22 | JUNE 9 • 2022
When Albert Kahn joined
Mason & Rice, a local archi-
tectural firm, as an errand boy,
Kahn devoted
himself to learning
as much as possi-
ble from the firm’s
employees and
library. After nine
months, the firm
began to pay him
to trace and draft drawings, and
he was later promoted to head
draftsman. In 1902, Kahn estab-
lished his own firm.
AN ARCHITECTURAL
INNOVATOR
Early on, Kahn was an innova-
tor as an architectural designer,
builder and businessman. He
was instrumental in transform-
ing American factories from
dark, cramped buildings to large,
naturally lit facilities that pro-
vided better environments for
workers and for more efficient
production. This change was
facilitated in part by the devel-
opment of a reinforced concrete
bar and construction system by
his brother, Julius. “This rein-
forced concrete was reasonably
priced and replaced brick, steel
and wood buildings previously
used for factories,
” Smith says.
Kahn also introduced an orga-
nizational structure that enabled
his firm to handle a large vol-
ume of projects. He set up teams
of architects and engineers, sim-
ilar to Ford’s production teams.
While many Detroiters know
that Kahn’s firm designed the
Detroit Athletic Club, General
Motors headquarters as well
as many Ford manufacturing
plants, they may not realize
that Albert Kahn Inc. designed
factories to produce Navy
ships (1917) and for Detroit’s
Arsenal of Democracy to sup-
port U.S. forces during World
War II. In addition, the firm
was hired by Russia in the
1930s to design modern facto-
ries for the first Five-Year Plan
of the Soviet Union.
Closer to home, Albert Kahn
Inc. designed many of the
best-known buildings at the
University of Michigan Ann
Arbor campus, including Hill
Auditorium. The firm is credited
as being the first to use scientific
principles of acoustics on a large
scale, enabling sounds from the
Hill stage to be heard through-
out the auditorium.
The Albert Kahn Legacy
Foundation is working on plans
for future displays of the exhibit.
“I hope people will see
and learn about Kahn’s many
innovations on 20th-centu-
ry architecture, and his broad
range of architecture from res-
idential homes to industrial
factories,” Barbara Cohn says.
“Many people know about his
development of modern indus-
trial architecture, but what is
not known is the scope of his
work and influence on the
future of architecture. We hope
people will connect to Kahn
with the many stories we tell
in the exhibit from successful
immigrant to modernism to his
global impact.”
OUR COMMUNITY
Michael G.
Smith
continued from page 20
MICHAEL G. SMITH
Albert Kahn's
imprint is seen
throughout
Metropolitan
Detroit.
Interior of
the Fisher
Building
Interior
of Hill
Auditorium,
University
of Michigan