Docomomo US/Philadelphia Update

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By Grace Ong Yan, President of Docomomo US/Philadelphia

As a spring awakening is upon us, the Philadelphia chapter of Docomomo US is also experiencing a re-awakening with new and exciting Spring and Fall events, active social media updates, and a new web presence.

An exciting upcoming event will be a tour and symposium on Vincent Kling (1916-2013), one of the great modern architects based in Philadelphia. This event will take place at one of his residential showpieces, The 1952 Scull House in Bryn Mawr, PA, with possible tours of additional Kling houses as well.While Kling is known for his 1960s and 70s large, urban renewal-driven, corporate and institutional work, our May 15 tour and symposium "The Mid Century Domestic Designs of Vincent Kling," will reveal a very different side of Kling, focusing on his early residential work. It captures the ethos of the early modern movement, displaying sensitivity to human inhabitants in a way that became lost on his large projects and later career. Docomomo US/Philadelphia Board member Daniel Vieyra, Ph.D. Emeritus Professor at Kent State University is organizing this event. Our guest speaker will be Richard Farley, Professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Design, who led a studio at Kling’s practice. Tickets will be available in Fall 2016 through a link on our website. Stay tuned!

For Docomomo US Tour Day 2016, October 8, 2016, Docomomo US/Philadelphia will be organizing a Rittenhouse 1930s Modernism tour. Please join us for a walking tour lead by Docomomo US/Philadelphia vice president, William Whitaker, University of Pennsylvania Architectural Archives Curator. We will visit and discuss urban houses designed by great modern architects including George Howe, Norman Rice, Henry Sternfeld, and Louis Kahn.

Finally, we are pleased to unveil our new website www.docomomophl.org, created by our Treasurer, Jake Davis, which contains information about our upcoming events and more. We are also excited to see our Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts become increasingly active, thanks to our Secretary Allee Davis, with visually and historically fascinating posts about modern gems of the Philadelphia area, some of which you may not have known about, and some that are just great to be reminded of. Stay up to date with what is happening in the Greater Philadelphia area by following us on social media.

L: Municipal Services Building designed by Vincent Kling and completed in 1965. R: The Scull House, Vincent Kling, Bryn Mawr, 1952