Isaacs, Ken
Person
Dates
- Existence: 1927 - 2016
Found in 3 Collections and/or Records:
Description of Living Structure #77
Digital Image
Identifier: 202101_08_28_01
Dates:
Digitized: 2022-10-12
Kenneth Dale Isaacs Papers
Collection
Identifier: 2021-01
Abstract
A graduate and former head of the Design Department at Cranbrook Academy of Art in the 1950s, Ken Isaacs was an American designer, author and educator best known for his portable, customizable Living Structures and Microhouses. He claimed his design philosophy was influenced more by anthropologists than by architects. Moving from place to place and working with commonly available building materials were experiences in Isaacs’ own childhood and capabilities that he prioritized in his designs....
Dates:
1900 - 2018; Majority of material found within 1945 - 2016
More about 'Isaacs, Ken'
-
Amidon Engineering
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Amidon Engineering sold fittings used by Ken Isaacs in Living Structures like the Fun House.
-
Ox-Bow (Saugatuck, Mich.)
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Ken Isaacs taught an independent study (UIC, c. 1982) assessing designs of the structures at Ox-Bow.
-
United States Information Agency
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Isaacs worked on exhibits for the United States Information Agency in 1955 and has papers from the USIA c. 1968
-
University of Illinois at Chicago Circle. College of Architecture, Art, and Urban Planning
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Ken Isaacs taught design and architecture at the University of Illinois from 1970-2000.
-
Brentano’s (Firm)
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Ken Isaacs' furniture designs were sold at Brentano's book store
- Dates
- 1968
- Popular Science Publishing Company (Associative with Related)
-
Harmony Books (Firm)
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Harmony Books, Crown Publishers published Ken Isaacs' 1974 book, How to Build Your Own Living Structures.
-
Österreichisches Museum für Angewandte Kunst
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Ken Isaacs had work in the 2013 MAK show "Nomadic Furniture 3.0"
-
Environmental Design Research Association
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Ken Isaacs attended and presented at EDRA 9 in 1977
-
Music Box Theater (New York, N.Y.)
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Ken Isaacs designed the multi-projector lighting for the play Inquest by Donald Freed at New York's Music Box theater.
-
Glassman, Norman
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Ken Isaacs consulted with Norman Glassman about a Microhouse Village
-
Illg, Justin
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Justin Illg was a student in Ken Isaacs' classes at UIC in the 1990s.
-
Smith, Bob
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- While working for Chicago's American, Bob Smith corresponded with, visited, and wrote news stories about Ken and Barbara Isaacs, including their time at Groveland, IL after winning the Graham Foundation award in 1963
-
Caskey, Tom
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Tom Caskey and James Hart are the students mentioned working with Ken and Barbara Isaacs at Groveland
-
Gislason, Nancy
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- an employee at UIC's architecture department, Nancy Gislason worked with Ken Isaacs.
-
Bucy, Justin
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Justin Bucy was a student in Ken Isaacs' classes at UIC in the 1990s.
-
Bursak, Barry
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Barry Bursak opened a Chicago furniture and home goods store called Granfalloon in 1977. He was an associate of Ken Isaacs.
-
O'Leary, Liz
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Liz and Rick O'Leary corresponded with Ken Isaacs from at least 1993-1996
-
Donà, Claudia
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Claudia Donà accompanied Maurizio Morgantini as visiting faculty at UIC when Ken Isaacs taught there.
-
DeLap, Dennis
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Dennis DeLap of Yellow + Green and Great Interiors corresponded with Ken and Sara Isaacs. Partner of Joan.
-
Hopkins, Will
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Will Hopkins is mentioned in Ken Isaacs’ 2007 emails, Leslie Coburn writes to a John Baxter that Ken “remembers Isaacs quite well; both as a student at Cranbrook and later on, when he was art director for Queen and Look magazines. (They worked together on an article Look did on the Living Structure).”
-
Roesch, Peter
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Architect Peter Roesch co-taught courses with Ken Isaacs at University of Illinois Chicago.
-
Syvertsen, Peter
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Peter Syvertsen was listed as a guest artist in Ken Isaacs' UIC classroom.
-
Adams, John M.
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Architect John M. Adams wrote to Ken Isaacs in 1975. He mentions having worked with Louis Kahn and describes caring for his disabled wife, Beverly, who has multiple sclerosis, in comparison to Isaacs designs that require climbing.
-
de Robert, Edouardo
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Friend, correspondent of Ken and Barbara Isaacs. Stationery indicated de Robert worked for Olivetti then Underwood.
-
Forman, Tom
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Tom Forman writes that Justin [Illg] has told him about his independent study on autos with Isaacs.
-
Nereim, Anders
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Anders Nereim and Ken Isaacs both taught architecture at UIC
-
Shiokawa, Ken
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Ken Shiokawa was a student of Ken Isaacs at UIC around 1997.
-
Suda, Fumio
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Fumio Suda was a student of Ken Isaacs at UIC in 1982. They corresponded.
-
Urbanek, Rich
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Rich Urbanek was a student of Ken Isaacs at UIC in the 1970s.
-
Urbank, Jack L.
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- A fellow Cranbrook Academy of Art alum of otherwise an associate from Ken Isaacs' time at Cranbrook. Urbank wrote to Isaacs in 1971 to congratulate him for an appearance in Time magazine.
-
Hagens, Bethe
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Bethe Hagens wrote to Ken Isaacs about his, Carole, and Josh Henry's involvement with the Acorn Appropriate Technology Group and the Live from the Midwest event in 1977. Her letter is signed "Bethe" but Bthe Hagens is on the masthead of Acorn newsletter, number 5.
- Hart, Jim (Associative with Related)
-
Lucas, Jim
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- A friend of Ken Isaacs, Jim Lucas worked for Herman Miller , possibly when Isaacs submitted designs there in the 1950s.
-
Witanowski, Bob
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Bob Witanowski took many of the photographs that appear in Ken Isaacs' 1974 book, How To Build Your Own Living Structures. Gene Hong and Barbara Isaacs are credited with the rest of the photos.
-
Yonkers, Hub
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Hub Yonkers was an early student of Ken Isaacs, also an inventor.
-
O'Leary, Rick
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Rick and Liz O'Leary corresponded with Ken Isaacs from at least 1993-1996
-
Wozniak, Dick
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Dick Wozniak wrote to Ken Isaacs about their time at Cranbrook, after seeing Isaacs on The Today Show.
-
Isaacs, Barbara
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- They were married in parts of the 1950s and 1960s. Lived, worked and created art together in New York City, at the Microhouse village in Groveland, Illinois, and in Chicago.
-
Isaacs, Carole
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Carole Rabito designed Ken Isaacs' 1970 book, Culture Breakers. She was the mother of Isaacs' son, Josh Henry Isaacs. Both of them are featured and photographed in Ken Isaacs' 1974 book, How To Build Your Own Living Structures.
-
Tigerman, Stanley, 1930-2019
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Tigerman was dean of Isaacs' department at UIC.
-
Brady, Darlene A.
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Darlene A. Brady taught at University of Illinois Chicago with Ken Isaacs
-
Freed, Donald, 1932-
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Ken Isaacs designed the multi-projector lighting for Donald Freed's 1970 play, Inquest
-
Crowley, Daniel J., 1921-1998
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Anthropologist Crowley visited Cranbrook as a guest lecturer when Ken Isaacs was head of design at CAA, from 1956-1958. They corresponded after.
-
Blauvelt, Andrew, 1964-
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Andrew Blauvelt's title was Senior Curator, Design, Research and Publishing at Walker Art Center, Minneapolis when he corresponded with Ken Isaacs, Sara Isaacs, and Susan Snodgrass in 2013
-
Caplan, Ralph
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Designer and editor Ralph Caplan was editor of Industrial Design magazine and a contact of Ken Isaacs.
-
Coburn, Leslie
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Leslie Coburn conducted a series of interviews with Ken Isaacs for a class, producing two typed transcripts that informed her 2007 Dwell article about Isaacs.
-
Cohen, Stuart Earl, 1942-
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Chicago architect and author Stuart Earl Cohen and Ken Isaacs knew each other
-
Garroway, Dave, 1913-1982
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- The host of The Today Show on NBC interviewed Isaacs twice and corresponded with him.
- Jergenson, Phil (Associative with Related)
-
Jergenson, Richard
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Richard and Phil Jergenson and their associate Wilma Keppel corresponded with Ken Isaacs about their furniture structures made from grid beam or box beam, and about their writing about their projects.
-
Moholy-Nagy, Sibyl, 1903-1971
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Sibyl Moholy-Nagy was a professor to Ken Isaacs, possibly at Bradley University, Peoria.
-
Reif, Rita
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Rita Reif wrote a home design article and book that featured designs by Ken Isaacs.
-
Rüedi, Katerina
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Was at the UIC Department of Architecture with Ken Isaacs.
-
Schaefer, Michael Anthony
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- In 1984, Michael Anthony Schaefer sent a letter and product documentation about his Thriftyhomes housing design. Schaefer's letterhead also credits "Practical Solutions, Inc., a conservative think tank."
-
Snodgrass, Susan
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Susan Snodgrass worked with designer Ken Isaacs to rebuild Isaacs' Knowledge Box in a partnership of Illinois universities and connected Ken and Sara Isaacs with curator Andrew Blauvelt
-
Sunshine, Linda
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- Linda Sunshine was Ken Isaacs' editor at Harmony Books / Crown Publishers, Sunshine later wrote to Isaacs from a new position at Simon and Schuster.
-
Hall, Carolyn Vosburg, 1927-
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- A Cranbrook alum who wrote to designer Ken Isaacs in 1974, mentioning John and Beth Peterson of the CAA galleries and CAA gift shop, respectively.
-
Zimmerman, John, 1927-2002
(Associative with Related)
- Description
- John Zimmerman photographed Ken Isaacs work for Life magazine.
Filtered By
- Subject: Business records X
Additional filters:
- Type
- Digital Record 2
- Collection 1
- Subject
- Design 2
- Architecture 1
- Education 1
- Faculty (Education) 1
- Furniture 1
Staff Interface | Visit ArchivesSpace.org | v3.2.0 | Send Feedback or Report a Problem