2013 Members Weekend

July 18-20, 2013 in Columbus, Indiana
Local Host: Columbus Area Visitors Center


Left to right: Large Arch (Henry Moore); North Christian Church (Eero Saarinen); Miller House Interior (Eero Saarinen and Alexander Girard). Photos: Columbus Area Visitors Center.

 

Wrap-Up Letter from the AAO Executive Director

Summer 2013 brought about our largest AAO Members Weekend yet, as 35 friends and colleagues gathered in one of the world’s great meccas of modernism, Columbus, Indiana.

We took in more fantastic architecture over a 10 square mile area than you might think possible, including stops at (count them!) 7 National Historic Sites in this incredible town. The Miller House and Garden was for sure a highlight of the trip, as were three very memorable presentations from local experts, Steven Risting and Will Miller, and from AAO Member John Comazzi. AAO Member Meetings and Member Breakfasts focused on shared learning, helping to round out the event and foster closer connections among all the participants.

Terrific thanks are in order for everyone involved with the Columbus Area Visitors Center whose planning and extra attention ensured we all had a most enjoyable weekend.

Enjoy the quick diary below, and stay tuned for details about the 2014 AAO Members Weekend, to be announced later this year.  

-Michael Wood, AAO Executive Director
 

 

To see this slideshow you must have flash.

 

View the printer-friendly Detailed Itinerary & List of Registrants.pdf for more information, including specific sites highlighted on the tours. 

 

About Columbus: Videos, Apps & More

Columbus is ranked 6th in the nation for architectural innovation and design by The American Institute of Architects.

Watch Athens of the Prairie: How Columbus, Indiana Got Great Architecture. Here's an excerpt:

Columbus has fascinating architecture because in the 1950s industrialist and philanthropist J. Irwin Miller (of the Cummins Engine Company) decided that he wanted to live in a more visually interesting city. To this end, Miller offered to pay the architect's bill for any new public building in Columbus. Today, Columbus boasts more than 70 buildings designed by internationally celebrated architects like I.M. Pei, Eliel Saarinen, Eero Saarinen, Richard Meier, and Harry Weese.

 

Learn more about the architecture of Columbus with this excellent booklet put together by the AIA Committee on Design, which held its annual conference in Columbus in 2012.
2012 AIA COD Columbus, Indiana Conference Guide.pdf

Printable guides to Columbus Architecture are available here.

Plus, there is a free mobile phone app of Columbus Architecture. To access this on your smartphone's web browser, visit bit.ly/coltour. For more instructions, read the MobileTourGuide.pdf

 


Clockwise from left: Miller House and Garden (Eero Saarinen and Dan Kiley), photo credit Indianapolis Museum of Art; First Christian Church (Eliel Saarinen), photo credit Columbus Area Visitors Center; Mill Race Park (Michael Van Valkenburgh), photo credit Don Nissen