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Great Architecture of Michigan

Text by John Gallagher
Photographs by Balthazar Korab

Award Winner

Architecture, Michigan

Hardback
Published: September 2008
ISBN: 9780981614403
Pages: 224 Size: 9x10.5
Illustrations: 162
$39.95
Book Images
Review

For anyone interested in Michigan's unique architectural legacy, this will be an interesting resource.

— Traverse City Record-Eagle

The non-profit Michigan Architectural Foundation helps the public understand, evaluate, and enjoy architecture and recognize the importance of the built environment. To that end MAF sifted through nearly 500 of Michigan’s most architecturally significant buildings to winnow the list for this volume to 150. With photographs by Balthazar Korab and text by John Gallagher, this book will be indispensible for anyone wanting to learn more about Michigan’s impressive architectural legacy.

In addition to icons like the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing, and the Fisher Building in Detroit, this volume includes vernacular charms like the D. H. Day Farm near Sleeping Bear Dunes, architectural survivors like the Point Betsie Lighthouse, and some thirty-five private homes. A spirited collection of churches, theaters, office towers, stadiums, and government buildings rounds out the selections. The emphasis throughout is to help the public see, understand, and appreciate what makes these buildings great. Gallagher has foresworn technical jargon in favor of easily readable text that evaluates each building in its public context, in terms of what it means for real people.

The combination of Korab’s artful yet documentary photographs, Gallagher’s evocative yet concise descriptions, and an elegant and clear design make this book one to be treasured for years to come.

Published by: Michigan Architectural Foundation

John Gallagher is architecture critic for the Detroit Free Press and co-author of AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture (Wayne State University Press, 2002).

Balthazar Korab is an award-winning photographer whose images have been exhibited in prominent museums such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Detroit Institute of Arts, Centre Canadian d'Architecture, and the Venice Biennale. His work is also included in many collections, including the Chase Manhattan Collection, the Menil Collection, and the United States Library of Congress.

Combining the informative commentary of John Gallagher (architecture critic of the Detroit Free Press) with the superb photography of Balthazar Korab, Great Architecture of Michigan is a compendium of images that underscores and exemplifies the diversity and sophistication of Michigan's Architectural heritage as reflected in the best of its churches, theaters, office towers, stadiums, government buildings, and private homes. An impressive compendium of photographically illustrated architecture, Great Architecture of Michigan is an especially recommended addition to professional and academic Architectural Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists for architectural students."

– Midwest Book Review

Korab's photographs-cum-art are internationally renowned and Gallagher's knowledge of Michigan architecture may be second only to that of Korab. The collaboration on Great Architecture of Michigan has produced a lush and luscious book. The clarity of the reproductions of the 150 photos from throughout the state is superb, and Gallagher's text frames each photo masterfully. After seeing these photos, those who have not visited the buildings may feel impelled to do so."

– Detroit Free Press

Great Architecture of Michigan by author John Gallagher and photographer Balthazer Korab is an impressive coffee table book that pays homage to the state's most impressive Buildings. For anyone interested in Michigan's unique architectural legacy, this will be an interesting resource."

– Traverse City Record-Eagle

This handsome coffee-table book is a must for anyone on your list who's an architecture nut. With lush images by one of America's great architectural photographers, Balthazar Korab of Bloomfield Hills, the book ranges from Industrial abandonment in the Upper Peninsula's Quincy Mining Co. Historic district to one Korab's signature nighttime portraits of the Cranbrook Art Museum and fountains. With short, interesting text by John Gallagher, who co-wrote the AIA Detroit guide, this book is a reminder of the remarkable architectural gory scattered throughout the state."

– Detroit News

Ranging statewide, from the dense cluster of wonders in downtown Detroit to the upper reaches of the Keweenaw Peninsula, the survey includes now just skyscrapers and office towers, but even a few 19th century farms and factories, tautly summarized by the Free Press' John Gallagher and beautifully photographed by Balthazar Korab."

– MetroTimes

  • 2008 ForeWord Book of the Year Award - Result: Finalist in the category of Architecture