"Arcades of Detroit: Albert Kahn and the 20th Century"

This talk reconsiders Kahn’s important work in architecture, with reference to the rich archival collections available at the University of Michigan. Focusing on the remarkable array of construction photographs now housed at the Bentley Library and soon to be exhibited at UMMA, the talk will explore the documentary photographic exposition of buildings as they grew on sites. In addition to presenting this visually rich material for the first time, the talk will focus on how to work with such materials in a new architectural historical analysis of Kahn’s work.

Claire Zimmerman is associate professor of history of art and the coordinator of doctoral studies in architecture at the Taubman College of the University of Michigan.