Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Michigan architect, mainly with firms Sanford Rossen A.I.A. Architects and Rossen-Neumann Associate in Southfield, Michigan, best known for design of several outdoor music venues, collection is primarily of buildings designed by Rossen with some papers related to various projects.

The Sanford Rossen Collection is comprised almost entirely of black and white photographs and color slides of buildings and complexes designed by Sanford-Neumann & Associates during the 1970s. There are a few folders of projects undertaken in the 1960s and in the early 1980s, but the bulk of the material represents the period during which Rossen was associated with Kenneth Neumann. Although the collection includes some slides and photographs of architectural drawings, there is little of substance in this regard, and there is virtually no printed documentation related to individual buildings. The collection will therefore best serve the researcher interested in the visual representation of newly constructed buildings in this time period.

Rossen utilized the services of Balthazar Korab, an internationally acclaimed Detroit-based photographer, to capture on film the essence of many of his buildings. (In 1964, Korab was awarded the American Institute of Architects' Medal for Photography of Architecture, and his photographs have been exhibited in numerous major galleries, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Detroit Institute of Arts.) Rossen had numbers of these prints dry-mounted to hang on office walls and featured others in marketing materials. Some of the photographs are signed by Korab, but the majority are not, and for most, the identity of the photographer is unknown. Researchers wishing to study examples of effective and exceptional architectural photography, however, will find the collection a rich resource, particularly for Michigan area buildings.