Bernard Maybeck at Principia College: The Art and Craft of Building by Robert M. Craig (review)

BOOK REVIEWS There is very little cause to complain. The illustrations, compiled from periodicals like Architectural Forum, from the Rudolph Archive at the Library ofCongress, and from current sources, are exquisite. It seems entirely appropriate to cast Rudolph's work in the black and white that is so synonymous with the modern age. Along with the text, these images recapture the magic and excitement of mid-century architecture; scholarship on this era is all-to-often lacking. This reviewer's only lingering regret was that there wasn't more to read. CATHERINE W. ZIPF Salve Regina University Robert M. Craig. Bernard Maybeck at Principia College: The Art and Craft of Building. Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, 2004, 544 pp., 400 illus. hardcover, $75.00, ISBN 1-58685-456-9. A s most people in SESAH know, Rob Craig has been working on the topic of Bernard Maybeck's Principia College commission for more than thirty years, starting with his Ph.D. dissertation at Cornell. He has published essays and given many professional papers over the years, and now we have this big, beautiful book as the culmination of his efforts. It was worth the wait. In sixteen chapters Craig lays out the story of the architect, the client, the commission, the ups-and-downs of execution, and a thorough analysis of the buildings built or only planned, as well as the landscaping and the importance of the overall project. It is quite an accomplishment. Craigwas fortunate to have access to an amazing body of material. The fact that Maybeck was in California while the project was in Illinois led to voluminous correspondence between the architect and Frederic Morgan, the director ofthe projectwho represented Principia. There were also construction photographs, vast numbers of drawings, and even a diary of daily work. The result is a detailed and thorough accounting of the commission with glorious color images to illustrate it. Craig also puts to rest the claims by earlier scholars that Principia was a "last-gasp ... exercise in academic eclecticism" (Maybeck, p. xx) or an unimportant late work by an architect past his prime. Craigplaces Principiain the contextofMaybeck's overall work and explores the philosophical backgroundforhisromanticideas aboutbuildings helping to shape character. But more than a story about Maybeck or about the building of a college, this is the story of the extraordinary working relationship between the architeetand his elient. Maybeck(18621957 ) is famous for having told one ofhis California clients that in order to design his house, Maybeck would have to come live with him for awhile. The client, Arthur Bingham, allowed it, and during one of his many visits, Maybeck met Frederic Morgan, who was courting the Binghams'daughter.That was the beginning. When Frederic's mother decided to build a Christian Science college to complement the school she had earlier founded in St. Louis, Maybeck was chosen as architect. Of course, there were other connections,but the relationship with the Morgans was key. In typical Maybeck fashion, once the commission was established he asked Frederic to go on a grand tour of midwestern and eastern colleges with him. The two spent a month together driving in Morgan's open Buick, visiting campuses from Illinois to New England. The results were not only coundess drawings but also a firm relationship based on mutual respect and a shared a vision for the future. Rarely has an architect been so fortunate in a patron. ARRIS Volume Sixteen 83 BOOK REVIEWS The creation of the college had its own drama. Mter six years of planning (1923-1930) and at the moment that construction was about to begin, the site had to be changed because of a proposed state highway. The new site was the dramatic cliffside wooded area on the banks of the Mississippi that still marks the special character ofthe school. Then, when all the money was raised, the Depression caused other disruptions.There was even fundraising competition with the Mother Church that made for some uncomfortable moments and further delays. But what emerged in the end was an essay in romantic design that evoked a medieval English village. All of this is laid out in meticulous detail and amazing imagery. Many of...