'Manufacturing Architecture' Albert Kahn at Art Gallery of Windsor

Sunday, 23 September 2007 20:49

Windsor, Ont. Canada - Albert Kahn has been hailed as the architect of the modern industrial era. His portfolio is phenomenal: Kahn was responsible for over 9,000 projects and designed more than 1,500 buildings for The Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and the Packard Motor Company. Kahn also designed and built numerous office spaces, including the dazzling Fisher Building, and the General Motors Building in Detroit’s New Centre district. He also designed aviation industry plants, hospitals, banks, commercial buildings, public buildings, temples, libraries, clubs and over one hundred spectacular mansions.

What is not as well known about Albert Kahn is the role he played in the design and construction of many of Walkerville’s finest buildings. In Walkerville, as a young man, Kahn made his mark which led to a shining career as one of the greatest architects of the 20th century. Kahn was responsible for many fine commercial structures that remain in Walkerville, including, the Walkerville Town Hall, the Bank of Commerce, the Strathcona Block, many of the grander private residences, such as Willistead Manor, and the entire Ford Motor Company of Canada complex in Ford City.

With unprecedented access to the Albert Kahn archives, we are proud to present Albert Kahn’s early Walkerville architectural drawings for the first time. On exhibition through 3 November, 2007.

The Art Gallery of Windsor collects, conserves, interprets, and presents Canadian art. It is a place to view significant works of art by local, regional, and national artists; a place to see what Canadians have been making and thinking about for longer than Canada has been a country. The AGW is a valuable cultural resource for the Windsor area, and provides the special service of showcasing Canadian art in a city that has the busiest border crossing between Canada and the United States. Visit : www.artgalleryofwindsor.com/