The goal of Mid Century Modern Buffalo (MCMB) is to raise awareness about the “modern” buildings we currently have as part of our city. The hope is, by shedding light on these buildings, we can take a second look and see if we can’t find the beauty or even just the respect these structures deserve.
Whenever we hear of Buffalo architecture being praised it is always about buildings that were constructed by noted architects of the late 19th and early 20th century. Men such as E.B. Green, McKim Mead and White and H.H.Richardson.
While this is true and something which I am proud to have as my local heritage, our contributions to the architectural landscape did not end there. Certainly City Hall and Central Terminal stand out as Art Deco masterpieces from the 1920’s, but once we stepped into the clean, glass curtained wall of Mid Century we seem to shrink at the challenge to appreciate what we own.
Let’s face it, we can go into the Albright Knox Art Gallery and look at a painting by Picasso (for example). Some of us get it… love it. Many do not and it leaves them feeling nothing for the work itself. However, we all understand that we are looking at a Picasso and that in itself instills a sense of respect and awe.
I am not educated in architecture – the information comes from internet research and a love for modern design. What I am offering is that the buildings shown will also feature the architect that designed them along with other buildings of note by the same architect so that we can begin to appreciate, like the Picasso, the importance of the building we own.
We have seen so many masterpieces from the 19th and early 20th century lost to the wrecker’s ball, many for no apparent reason as the lots are still empty where they once stood. The concern here is that if we can’t save the buildings that are commonly thought of as beautiful, what chance do these Mid Century masterpieces have should someone decide that they want yet another parking lot? – MCMB
Follow MCMB on Facebook and explore the likes of Gordon Bunshaft, as he relates to the world of architecture in Buffalo, NY…
Gordon Bunshaft, a Pritsker Prize* winning architect, was born in Buffalo in May of 1909. After graduating from Lafayette High School he attended MIT’s School of Architecture and then began his architectural journey eventually becoming a partner with Skidmore Owings and Merrill in New York City. Bunshaft’s early influences included Mies van der Rhoe and Les Corbusier which gave him his modernist foundation.
Bunshaft has been acknowledged with establishing a new style of skyscraper when he designed his first major project, The Lever House in New York City. Many consider this 24 story building constructed in 1952 a modernist gem.
By 1955 Bunshaft had received the First Prize for architecture from the National Academy of Design and was chief of design in Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. It was at this time that the the firm received the commission for the addition to the Albright Knox Art Gallery. Bunshaft was chosen as the partner in charge of design for the Gallery’s new addition, which was completed by the winter of 1961.
The addition to the gallery works by juxtaposing the old and new while finding harmony in the white exterior walls. These styles though disparate find a harmony in our urban landscape.
Gordon Bunshaft passed away in 1990 and is buried next to his wife and parents in the Temple Beth El cemetery on Pine Ridge Road in Buffalo, New York.
*The Pritzker Architecture Prize (founded in 1979) is awarded annually to honor “a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture”.
-MCMB is a Facebook page dedicated to preserving the legacy of mid century modern Buffalo