  Patrick Member Username: Patrick Post Number: 4927 Registered: 10-2003 |
No one ever mentions the great architect Gunnar Birkerts. His work is internationally acclaimed and he is respected by the best architects across the globe. I figured I’d start an appreciation thread on this man and his work. He designed the Fed Reserve in Minneapolis as well as the Museum of Glass in New York. His local work includes the IBM Tower in Southfield, Domino’s Headquarters and an addition to the U of M Law School. Here is an interesting interview with him and his thoughts on Detroit. He makes very good sense. http://www.metrotimes.com/news /stories/cul/17/47/archit.html | ||
Oakmangirl Member Username: Oakmangirl Post Number: 340 Registered: 08-2007 |
Thanks for a breath of fresh air! This man, was a visionary when it comes to assessing our city core- sadly. Any photo links; I couldn't access the UM collection? | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2476 Registered: 10-2003 |
Don't forget his Calvary Baptist Church near the entrance to Elmwood Cemetery. You can't miss the orange church!! http://www.thecalvarybaptistch urch.org/ | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3662 Registered: 02-2005 |
Domino's HQ is one of the worst pile of crap wastes of space ever. Birkerts did the renovations about 3-4 years back at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral. His design works well; I don't think the cathedral is better off now, but that is totally the fault of AOD leadership and their decisions to rip it up, and not Birkerts. | ||
Neilr Member Username: Neilr Post Number: 575 Registered: 06-2005 |
Gunnar Birkerts is my favorite living architect. To me, 1300 is one of the finest high-rises in Detroit, the way the halves are offset from each other gives the building a great sense of thinness and elegance. Calvary Baptist Church (see Kathleen's link), when I look at the angular orange roof against a clear blue sky, seems like a very large Ellsworth Kelly sculpture. It takes my breath away. The whole interior sloping wall that faces the congregation is paneled in mirrors which reflect the people back unto themselves. I believe that his masterpiece is his light-fillrd underground addition to the U of M Law Library that he did in the 70's (I believe). More recently, Birkerts designed the updating of Blessed Sacrament Cathedral on Woodward Ave. and Boston Blvd. The church, which was always grand, now has a plaza which leads folks from the rear parking lots to the front doors of the cathedral. While I am not wild about the new altar, what Birkerts did with the interior lighting beautifully illuminates the entire interior without casting harsh shadows. | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 5310 Registered: 08-2004 |
Thanks for the info Kathleen... and here I always humorously called that orange roofed church... "Our Lady of Howard Johnson's"!  | ||
Lowell Board Administrator Username: Lowell Post Number: 4139 Registered: 10-2003 |
"Domino's HQ is one of the worst pile of crap wastes of space ever." Blame Frank Lloyd Wright then. Birkerts translated a FLW design. I like it although it could do without this Michael Jackson Neverland Ranch surround. | ||
Udmphikapbob Member Username: Udmphikapbob Post Number: 455 Registered: 07-2004 |
The Fisher Administration building at UDM McNichols is a Birkerts design. Supposedly it was nice at first, but the cladding on the exterior has not aged well. I think that, like most architects, he has a few portfolio pieces and a bunch of stuff he did to pay the bills. He's better than most. | ||
Detroitbill Member Username: Detroitbill Post Number: 316 Registered: 09-2006 |
I agree with Neil, Birkerts 1300 East Lafayette Co-op building in Downtown is a unique structure appearing very majestically across the area yet its thin appearance is interesting to look at. It has all the fittings of a true city/urban highrise with great uninterrupted views also. Most importantly it has become a great urban neighborhood to live in. | ||
Oakmangirl Member Username: Oakmangirl Post Number: 341 Registered: 08-2007 |
lol, Lowell. | ||
Spartacus Member Username: Spartacus Post Number: 228 Registered: 07-2005 |
I had the pleasure of spending some time with Mr. Birkerts 8-9 years ago. He related a humorous story about the St. Louis Arch. As many of you know, there was a national competition to come up with the design of a monument in St. Louis. Mr. Birkerts was then employed at the venerable Eliel Saarinen architecture firm in Bloomfield Hills. Eliel has submitted a design and when word came that Saarinen has won a celebration broke out in their offices. It was only later that they discovered it was his upstart son Eero who had won, not his famous father. | ||
Rustic Member Username: Rustic Post Number: 3161 Registered: 10-2003 |
From the article The question is whether resettlement of downtown should even be done, then, whether it's proper to trickle in token residents where there are no real communities. No. I can't see the community aspect in a stadium-entertainment district. I don't think a strong community structure would be developed -- a school or a church. | ||
Rustic Member Username: Rustic Post Number: 3162 Registered: 10-2003 |
That above quote oddly ignores the existing populated (and depopulated) residential neighborhoods of Detroit, but imo seems valid for the CBD. | ||
Burnsie Member Username: Burnsie Post Number: 1146 Registered: 11-2003 |
Birkerts also designed the UM-Flint Thompson Library, which has a spectacular curving glass wall that reflects the Flint River. | ||
Oliverdouglas Member Username: Oliverdouglas Post Number: 117 Registered: 02-2006 |
I had always assumed that the UDM Ad Bdlg was a student project, and that's why it was so ugly. Inside and out, its a forbidding structure. | ||
Rsa Member Username: Rsa Post Number: 1264 Registered: 10-2003 |
the fisher administration building on UDM's mcnichols campus was originally designed to be twice the height it was constructed at. budget cuts took out several floors. structurally it's quite interesting. the floors are mainly supported by the central core. the roof is actually a structural devise; it is tied in with the core, cantilevers out, and acts to support the facade/curtainwall and the outer most portions of the floors. funny anecdote: the exterior was designed to match all of the other structures on the campus at the time. all of the other buildings on campus were black, thus the slate cladding. then, UD got a grant to clean the exterior of all of the buildings back to the original stone, which is a beautiful tan sandstone. the coal that UD had been burning for heat over 60 years had stained all the buildings black. that's why it seems to stick out like a sore thumb. | ||
Quinn Member Username: Quinn Post Number: 1463 Registered: 01-2005 |
If I'm not mistaken, Birkerts was the architect for the original additions to the DIA. I for one think they should have remained the dark, monoliths that they were. It was a distinct separation from the original museum because of the materials, and in creating that difference they paid homage to the existing renaissance masterpiece. They needed renovation and maintenance, not remodeling. I'm not the biggest fan of the gigantic, booked marble up there now. Takes away from the original structure and is too "Disney." This is, in my own negative way, a tribute to Birkerts. Ha ha. Neiler, couldn't agree more about 1300 Lafayette. Drive by it every day and love it. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3665 Registered: 02-2005 |
I also agree that 1300 Lafayette is a fine building. Surely the nicest "tower in the park" on the lower east side...even though I don't agree with the tower in the park idea. Domino's HQ is more the fault of Domino's than Birkerts. He was told to design something spread-out. While I maintain that it's ugly, it's biggest problem is its horrible land consumption and horizontal nature, and this was a decision of Monaghan and others. Ann Arbor could have had a 25 story exclamation point on its skyline; instead, a guy with a stupid vision commissioned a "ranch style" office building on a farm. WTF? | ||
Mccarch Member Username: Mccarch Post Number: 135 Registered: 12-2003 |
I'm sure that once the DIA opens its new incredibly-expensive wings, we will miss Gunnar's previous efforts. I really liked the square-doughnut stairways with the corner windows and the grooved-wood handrails. | ||
Quinn Member Username: Quinn Post Number: 1464 Registered: 01-2005 |
Birkerts DIA was a fantastic example of 70's contemporary with modern twists. It was great architecture with really good interior spaces and volumes. It just needed to be fixed up...it was shabby. I too loved the stairways and those curtains! Well...they needed new curtains but that's no overpriced (I completely agree, Mccarch), over-designed, Johnson "masterpiece." | ||
Udmphikapbob Member Username: Udmphikapbob Post Number: 456 Registered: 07-2004 |
thanks for reminding me, RSA, of the actual cladding story. it's been a few years since i was in school and heard it told. i knew there was something to it. | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 5312 Registered: 08-2004 |
I didn't care for the dark granite facades of the DIA additions. It so detracted from the main building. It made one think that these wings were separate buildings altogether. The Public Library across the street did a better job of integrating their new wings with the old. Now that said, I did like the designs of the DIA wings, just not the exterior color. We'll have to see if Michael Graves new designs to complement the old DIA wing make the changes worthwhile. | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 2332 Registered: 10-2003 |
""Domino's HQ is one of the worst pile of crap wastes of space ever." Blame Frank Lloyd Wright then. Birkerts translated a FLW design. " Ahh ok, I always thought it WAS designed by FLW. That's what I had heard for some reason. So instead Birkerts took a FLW design and made it into Domino's HQ? That place seems like it requires a lot of walking. | ||
Quinn Member Username: Quinn Post Number: 1465 Registered: 01-2005 |
It's funny but I respectfully and completely disagree Gistok. I think the current extremely veiny, bright-white marble detracts from the original. BTW I know Michael Graves is the Architect (and may get kudos on the interior from me...don't know yet) but Philip Johnson was associated with the project at the early stages and, if I may be so bold in thinking/saying this as a follower of architecture, drove the booked-marble concept. Love him too (as well as Michael Graves), but not this particular project. | ||
Burnsie Member Username: Burnsie Post Number: 1147 Registered: 11-2003 |
The black granite didn't detract from the original DIA. The original structure stood out just fine, even with the addition-- indeed, probably stood out MORE with the addition. There's no inherent need for building additions to have similar-looking materials to the original structure. They often CAN look similar and work well, but they don't always have be similar. The dark granite juxtaposed against the original Renaissance DIA building presented a pleasing and interesting contrast. One wonders if the party or parties that approved the new look took time to think about WHY Birkerts made his addition look the way it did. (Message edited by Burnsie on September 12, 2007) | ||
Keystone Member Username: Keystone Post Number: 265 Registered: 10-2003 |
Birkerts' Federal Reserve in Minneapolis (now known as Marquette Plaza) is a very interesting structure. The floors are cable-supported, not just the roof as was the case at UDM. Somehow, though, the lightness of the structure is missing from the exterior, which looks like a massive hulking 1970's governmental building. The tower never worked well for the Fed, who moved out to other digs not too long ago. Also, if anyone has seen Birkerts' UM Law Library, make sure you also see the sketches of what his original proposals were for the project. His 'brilliance' to go underground was dictated by the University after they flatly rejected his initial designs. | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 5316 Registered: 08-2004 |
Spartacus, thanks for the interesting anecdote about the father/son Saarinen competition in the 1947 St. Louis Gateway Arch competition. Ironically both father and son were dead by the time the arch was built. IIRC, the father died in 1950 (already old), and young Eero died circa 1960 of a brain tumor at the prime of his life. Imagine what his legacy and architectural output would have been had he survived several more decades. Quinn, unfortunately it's been quite some time since I've been past the DIA, so I can't comment on whether I like the new wings or not. Last time I drove by they were covered in protective covering. I have a Michael Graves rendering of the an earlier more ambitious expansion plan, but it was deemed too costly. | ||
Southen Member Username: Southen Post Number: 270 Registered: 08-2006 |
I think the interiors of the new DIA will be improved, but Im not a fan of the exterior. The stone they used looks fake and not natural with the matching pattern on each stone. Add to that the gun-metal blue highlights on the skylights and I really dont care for it. If they had used a different stone, or different cladding altogether I dont think I would dislike it soo much. | ||
Mccarch Member Username: Mccarch Post Number: 136 Registered: 12-2003 |
I congratulate Mr. Graves for using an undoubtedly expensive marble, and making it look like 4' by 8' sheets of formica. | ||
Oakmangirl Member Username: Oakmangirl Post Number: 347 Registered: 08-2007 |
Mackinaw, I agree to an extent that the Domino's HQ is wasted land, but let's not forget that Monoghan is a HUGE Wright fan, so anything beyond a ranch or prairie style wouldn't have been an option. He also lives nearby off Warren road, and I swear he owns at least a mile of it. He thinks big! Besides, I honestly think a tall building there would look out of place, so I give him a little credit. As for the "ranch as farm"; he retained "farm" to honor the history of the area- he bought the Zeeb family farm (c.1925) to build his empire HQ on the land; hey, at least he didn't raze the home. The weird farm animal mélange is separate from the HQ, but they do make strange bedfellows. I only see bison roaming the range. I'm by no means a Monoghan supporter, but I drive that boring stretch of M14 daily, so I find that his iconoclasm breaks the monotony. A HQ tidbit: "This building will be 6/10ths of a mile long when completed, and already boats the world's largest copper roof. At the north end, it bears some resemblance to Mr. Wright's Keys house in Rochester, Minnesota." | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 5321 Registered: 08-2004 |
Oakmangirl, IIRC, Tom Monahan wanted to build a tall FLW office tower that had a lean to it (sort of like the Leaning Tower of Pisa), but Ann Arbor Township wouldn't let him build it. Anyone else remember that? It may have been an addition to the already built sprawling structure, but it was a FLW design that had a lean in the original design. | ||
Oakmangirl Member Username: Oakmangirl Post Number: 349 Registered: 08-2007 |
Gistok, I don't recall that, though you may be (w)right. (Sorry) He did build some sort of totem in front based on something FLW called the Golden Tower (not sure of name); maybe this was a compromise? | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 5323 Registered: 08-2004 |
I found this article on Domino Farms (that shows the sprawling complex. It also talks about (in the 2nd from last paragraph) a model of the unbuilt leaning tower. That may be the Golden Tower you are referring to. http://dominosfarms.com/observ er.pdf | ||
Gingellgirl Member Username: Gingellgirl Post Number: 49 Registered: 04-2007 |
Gunnar Birkerts http://eng.archinform.net/arch /825.htm I'm partial to his St Peter's Lutheran Church in Columbus, Indiana. If you're an architecture aficionado, you must make the trek to Columbus. | ||
Oakmangirl Member Username: Oakmangirl Post Number: 355 Registered: 08-2007 |
Gistok, Interestingly, I think the totem or incomplete tower might be a reference to this crazy idea FLW had to build a mile high skyscraper in Chicago. Thanks for the link- I thought that ugly blue tower was a sculpture; it's a cell phone tower! | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 2384 Registered: 10-2003 |
HA, I thought it was a sculpture too. What a strange place. | ||
Quinn Member Username: Quinn Post Number: 1466 Registered: 01-2005 |
Hey Gistock here is a rendering from the dia construction site...  I just really think the earlier addition was appropriately respectful of history, as mentioned before. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy they are spending money on the museum, I just think this screams for attention and detracts from the historical, original, classical renaissance structure. | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 5329 Registered: 08-2004 |
Thanks Quinn, I need to get down there and take a look at it (can't see the building from the trees!). I do hope they're not planning on covering the front of the main building with a canopy of trees. It sort of hides the building details, and detracts from the 2 ornamental Camperdowne Elm trees that were imported from Scotland for the front entrance many years ago (I love those 2 trees). | ||
Oakmangirl Member Username: Oakmangirl Post Number: 357 Registered: 08-2007 |
Gingellgirl, I've heard that about Columbus. Is it the diversity that makes it a must see? | ||
Quinn Member Username: Quinn Post Number: 1467 Registered: 01-2005 |
Here's another one...hard to get pictures from their site...so odd!  | ||
Oakmangirl Member Username: Oakmangirl Post Number: 359 Registered: 08-2007 |
Quinn, I agree with you. The only thing the new and old will share is a Greco-Roman reference. I find Graves's post-modernism style over the top. He seems to just take an Hellenic detail, like the dentil trim here, and over-exaggerate. I think it ends up looking cartoonish. What is the roof material? Graves, when he designed the Disney HQ in the 90's, made an exaggerated reference to Greek architecture with huge caryatids in the shapes of the 7 Dwarves- extremely nauseating. He doesn't seem to have progressed much; maybe he's distracted by designing spoons for Target?  | ||
Quinn Member Username: Quinn Post Number: 1469 Registered: 01-2005 |
Ugh you've really depressed me now Oakmangirl. Totally agree. The only thing the museum will have going for it is that is was designed by world-famous architect Graves. Whoopi! | ||
Gingellgirl Member Username: Gingellgirl Post Number: 50 Registered: 04-2007 |
Oakmangirl - There is an amazing amount of architectural styles in Columbus. It reminds me of an older, established city reinventing itself, like London or . . . dare I say it? Detroit. From the history of Columbus: "In support of the concept that the built environment is crucial to a quality community, the Cummins Engine Foundation offered to pay the architect's fee for any new school that was designed by an architect selected from a list supplied by the Foundation." This later expanded to other public buildings, creating a showcase of American architecture in a small town in the Midwest, of all places. It's truly a cool city that works. It's worth a visit. Bring your camera. http://www.columbus.in.us | ||
Wirt Member Username: Wirt Post Number: 60 Registered: 12-2005 |
Gunnar Birkerts had a tremendous influence on the architecture of this area and nationally in the 70's and first couple years of the 80's. He was one of the vital links from the Saarinen era. He was one of my heros while in college, but the as times change, sometimes you have to throw out your heros. I think the Federal Reserve Bank was his best as it was originally designed. It did not 'roll with the changes' and it became obsolete for its use. The structural expression and the monumental plaza was tremendous. | ||
Oakmangirl Member Username: Oakmangirl Post Number: 364 Registered: 08-2007 |
I finally was able to link to the UM Bentley Collection of Birkerts's conceptual drawings. http://bentley.umich.edu/bhl/e xhibits/birkerts/ Does anyone know the history of the Elmwood Project of 1964? It was never realized, but were they supposed to be apartments? Ggirl, thanks for the Columbus link; I go to Bloomington regularly and have no excuse not to visit! | ||
Dialh4hipster Member Username: Dialh4hipster Post Number: 2184 Registered: 11-2004 |
Let's not sell Michael Graves too short. He may be horrendously overexposed but he is practically single-handedly responsible for bringing high design into mainstream consciousness, not to mention that fact he is one of the fathers of an important architectural movement, post-modernism. Target, which everyone loves so much, would not be selling all those cool cheap things if they hadn't started out with an incredibly successful line designed by him. And gripe all you will about the museum's new design, but it is incredibly respectful of the original building. Coming from a man who put giant dolphins on a hotel, this is the model of restraint, and some would say too restrained. I'm not a giant fan of the design. I think that in a city where paying more for exceptional design doesn't really make fiscal sense, and where mediocre-at-best new architecture is the accepted (and embraced) standard, public institutions are the only clients that have a compelling case for making a bold architectural statement. I find this design relatively meek, but I do understand the objective was, basically, to creative something accessible to the masses. The museum is a business, after all. I do admire Graves' restraint. It is really fascinating to me how the re-cladding hews to such traditional elements yet retains a Graves signature. Some elements that many of you probably haven't seen yet - like the windowed stairwells lit up at night, are quite nice. Of course the outside is just part of the job, the inside's revamped layout may be the real architectural legacy here. I quite liked the old design of the wings and I'll miss them. But I've come to at least appreciate, if not love, the new look. Of course the wisest thing to do is refrain from forming an opinion until it's all actually finished. Oh and as for the renovation being so expensive - that was from the asbestos abatement that had to be performed in old wings. | ||
Oakmangirl Member Username: Oakmangirl Post Number: 365 Registered: 08-2007 |
Digital, For Graves, it is restrained, given his other work, I'm glad for it. However, I think an art museum of all places should make more of a statement just not with him. I would have liked to see what Gehry would have designed. Who was in the original design running, I forget? Well, the interior sounds beautiful, and at least we won't have a habitrail like the Pompidou Centre. | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 5332 Registered: 08-2004 |
Well said Dialh4hipster. You and I don't always see eye-to-eye on modern architecture, but I am looking forward to visiting the museum to check out some of your commented areas. Oakmangirl... the Pompidou Centre in Paris.... the best comparison I can think of is a modern version of Detroit's Dodge Main Plant, except it's made of glass. Parisians tend to like it... but then they also decided to build a brand new opera house (Bastille Opera House), when they already had the world's greatest opulent opera house (the 1875 Garnier Opera House). Go figure? Also I just read up on those 2 fancy Camperdown Elm trees in front of the DIA in Wikipedia. They all originated from grafts of a Elm tree in Dundee Scotland that had a mutant branch, discovered on an estate there circa 1835-40. Very interesting! | ||
Sumotect Member Username: Sumotect Post Number: 277 Registered: 08-2004 |
Gunnar was probably the most influential architect to come out of the Detroit area (by way of Latvia) since Ero Saarinen. He had a national and global presence. He always seemed to be listed in the top five of the world’s best Architects. He was doing great work when hardly anyone was doing great work. I liked his earlier work with the strong geometry and integrated concept, character, and image. His later more “organic” work seems a little idiosyncratic, and too personal. Sadly, he and many of his projects are out of fashion at the present time, and are now suffering from a profound lack of respect. We seem to get all excited when old buildings get threatened, but when one by a modern master is threatened we just can’t seem to get up for the fight. It is probably due to the inability of modernist ideals to captivate a public that is now fearful of the future, and looking back to the times when we were strong, rich, and confident. What I learned from him, and others also, was that architecture had to have an idea, and ought to mean something. Much of architecture today is about “fashion”, mediagenics, and “LEED points”. I understand he (Birkerts) has moved away and is almost totally retired, and not in the best of health. I imagine that turning the DIA into a kind of Somerset Mall, may have been the last straw. When one looks globally at all the fantastic museum work that has been done over the last ten years the DIA remodeling is something of a disappointment. Ironically it may now be Graves turn to sink into obscurity. | ||
Oakmangirl Member Username: Oakmangirl Post Number: 366 Registered: 08-2007 |
Much of architecture today is about “fashion”, mediagenics, and “LEED points”. This is precisely my beef with Graves. I hope our museum doesn't turn into one that measures success by hosting $20, timed entry, blockbuster exhibits. As for Graves sinking into obscurity, I think as an architect, he's already seen his glory days, and I think his designs already seem dated- why else would he design, beyond the obvious payout, for Target? I guess maybe he designs everything from a populist perspective. |
