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Mark Coir
Cranbrook: A Masterwork
of American Design
Wednesday, August 13, 2003 -- 5:30 p.m.
Linda Hall Library
5109 Cherry Street, Kansas City, Mo.
This event is free and open to the public.
ON WEDNESDAY, August 13, 2003, in collaboration with the Kansas City Art Institute, the Kansas City Design Center will present a special lecture by Mark Coir, Director of the Cranbrook Archives. Mr. Coir's presentation will explore the historical development and plans for future growth of one of our country's most outstanding designed environments, the Cranbrook campus in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
This National Historic Landmark was built in the early decades of the 20th century by the noted Detroit newspaper owner and philanthropist George Gough Booth, a leading advocate of the Arts and Crafts Movement, and his wife, the former Ellen Warren Scripps. Driven by a desire to use their fortunes for the benefit of others, the Booths established several institutions on the grounds of Cranbrook, their country estate north of Detroit, and donated them to non-profit trusts.
Cranbrook's 315-acre campus is considered by many architectural historians to be among the most beautiful educational settings in the United States. The campus possesses a number of architecturally significant buildings, the products of Eliel Saarinen, Albert Kahn, Bertram Goodhue Associates, Steven Holl, Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, Raphael Moneo, and Peter Rose, among others. Most feature finely appointed interiors by the Saarinens, major crafts firms, and other prominent designers and decorative artists.
In keeping with George Booth's vision of integrating nature, architecture, and art at Cranbrook, the buildings are enveloped by significant cultural landscapes, water features, and a noteworthy collection of over one hundred bronze and stone statues, most of them by the Swedish master Carl Milles.
Having just completed a new master plan calling for extensive restorations of its historic properties as well as several new capital projects, Cranbrook is poised to begin a significant development campaign this coming year. This initiative, as well as Cranbrook's Design Michigan studio, will be also be discussed in the presentation.
About the Speaker
Mark Coir (pronounced "Koyer") is the director of Archives of Cranbrook Educational Community in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. A native of Detroit, Mr. Coir holds an undergraduate and master's degree from Wayne State University and has pursued doctoral studies at that institution.
Mr. Coir lectures frequently on Cranbrook themes, the history of the Arts and Crafts Movement, and the architecture of the Detroit metropolitan region. He is currently working on a history of Cranbrook to coincide with the campus' centennial celebrations in 2004.