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University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library

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Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2113, USA
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William Muschenheim papers, 1923-2004 (majority within 1951-1985)

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Summary

Creator:
Muschenheim, William.
Abstract:
Modernist architect based in New York City, 1929-1950, and professor of architecture at the University of Michigan, 1950-1972, where he also carried on an active private practice until shortly before his death in 1990. A graduate of MIT, Muschenheim studied further with Peter Behrens at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts and was strongly influenced both by a visit to the Bauhaus in Weimar, Germany and by a period working in urban planning with Peter Korn in Berlin. Two major Muschenheim collections exist, one within the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University and another within the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan. The Muschenheim collection at the Avery represents primarily his professional career from 1929 to 1957, and the Muschenheim collection at the Bentley concerns his later professional practice and teaching career at the University of Michigan, as of 1950. This finding aid describes both the Avery and Bentley collections.
Extent:
13.5 linear feet (in 15 boxes)
7 folders
Language:
English.
Call Number:
9677 Aa 2
Sponsor:
This electronic finding aid has been created to provide unified intellectual access to the two portions of the William Muschenheim collections held by the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University and the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan. The project is sponsored by the Public Goods Council of the University of Michigan in support of the teaching fellowship awarded to Kent Kleinman. Funding for the Public Goods Council has been provided by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Authors:
Finding aid prepared by: Avery Library Staff; Kathy L. Steiner, September, 1996 and Chris Schunter, 2015

Background

Scope and Content:

Staffs of the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library and the Bentley Historical Library have prepared separate finding aids for their respective William Muschenheim collections. These have been merged to provide one integrated finding aid. This integrated finding aid lists all Muschenheim materials held by both repositories. All of the drawings, papers, photographs and other materials for each project are brought together in a single job-number/chronological sequence. The physical location of each item/folder is indicated by "A" for Avery and "B" for Bentley. The combined finding aid organizes the Muschenheim papers into four series:

  1. Biographical and Professional Material [Bentley]
  2. University of Michigan Teaching Career [Bentley]
  3. Publications and research [Bentley]
  4. Project Files [Avery and Bentley]

The project files of William Muschenheim are described according to Muschenheim's original filing system in which he interfiled the drawings, correspondence, specifications, and other papers for each job/client. Muschenheim typically assigned each client a single job number no matter how many projects he may have done for the client. There are a total of 130 numbered jobs in the Avery Collection (#1-130, with gaps between jobs 11-17, 25-26, 28-29) and 63 numbered jobs in the Bentley collection (#132-193, there are no materials for 22 of the jobs). There are also nine unnumbered projects (4 Avery and 5 Bentley) and several folders of miscellaneous material.

Each numbered job consists of one or more projects and each project is subdivided by format of material into Drawings, Papers, Photographs, and Presentation Boards as appropriate. There is some variance in the manner in which the two archives have arranged and described project material. The Avery has described its drawings at the item level while the Bentley provides only folder level descriptions for most projects. For this finding aid item level descriptions are provided for selected Bentley projects. Photographs are found in the "Papers" in some Avery project files but are listed separately in the Bentley finding aid.

At both the Avery and Bentley the oversize architectural drawings have been removed from their original folders and stored separately.

The William Muschenheim Architectural Drawings and Papers at the Avery Library span 1929-1957, with bulk dates 1931-1950. Muschenheim's papers document 130 separate jobs, and the visual material consists of 3081 sheets of drawings. The projects mainly represent Muschenheim's work in New York City, but also include work in Albany (NY), Amenia (NY),Bridgehampton (NY), Chappaqua (NY), Hampton Bays (NY), Malverne (NY), Massapequa (NY), Nassau Point (Long Island), Washington (CT), Washington DC, Westhampton Beach (NY), and Woodstock (NY), among other locations.

William Muschenheim had numerous clients which included the following family members: Carl Muschenheim, Elsa Muschenheim, and Frederick A. Muschenheim. In addition to the many clients for whom Muschenheim did alteration work, he also worked with a wide variety of companies. Some of the companies include Bigelow Carpet Company, C.G. Flygare Inc., Excel Metal Cabinet Co., Inc., F. Schumacher & Co., Famaes Development, Hans Knoll, Howard & Schaffer, Inc., Kurt Versen Lamps, Inc., Ledlin Light Designers, Portland Cement Association, and Thonet Brothers, among many others.

The papers and drawings in the William E. Muschenheim collection at the Bentley Library span the years 1923 to 2004, however the bulk of the collection covers the years 1951 to 1985. The papers are primarily comprised of material documenting Muschenheim's research and teaching career from 1950 to 1973 at the University of Michigan, and the private practice he continued in Ann Arbor after leaving New York City. There are limited papers and drawings related to his life and professional work prior to 1950, although the Photographs Series includes beautiful black and white images of many of his important New York projects, and the Publications and Research Series is valuable for articles published in the thirties and the forties showcasing his work. Papers and drawings spanning the years 1929-1957 (bulk dates 1931-1950) are held at the Avery Library, Columbia University.

Muschenheim's early and lasting commitment to the modern movement and to an international view of architecture and architectural education is reflected in the collection, which consists of biographical and professional materials, research and course materials, publications related to his work, project files and drawings, and photographs and slides. The Muschenheim collection will interest researchers drawn to study the work of a pioneering modernist, well known for originality in working with color as an integral part of contemporary design, and those interested in the generation of architects involved in the fifties and sixties with legitimizing the modern period in an academic environment. Additionally, Muschenheim's efforts to illuminate the art of architecture as an important element and expression of culture to a broader segment of society renders the collection important to a wide range of disciplines and interests.

The papers are largely organized according to Muschenheim's original filing scheme, in which he interfiled material related to projects (including drawings) with professional papers, correspondence, and other documents, numbering them sequentially. The Bentley Library collection consists of material numbered 132 to 192. Many large original drawings were removed from folders, flattened, and are stored in drawers. Five series make up the collection: Biographical and Professional Materials; University of Michigan Teaching Career, College of Architecture and Design; Publications and Research; Project Files; and Digitization Project. Users should note that material related to a single project is often scattered throughout the collection. A Supplemental Guide to work produced after 1950 in the additional descriptive data portion of this finding aid. Also appended is Muschenheim's list of projects (numbered 1-189).

Biographical / Historical:

An early and well-established modernist, architect William Emil Muschenheim viewed the world in which he practiced as different from any world that had existed before. Evidenced in his work, his teaching, and his research is an unwavering faith in the significance of a universal style of architecture based on the cultivation and refinement of rapidly developing technology. At the same time, primary to his thinking was a belief that all cultures are most effectively viewed and understood through ideas dominant in a range of fields -- history, sociology, economics, and philosophy, as well as the built environment. For Muschenheim, it was the interrelationships among these ideas (and between them) that establishes the context in which an architecture functioning wholly in the present can be most authentically and fully realized. Such understanding develops the depth of perception and cultural background necessary to break with the concept of designing buildings as isolated objects and launches an architect's full creative abilities. Muschenheim's interest in an integrated approach to design was pioneering. Throughout his career, for example, he utilized bold color in a functional and modern way, writing in Architectural Forum, July 1933, that "color, in order to create a positive mood, must be handled not as a pleasing decorative element, but for its intrinsic value as a medium having its own laws of rightness, balance, power, just as form and proportion have theirs. In this sense it should not be used as an adjunct, but as an integral part of the architectural whole."

Born in New York City on November 7, 1902, William Muschenheim grew up near Shubert Alley in the heart of the Times Square district in a brownstone attached to the family managed Hotel Astor. He attended Cutler School, graduating in 1919 and studied at Williams College from 1919 to 1921. Leaving Williams to pursue architecture at M.I.T. from 1921 to 1924, he earned the Triglyph Fraternity Prize in 1923 for the design of the Museum Building. Although schooled in an American Beaux Arts tradition, Muschenheim was drawn to the "freshness" of modern European directions, and in 1924 went abroad to study in the architectural atelier of Peter Behrens, Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. Prior to beginning studies, he traveled widely, visited the Bauhaus in Weimar, and worked in town planning with Arthur Korn in Berlin. Muschenheim's visit to the Bauhaus was short, yet he was deeply impressed with what he saw there (particularly the aesthetics inspired by modern painting, accentuating color and abstract forms) and was known as the "Bauhaus student" at Behrens atelier, where the climate encouraged individual expression. Students were expected to develop unique potential and awareness of their relationship to a new era, rather than follow predetermined dogma. In 1927 Muschenheim won the prestigious Behrens prize.

Returning to New York, Muschenheim joined the offices of Peabody, Wilson and Brown in 1929 and was a designer with Joseph Urban from 1930 to 1933 before beginning private practice in 1934. Early projects received widespread attention. Muschenheim's Bath Houses, for example, designed in 1930 for the dunes on Long Island, were widely published. The forms and spaces for dressing rooms and sun-bathing shelters were simply constructed of large sheets of asbestos cement boards (a new material at the time) supported on a 4x4 wood frame, lead flashed. L' Architecture d' Aujourd' hui in June, 1934, was one among many to publish photographs of the grouping and note the "interesting and exotic impression derived from the stark surfaces against the dune landscape."

In October, 1935 Fortune Magazine singled out the Muschenheim House in Hampton Bays, New York, as "...the only large Modern rebuilding to date..." The article reported that "In opening this house to light, air, and a bay view, no attempt was made to hide remnants of the old shingle cottage which was the core..." Articles in America and Europe noted the unique juxtaposition of new spaces and forms to an existing traditional structure, along with the skillful use of color. His remodeling of the Hotel Astor, in association with Peabody, Wilson and Brown, was also considered one of the first breaks from traditional design in its building type. Wide use was made of new materials, including aluminum, plastic laminates, and glass. Color was utilized boldly and extensively in walls, carpets, floors and furnishings.

The New School for Social Research Dance Laboratory, designed by Muschenheim while working with Urban, also garnered attention for being one of only a handful of new buildings built in the modern manner in America at the time. While with Urban, also a gifted colorist, Muschenheim designed the full color scheme for the Century of Progress Exposition held in Chicago in 1933. Showcasing the potential of color as an architectural medium, it was the first such large scale outdoor application in America. In 1939 and 1947, Muschenheim undertook the remodeling of buildings to house the collection of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum of Non-Objective Art for two locations in New York City. Considering light an architectural quality with unique characteristics that work much like color, Muschenheim employed in 1939 one of the earliest extensive uses of fluorescent lamps. The New York World Telegram reported that there had never been handsomer lighting than the illumination provided by the fluorescent bulbs used in the galleries.

Typical of a large number of commissions during Muschenheim's practice in New York is the Gulden Penthouse, which was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art. Design for Today, January 1936, said, "Coloring is made attractive by having the walls white, the window curtains a gray raw silk, with the radiator cover orange." Color was also a primary element in the De Liagre House, 1937. Critic Herbert Williams wrote that the house was a true trailblazer, particularly in its use of color contrasted with the warmth of natural materials. Outside were natural gray asbestos shingles, with white trim except for the large corner window and west door, which were respectively strong green-blue and maroon. Along with color and light, furnishings were an important component in Muschenheim's work. Describing the Dunbar apartment designed in 1929, articles in Britannia and Eve (February 1935) and Casas y Jardines (July 1937), focus on the attention given to comfort and convenience through integrated furnishings, as well as the use of color to define architectural lines.

In 1930 Muschenheim was instrumental in bringing to the Brooklyn Museum a traveling exhibition of the work of Peter Behrens and students. The exhibit, previously mounted in Vienna, Berlin, Essen, and Hamburg, had wide distribution in America. Four of Muschenheim's projects were included. In 1931 Philip Johnson exhibited Muschenheim's work in Rejected Architects, a show highlighting modern architects ignored by the Exhibit Committee, Architectural League of New York. In 1938, Muschenheim was one of the founders and editors of PLUS: Orientations of Contemporary Architecture, a revolutionary magazine devoted to modern architecture.

Muschenheim was a member of the Congres Internationale des Architectes Modernes, American Chapter (CIAM) from its inception. The group met regularly in New York to address problems, conduct research, and examine case studies. Architects from around the world, including Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer, Jose Luis Sert, Arthur Korn and Le Corbusier, joined the meetings when they were in the City. Muschenheim cited those he came into contact with at CIAM as most significant in affecting his opinions and convictions. "They asked themselves whether the cultural, social, technical and economic aspects, as well as the unexplored and fresh patterns for beauty, were being properly examined...Complete like-mindedness rarely occurred. But there did exist a mutual spirit of adventure." [1]

Knud Lönberg-Holm, a key coordinator of the group and originator of Sweet's Catalog, first posed to Muschenheim the notion of teaching at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The school was reorganizing, looking toward revitalization, and Lönberg-Holm put Dean Bennett in touch with Muschenheim, Theodore Larson and Walter Sanders. Larson and Sanders went first; Muschenheim was persuaded to follow in 1950 as visiting professor for a semester, but stayed on, becoming professor of architecture the same year.

As professor in the College of Architecture and Design, Muschenheim taught a range of courses in architectural history, design, urban design and research on visual problems. He was instrumental in introducing new material to the curriculum, including a course in architectural theory and philosophy entitled "Ideas and Architecture." He was named a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1964, won the Sol King Award for Excellent Teaching in Architecture, University of Michigan, 1971, was named Professor Emeritus in 1973, and was awarded the Michigan Society of Architect's Gold Medal (the state's highest honor) in 1984. Also in 1984, the Muschenheim Fellowship in Architecture was established to bring outstanding young architects from outside the university to teach design on the Michigan campus.

Muschenheim's research orientation while at Michigan reflected his interest in global architecture. In 1958, funded by a grant from Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies, he spent six months visiting architectural schools throughout Europe, where he studied and reviewed curricula and student work, meeting also with planning authorities rebuilding cities destroyed during the war. Subsequently, an article, "Report on European Schools of Architecture," was published in The Journal of the American Institute of Architects and distributed to educators in Europe and America. In 1961 he became chairman of the Relations with Foreign Architectural Schools of Architecture, Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture. His work on comparative curricula continued into the seventies, with world tours in 1964 and 1972 to schools in Western and Eastern Europe, South and Central America, the Mid-East, Africa, Asia, Australia and Canada, resulting in numerous publications.

Interested in the ways schools he visited communicated design philosophy to communities, Muschenheim began to gather together visual materials to distribute to groups outside the profession. As a first step, he produced an annotated bibliography of books, pamphlets, periodicals and films -- materials recommended as useful in introducing an understanding of architecture. His vision was to produce a series of eighty plates to serve as exhibition material, be televised, or reproduced in slides to bring appreciation of the significance of the art of architecture as an important element and expression of culture to broader segments of society.

An outgrowth of this research was Elements of the Art of Architecture published by Viking Press in 1964. In it, Muschenheim addressed the main components of architecture -- space, form and surface, juxtaposing modern examples with historical ones. In preparing the book he found that there wasn't a single example where the modern and the historic didn't share related basic concepts. In 1980, he published Why Architecture, utilizing photographs taken on his 1972 world tour. Color plates Muschenheim developed were designed to illustrate important trends in architecture during the recent past, as well as provide insight into the historic aspects of architecture that had particular meaning to contemporary problems.

Muschenheim continued in private practice after arriving at the university. Among his significant achievements while in Michigan are the home he designed for his family in Ann Arbor, 1954; alterations to the Museum of Art, University of Michigan, 1957; the Rutledge House, along Huron River just west of Ann Arbor, 1960; alterations to the Harrison House, Ann Arbor, 1961; alterations and addition to Phi Epsilon Pi Fraternity House, 1966; and the Hermann Hermannsson House, Saline, Michigan, 1980. All of these projects were executed with great attention to scale, texture, light, circulation and color (thirty-five different colors, for example, were utilized in the Muschenheim house). In addition to practical requirements in planning and construction, emphasis was always on a contemporary expression in form, spatial generations and surface treatments.

Although he retired from teaching in 1972, Muschenheim remained active professionally and in the Ann Arbor academic community. In 1989 at age 86, the year before he died, he entered a design in a competition for a new terminal at the East Hampton Airport. In that same year, he taught a laboratory course on theater design with Professor Thomas Hille. In his introductory welcome to students Muschenheim reviewed the rich, creative heritage of the Bauhaus and the modern movement, which he believed were too often misunderstood in the post-modern era, closing with a message from Le Corbusier: "The purpose of architecture is to move us."[2]

Among those who nominated William Muschenheim in 1961 to Fellowship of the American Institute of Architects was a former student, Jose F. Teran Callejas of Managua. In his letter of nomination, he spoke to Professor Muschenheim's "...profound knowledge...and uncompromising enthusiasm...Through his intense teachings we learned of the substantial services that an architect can give society, achieving through good design the order of the physical environment. He especially stressed the sublime expression of his art...and the human origins that should guide the planning of our Technological Era. Furthermore, his personal and friendly attention to all and each of his students has made him the best friend of all, and for each one the example of a life integrated with all the arts, nature and society."[3]

_______________________

1) Muschenheim, William E., Why Architecture (Karoma Publishers, Inc.: 1980), p. 7.

2) "Lecture with Slides, May 3, 1989," Architecture 562, Box 1, William E. Muschenheim Papers, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.

3) Jose F. Teran Callejas to Jury of Fellows, American Institute of Architects, December 12, 1961, Box 1, William E. Muschenheim Papers, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.

Acquisition Information:
William Muschenheim donated drawings and papers from his career in New York to the Avery in 1986. The papers were donated by Nana Muschenheim (Donor No. 7920 ) in 1993 and 1996. Materials relating to the digitization project were accessioned in 2012 (Donor No. 1991 )

Contents

Using These Materials

Info for Visitors

How to Request

Ordering Reproductions

Download PDF Finding Aid
RESTRICTIONS:

The original collections at the Avery and the Bentley are open for research.

USE & PERMISSIONS:

Copyright is retained by the Muschenheim family. Patrons are responsible for determining the appropriate use or reuse of materials.

PREFERRED CITATION:

Avery materials: item, folder title, box no., William Muschenheim Architectural drawings and papers, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University

Bentley Materials: item, folder title, box no., William Muschenheim Architectural drawings and papers, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan

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Collection

William Muschenheim papers, 1923-2004 (majority within 1951-1985)
Call Number 9677 Aa 2
Total components 4,885
Items available online Online 3,433
Last indexed 2023-08-08