Day Away Tours
Eighth Day Away Guided Bus and Walking Tour
Albert Kahn and his Architecture at the University of Michigan
Friday, October 28, 2016
Registration and Coffee at Cranbrook House from 8 - 8:30am
Bus Departs Cranbrook at 8:45am (sharp) and will return from Ann Arbor by 5:30pm
$135 Adults, Seniors, and Students (includes a $50 tax-deductible donation to the Center)
University of Michigan Host and Guest Speaker:
Amy Harris, Director, University of Michigan Museum of Natural History
Additional Hosts and Guest Speakers:
Kenneth C. Fischer, President, University Musical Society
J. Kevin Graffagnino, Director, William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan
Janet Kreger, Founding Member and Past President, Michigan Historic Preservation Network
Clayton Lewis, Curator of Graphics, William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan
Tiffany Ng, University Carillonist, University of Michigan
Jeffrey Welch, Retired English Faculty Member, Upper School, Cranbrook Schools
Private Lunch at Taste Kitchen hosted by Owner and Chef Danny Van
Sponsored by Albert Kahn Associates
The Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research invites you to its eighth Day Away program exploring Cranbrook connections off campus. We’re heading to Ann Arbor to explore the work of architect Albert Kahn (1869-1942) at the University of Michigan. Kahn’s renowned contributions to the development of modern industrial architecture often overshadow his civic, residential, and institutional commissions; this tour will introduce you to the stories, styles, and successes of his grand campus architecture.
Active at the University of Michigan between 1906 and 1938, Kahn and his office designed over a dozen new buildings (along with several additions and renovations) for the school. At a time when traditional design remained prized at U of M (exemplified in the Collegiate Gothic Law Library and Quadrangle, 1924-33), Kahn crafted academic architecture to house students and scholars in settings as functionally modern as his industrial buildings.
Join the Center as we explore the campus: we’ll have in-depth tours of five Kahn landmarks (including interior spaces usually closed to the general public such as the carillon in Burton Memorial Tower) intermingled with narrated walks and drives to view many other of his campus buildings. Along the way we’ll learn about the relationship between Cranbrook luminaries George Booth, Eliel Saarinen, and Carl Milles to the University of Michigan—connections that are more substantial than you may think!
We’ll have lunch at Taste Kitchen, an acclaimed new restaurant on the northwest edge of campus. Taste Kitchen is the vision of owner and chef Danny Van. Working with local produce and sustainably sourced seafood, Van combines the flavors of his native Vietnam with the legendary culinary techniques of France. Van is designing a three-course lunch (paired with a glass of wine or craft beer and followed by coffee) that will help us relax and recharge in the middle of this full day.
Our hosts for the day include Gregory Wittkopp, Director of the Center (and proud graduate of the University of Michigan), the Center’s new Collections Fellow, Kevin Adkisson, and seven additional Albert Kahn and University of Michigan experts. We are especially delighted to welcome Janet Kreger from the Michigan Historic Preservation Network, whose research has focused on the style battles that took place in Ann Arbor between the traditionalists and the pioneering modernist Albert Kahn. Join us for this exciting day!
Planned Itinerary
8:00 – 8:30am
Registration and Coffee
Cranbrook House (Albert Kahn, 1908, 1918 and 1919)
380 Lone Pine Road, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304
8:45am (sharp)
Bus departs for Ann Arbor from Cranbrook House Parking Lot
10:00 – 11:00am
Presentations on Albert Kahn
Hatcher Gallery, Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library (Albert Kahn, 1920)
Illustrated Lecture by Janet Kreger
“A Battle of Designs: Albert Kahn at the University of Michigan”
Talk by Dr. Jeffrey Welch
“The Cranbrook Connection: George Booth, Eliel Saarinen, and Carl Milles”
(11:00 – 11:15am, Walk to Hill Auditorium)
11:15am – 12:30pm
Hill Auditorium (Albert Kahn with Ernest Wilby, 1913)
Burton Memorial Tower (Albert Kahn, 1936)
Current Offices of the University Musical Society
Sunday Morning in Deep Waters Fountain (Carl Milles, 1940)
(12:30 – 12:45pm, Walk to Taste Kitchen)
12:45 – 2:15pm
Private Lunch at Taste Kitchen
521 East Liberty Street
(2:15 – 2:30pm, Bus to Museums Building)
2:30 – 3:00pm
Alexander G. Ruthven Museums Building (Albert Kahn, 1928)
Current Home of the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History
(3:00 – 3:15pm, Walk to Clements Library)
3:15 – 4:00pm
William L. Clements Library (Albert Kahn, 1923)
4:10pm
Bus Departs for Cranbrook
5:30pm
Arrive at Cranbrook House
Additional Information and Reservations
The cost of this all-inclusive guided tour is $135 per person, which includes a $50 tax-deductible gift to the Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research. Guests may arrive at Cranbrook House for registration and coffee between 8:00 and 8:30am. The bus will depart the Cranbrook House parking lot at 8:45am (sharp) and will return to Cranbrook by 5:30pm.
To purchase your seat, please call Jody Helme-Day at 248-645-3307. Tickets are non-refundable, but may be transferred by the purchaser to another guest. But don’t delay—the tour is limited to 50 guests and all of the past Day Away programs have sold out, often within a couple of days of the announcement!
Please note that this tour will include three separate walks between buildings, with the longest being about three city blocks. The tour will take place rain or shine. Please wear comfortable shoes and come prepared with an umbrella. And, unlike our Albert Kahn trip to Detroit, you won’t need a hard hat or a dinner jacket!
Image Credits (left to right):
Albert Kahn, Architect. Hill Auditorium (1913) and Burton Memorial Tower (1936), University of Michigan. Photography courtesy University Musical Society, Ann Arbor.
