Private Lunch at Taste Kitchen hosted by Owner and Chef Danny Van

Sponsored by Albert Kahn Associates

For the Center's eighth Day Away program exploring Cranbrook connections off campus, We headed to Ann Arbor to explore the work of architect Albert Kahn (1869-1942) at the University of Michigan. Kahn’s renowned contributions to the development of modern industrial architecture often overshadow his civic, residential, and institutional commissions; this tour introduced guests to the stories, styles, and successes of his grand campus architecture.

Active at the University of Michigan between 1906 and 1938, Kahn and his office designed over a dozen new buildings (along with several additions and renovations) for the school. At a time when traditional design remained prized at U of M (exemplified in the Collegiate Gothic Law Library and Quadrangle, 1924-33), Kahn crafted academic architecture to house students and scholars in settings as functionally modern as his industrial buildings.

We explored the campus and had in-depth tours of five Kahn landmarks (including interior spaces usually closed to the general public such as the carillon in Burton Memorial Tower) intermingled with narrated walks and drives to view many other of his campus buildings. Along the way we also learned about the relationship between Cranbrook luminaries George Booth, Eliel Saarinen, and Carl Milles to the University of Michigan—connections that are more substantial than you may think!

We had lunch at Taste Kitchen, an acclaimed new restaurant on the northwest edge of campus. Taste Kitchen is the vision of owner and chef Danny Van. Working with local produce and sustainably sourced seafood, Van combines the flavors of his native Vietnam with the legendary culinary techniques of France. Van designed a three-course lunch (paired with a glass of wine or craft beer and followed by coffee) that helped us relax and recharge in the middle of this full day.

Our hosts for the day included Gregory Wittkopp, Director of the Center (and proud graduate of the University of Michigan), the Center’s new Collections Fellow, Kevin Adkisson, and seven additional Albert Kahn and University of Michigan experts. We also welcomed Janet Kreger from the Michigan Historic Preservation Network, whose research has focused on the style battles that took place in Ann Arbor between the traditionalists and the pioneering modernist Albert Kahn.