Michigan Modern is a collaborative effort to share the state’s unique role in the Modernism movement.
“Our architecture is too humble. It should be prouder, more aggressive, much richer and larger than we see today.”
– Eero Saarinen
Modernism: Roots in Michigan
Michigan architects Eero Saarinen and Minoru Yamasaki designed buildings that defined an era. Michigan’s industry, prosperity, and educational institutions combined to create a synergy that produced some of the world’s best design talent.
This is the story of Michigan’s outstanding contributions to Modern design.
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Featured Building
Leibermann’s
The former Liebermann’s store is located on Washington Square in Lansing’s downtown commercial core. The fully glazed modernist storefront stands out among the adjacent traditional red brick facades of the late-nineteenth century buildings that make up the commercial district. The store is a two-story structure supported by wood framing that spans between the masonry party walls of the adjacent buildings.
Available at your local book store and online.
Michigan Modern in Print
“The book demonstrates how Michigan’s industries, educational institutions, and businesses employed the most innovative architects and designers of the day, who in turn lured the best and brightest to come and work with them. In this way, Modernism and Michigan were inextricably tied.” — Architectural Record
The Great Lakes State has always been known for its contributions to twentieth-century manufacturing, but it’s only beginning to receive wide attention for its contributions to Modern design and architecture.