Michigan Modern:
Design that Shaped America Symposium

at the 2015 Michigan Historic Preservation Network Annual Conference

Michigan Modern is a statewide initiative to bring national and international attention to Michigan’s modern architectural and design heritage. Since 2008, the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) has been documenting this outstanding story, which has touched nearly every aspect of American life. The postwar years were a golden age in Michigan; a time when industry and design came together to create an epicenter of modern design that was unparalleled in America. From architecture and home furnishings to the automobile and the social changes it brought, Michigan’s visionaries shaped the American Dream. In 2013 the SHPO worked with the Cranbrook Art Museum to develop an exhibition entitled Michigan Modern: Design that Shaped America. The exhibition moved to the Grand Rapids Museum of Art in Summer 2014.  In total, over 31,500 people viewed the exhibition. Two symposiums held in conjunction with the exhibition brought nationally recognized scholars from across the country to Michigan to shed light on an aspect of Michigan’s contribution to modernism. For more information visit michiganmodern.org.

In 2015, the Michigan Modern: Design that Shaped America symposium will be held in Midland, Michigan, a showcase of Modern architecture and the home Michigan’s Architect Laureate Alden B. Dow.

 Events and Lectures:

•  "Alden B. Dow: The Influence of Midwestern Modern," Craig R. McDonald, Director The Alden B. Dow Home and Studio, and Foundation Representative, The Alden and Vada Dow Family Foundations, Midland
• “Re-evaluating Significance: Reconsidering Your Community’s Newer Historic and Modern Resources,” with Rhonda Baker, Historic Preservation Specialist, City Planning Department, City of Grand Rapids, and Sharon R. Ferraro, Historic Preservation Coordinator and Downtown Design Review Coordinator, Community Planning and Development, City of Kalamazoo, moderated by Amanda Reintjes, MHPN/NTHP Field Representative for Greater Michigan, and Ellen Thackery, MHPN/NTHP Field Representative for Southeast Michigan
• “Motor Cities Axis: An Alternative View of America’s Modernism,” Alan Hess, Architect and Historian, Irvine, California
• “Repairing and Renewing Modern Era Buildings: Technical and Design Challenges Working with Twentieth-Century Materials and Assemblies,” Thomas C. Jester, AIA, FAPT, LEED AP, Senior Associate, Quinn Evans Architects, Washington DC
• “An Interview with Charles Breed: Teacher and Modern Arts Innovator,” Debbie Millman, President, Chief Marketing Officer, Sterling Brands, New York, New York
• “Perspectives on Midland’s Pioneering Modernists,” featuring: Glenn C. Hallett, Midland – Son of Jackson B. Hallett, Leslie Warner-Rafaniello, Clifton Park, New York – Daughter of Francis D. “Red” Warner, Robert Schwartz, New York, New York – Son of Robert E. Schwartz, and moderated by Debbie Millman - President, Chief Marketing Officer, Sterling Brands, New York, New York
• “Midland County Courthouse: Passionate Partnership Confronts a Modern Challenge,” Steve Seebohm - Architectural Arts Conservation & Restoration Consultant, SEEBOHM LLC, Petoskey
• “Dow Chemical Company: A History of Innovative Construction Materials and Techniques”
• “Midland’s Dome: The Robert E. and Barbara Schwartz House,” Leonard and Carol Bogan, Owners, Robert E. and Barbara Schwartz House, Midland
• Reception at the Alden B. Dow Home & Studio

 For more information on the Michigan Modern: Design that Shaped America symposium and the MHPN conference, visit the MHPN website at www.mhpn.org.

 A conference brochure (PDF) can also be downloaded from the MHPN website, as well as a printable registration form.