May 16, 2026

On Saturday, May 16, 2026, Docomomo-MI organized a special afternoon featuring the annual meeting, a reception followed by guided tours of Lawrence Technological University and Frank Lloyd Wright's Affleck House. Our group of 24 people from all over the state and beyond, was guided by Dr. Dale Allen Gyure, Professor of Architecture, and Docomomo-MI board member. Provost Karl Daubmann joined us for part of the afternoon.

Lawrence Tech’s Southfield campus features a range of mid-century modernist architecture designed or co-designed by Earl W. Pellerin, the first head of architecture at LTU, as well as award-winning designs by Redstone and Associates (1982), Gwathmey Siegel and Associates (2001), Harley Ellis Deveraux (2006), Morphosis (2014), and INFORM (2018). Organized around a central green space, the buildings provide an education in 20th and 21st century architecture. We also visited the former President's home, now vacant, an impressive example of mid-century architecture.

Following the campus tour, we boarded a bus to Bloomfield Hills to visit the Gregor and Elizabeth Affleck House (1941), an exceptional early Usonian house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and owned by LTU since 1978. LTU's excellent stewardship was recognized by the Frank Lloyd Wright Conservancy with their Wright Spirit Award in 2024. Prof. Gyure, the expert on the house, gave a history of the commission, design and construction of this L-shaped house. With a cantilevered balcony over a ravine, it is a good example of how Wright merged the house and the site.