bostonsquaremom]

Gunnar Birkerts designed the Church of the Servant in Kentwood.

Steve Fridsma of Progressive AE designed the east addition of Church of the Servant.

[Weallneedhistory]

Actually, it's on Dogwood at Conservation.

I would have a hard time ever calling this place home, I find no warmth in it, nor does it seem even remotely inviting. With that aside, I find it fascinating to observe.

Walker and Gillette were the architects for the Brookby estate (Olmstead did the gardens). W&G were one of the more prominent architectural firms, designing numerous Gatsby style estates during the early 20th century. One of their more famous homes was Coe Hall at Planting Fields - home to one of the daughters of the Standard Oil fortune.

[numstead]

Dirk Lohan studied at IIT in Chicago under his grandfather Mies, and then went back to Germany to finish his schooling. He returned to Mies's office and worked on the New National Gallery in Berlin and the IBM building in Chicago (two absolute classics), and then took over the office from Mies when he died. Dirk is still practicing in Chicago as the firm Lohan Anderson.

[GRCentro]

William Fyfe, a protege of Frank Lloyd Wright and resident of Taliesin, was the original architect and master planner of the Calvin College Knollcrest campus.

[civitas]

William Fyfe, a protege of Frank Lloyd Wright and resident of Taliesin, was the original architect and master planner of the Calvin College Knollcrest campus.

Fyfe was continually involved at Calvin until he died in 2001.

http://www.calvin.edu/publications/spark/fall01/fyfe.htm

[woz]

Fyfe was continually involved at Calvin until he died in 2001.

http://www.calvin.edu/publications/spark/fall01/fyfe.htm

Frank Gorman, Calvin's resident architect, worked at Perkins & Will, Fyfe's Chicago firm, during his summers in architecture school. He's doing a great job unifying new construction on Calvin's expanding campus with Fyfe's original buildings.

Other historically significant architects with buildings here include Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer (Grand Rapids Public Library's 2002 Main Branch expansion) and Hellmuth Obata Kassebaum (Kent County Courthouse).

[civitas]

Frank Gorman, Calvin's resident architect, worked at Perkins & Will, Fyfe's Chicago firm, during his summers in architecture school. He's doing a great job unifying new construction on Calvin's expanding campus with Fyfe's original buildings.

Other historically significant architects with buildings here include Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer (Grand Rapids Public Library's 2002 Main Branch expansion) and Hellmuth Obata Kassebaum (Kent County Courthouse).

Perkins & Will designed GRCC - (sorry, but I hate those bunker buildings)

Shepley Bullfinch Richardson and Abbott of Boston has worked at Hope College (library). The firm was established in 1874 by Henry Hobson Richardson.

[mpchicago]

Frank Gorman, Calvin's resident architect, worked at Perkins & Will, Fyfe's Chicago firm, during his summers in architecture school. He's doing a great job unifying new construction on Calvin's expanding campus with Fyfe's original buildings.

I don't think that the new building(s) across the Beltline match the architecture of the main campus at all (may be the same color brick). I'm not really fond of it at all.

[numstead]

I don't think that the new building(s) across the Beltline match the architecture of the main campus at all (may be the same color brick). I'm not really fond of it at all.

Yeah, those new buildings are really bad. I went to the AIA's Steve Ehrlich lecture there a few months ago and wasn't impressed at all. We did the bridge, but I'm not sure how much of the design was ours and how much was Frank's (all I worked on was a digital model). Its fairly attractive as far as highway pedestrian overpasses are concerned.

[twoshort]

Good call. Thar she blows!

At certain vantage points on the site, it's almost the perfect white cube on the perfect flat plane of green grass. Nothing but fun.

It's all yours!

http://public.grar.com/public/pubrecn.mac/start?MLS=G584516

[Ted]

It's all yours!

http://public.grar.com/public/pubrecn.mac/start?MLS=G584516

Dang, she's beautiful...I'm getting a little misty...

[numstead]

Dang, she's beautiful...I'm getting a little misty...

Word!

[AlexPKeaton]

And everybody can see you take a crap through all the glass. It's pretty cool, but maybe some curtains would be in order?

[joeDowntown]

Have you seen the land it sits on? I'd dare say people were trespassing if they could see too much of what you were doing.

[GR Jackson]

Did anyone mention the Meyer Maye house done by Frank Lloyd Wright?

[PR-15]

And everybody can see you take a crap through all the glass. It's pretty cool, but maybe some curtains would be in order?

It sits on 30 acres, only the deer would see you reading the newspaper.

[civitas]

And everybody can see you take a crap through all the glass. It's pretty cool, but maybe some curtains would be in order?

Since you brought it up...this public glass toilet was in front of an art museum somewhere a few years ago (New York?)

The outside is mirrored glass

The inside is clear as can be

[Eridony]

Since you brought it up...this public glass toilet was in front of an art museum somewhere a few years ago (New York?)

The outside is mirrored glass

The inside is clear as can be

That would freak me out! I'd be paranoid once I got in there the outside mirrors would become transparent.

[numstead]

its in the Netherlands somewhere. leave it to the dutch...

[AlexPKeaton]

It sits on 30 acres, only the deer would see you reading the newspaper.

The driveway is clearly visible in the picture. Anybody coming to visit or any family members coming home would get a good (or is it bad?) view.

[rallymatt]

The driveway is clearly visible in the picture. Anybody coming to visit or any family members coming home would get a good (or is it bad?) view.

You have to get let in at the gate first. (There are two BIG gates to the property).

You can only see the house in the winter/fall/spring when there are no leaves (and then just barely). Once the foliage blossoms, that house is hidden.

I'd bet you are SIGNIFICANTLY more exposed on the first floor of Union Square (9ft tall, street level windows)

[tamias6]

That is way too funny!

Since you brought it up...this public glass toilet was in front of an art museum somewhere a few years ago (New York?)

The outside is mirrored glass

The inside is clear as can be

[FilmMaker]

Did anyone mention the Meyer Maye house done by Frank Lloyd Wright?

Indeed. (spelling correction: Meyer-May)

A few distinguishing notes on this structure:

It is an excellent example of Wright's craftsman styled work prior to "prairie style".

It has been widely acknowledged to be the most thorough restoration of a Wright work anywhere on the planet (kudos to Steelcase for investing the money before the furniture biz went in the dumper).

Being one of the small handful of folks who spent 2plus years scrambling around the construction site (and traveling around the country) to create the documentary film on the restoration of this home, I can assure you that the restoration process was fascinatingly thorough and complex. If you wish to learn a bit about that process, I believe you can still purchase copies of the film on DVD when you visit the home for a tour. If I had more time, I'd share some of the delightful lore that never made it to the film.

One tidbit: May (who owned the long-now-defunct May's clothing store) also had Wright design some delightful cabinets for his store on Monroe Ave across from the Pantlind Hotel - cabinets which are believed to be the first (or among the very first) to use a new-fangled retail invention called a "hanger" to display clothing... and these hangers were introduced by another local company with a delightful history: The Batts Company in Zeeland.

[destijl]

Indeed. (spelling correction: Meyer-May)

No hyphen; Meyer was his first name.

It is an excellent example of Wright's craftsman styled work prior to "prairie style".

The house is actually a 'mature' example of Wright's prairie style. It is one of his later prairie style houses, and embodies nearly all of the characteristics normally associated with the style.

One tidbit: May (who owned the long-now-defunct May's clothing store) also had Wright design some delightful cabinets for his store on Monroe Ave across from the Pantlind Hotel - cabinets which are believed to be the first (or among the very first) to use a new-fangled retail invention called a "hanger" to display clothing... and these hangers were introduced by another local company with a delightful history: The Batts Company in Zeeland.

[FilmMaker]

Indeed. (spelling correction: Meyer-May)

No hyphen; Meyer was his first name.

It is an excellent example of Wright's craftsman styled work prior to "prairie style".

The house is actually a 'mature' example of Wright's prairie style. It is one of his later prairie style houses, and embodies nearly all of the characteristics normally associated with the style.

One tidbit: May (who owned the long-now-defunct May's clothing store) also had Wright design some delightful cabinets for his store on Monroe Ave across from the Pantlind Hotel - cabinets which are believed to be the first (or among the very first) to use a new-fangled retail invention called a "hanger" to display clothing... and these hangers were introduced by another local company with a delightful history: The Batts Company in Zeeland.

I believe the cabinets were actually designed by George Mann Niedecken, the 'interior architect' who worked with Wright on the May House, and many other Wright House interiors. Niedecken painted the mural in the dining room, and is responsible for much of the interior design of the May house.

Thanks for helping me clarify the name thing. You are correct. The only hyphenated name in this story was that of Meyer's daughter Harriet May-Stern... who came back to view and tour the home after its restoration - - after having been away most of her adult life.

As for the style of this home, my comments were probably a bit broader than they should have been. My comment regarding early vs late was more about this home having a greater degree of almost Mayan exterior ornamentation (all the copper work surrounding the living room) versus the perhaps more stark commercial work Wright seemed (from my recollections) to be designing in his later years.

Sidebar about all this ornamentation around the living room windows: the mullions in these ornate windows were scaled to Meyer May himself - who was a rather short man of about 5ft3in to 5ft5in tall as I recall. Thus he enjoyed an unobstructed view.

You are also probably correct on the store cabinets - especially, as you mention, given the presence of that very typical Niedecken mural of Hollyhock flowers in the dining room. By the way, the process of painstakingly uncovering the mural from under many, many coats of paint during the restoration was very fascinating and time consuming.

Regarding Niedecken's role and possibly that of others, I vaguely recall there being some general curiosity in the restoration process about how much actual hands-on time Wright invested in the May project - versus that if his staff or collaborators. I don't recall any specific conclusion on this, but Niedecken's influence is very clear.