Detroit’s Albert Kahn Associates Releases Book: “Art of Collaboration and Innovation”

Albert Kahn Associates in Detroit has released “The Art of Collaboration and Innovation: Albert Kahn Associates,” a book that details the firm’s 125-plus years of design work that includes 45,000 projects on six continents.

The 311-page book details how the founder, Albert Kahn, and his team, raised factory design to a legitimate architectural practice. In turn, Kahn influenced contemporaries such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Le Corbusier, paving the way for the modern movement. Albert is only part of the legacy.

Albert Kahn Associates was founded as one of the first integrated architecture and engineering firms in the country. Today, Kahn still is headquartered in Detroit and calls the Kahn-designed Fisher Building home.

Kahn has designed significant industrial and automotive facilities, research and testing spaces, university and educational buildings, hospitals and health care spaces, corporate office campuses, and urban waterfront and development projects.

Kahn’s expertise encompasses architecture, engineering, interior design, program management, and master planning.

“When you write the story, credit it to Albert Kahn Associates (Architects) and Engineers Inc., rather than to me, personally. After all, I am like the quarterback on a football team. Without the teamwork of my associates, I would be nothing,” Kahn wrote.

Inside the firm’s first comprehensive history book, readers will discover how Kahn mirrored the industrious spirit of the time, creating architecture that advanced their client’s work across all markets.

Arguably the most innovative early design was the creation of a collaborative architectural and engineering practice under one roof, which continues today.

The book includes essays from 28 authors, including noted Kahn scholars, historians, long-term clients, Kahn family members, as well as Kahn’s current and past employees. Together, the unique perspectives craft a new understanding and reveal little-known facts of the Kahn legacy.

“Our overarching goal for the future is to provide the highest quality service, guided by the Kahn Values — integrity, professionalism, respect, pride, and passion,” says Alan Cobb, chairman and CEO of Kahn. “Our legacy is about quality and speed to market because our teams understand that time is money. Our tremendous people bring innovation to every project, and we look forward to the many exciting projects on deck.”

“The Art of Collaboration and Innovation: Albert Kahn Associates” is published by Visual Profile Books, New York (188 color and 146 black and white images with 43 drawings, hardcover with dust jacket). To purchase the book, which costs $60, visit www.AlbertKahn.com.