Michigan has always been known for its contributions to twentieth-century manufacturing, but it’s only beginning to receive attention for its contributions to Modern design and architecture. Nationally recognized architects Eliel and Eero Saarinen, Albert Kahn, Minoru Yamasaki, Alden Dow, and Gunnar Birkerts were all based in Michigan. Other important American Modern architects who built there include Mies van der Rohe, Marcel Breuer, John Portman, Kevin Roche, SOM, Paul Rudolph, Victor Gruen, and Frank Lloyd Wright.
Brian D. Conway, Michigan State Historic Preservation Officer, will provide an overview of the state’s rich heritage of Modern architecture and its preservation and the Michigan Modern project, an effort led by the State Historic Preservation Office to raise awareness about Michigan’s important role in the development of Modernism.
Conway will also discuss his forthcoming book, co-authored with Amy L. Arnold, project manager for the Michigan Modern project. Michigan Modern: Design That Shaped America is a collection of important essays touching on all aspects of Michigan’s architecture and design heritage.
Copies of Michigan Modern: Design That Shaped America will be available for purchase and signing.
Organized by: AIANY Historic Buildings Committee
Co-sponsored by: DOCOMOMO New York | Tri-State
Speaker: Brian D. Conway, Officer, Michigan State Historic Preservation; Co-author, Michigan Modern: Design That Shaped America
Brian D. Conway is Michigan’s State Historic Preservation Officer. He has been involved with historic preservation and the rehabilitation of historic buildings since 1980. Mr. Conway holds a Bachelors of Science from the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan, and a Masters of Architecture from the University of Florida. He is the co-author of Michigan Modern: Design That Shaped America. As State Historic Preservation Officer, Conway directs the division of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, charged with the responsibility of identifying, registering, protecting and developing historic properties throughout the state.