Isaacs, Ken

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

Found in: Cranbrook Archives, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research / Kenneth Dale Isaacs Papers

Ken Isaacs stands on Seaside, Florida, porch painted green

Digital Image

Identifier: 202101_72_07_01

Dates: Digitized: 2022-10-05

Found in: Cranbrook Archives, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research

Letter from architect John M. Adams

Digital Image

Identifier: 202101_33_01_05

Dates: Digitized: 2022-10-12

Found in: Cranbrook Archives, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research

More about 'Isaacs, Ken'

Related Names

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: Architecture X

Cranbrook Archives Finding Aids

Isaacs, Ken

Dates

Found in 28 Collections and/or Records:

Closed-Up Shoebox House at Groveland

Detailed Seaside elevation

Gatehouse Cottage Rear Elevation

Gatehouse Cottage Side Elevation

Groveland notes and UIC purchase order

High-Angle View of White Seaside House with Many Front Windows and Four Young Trees

Inflated Air House Has Rounded Top With Brick Walls in Background

Kenneth Dale Isaacs Papers

Ken Isaacs stands on Seaside, Florida, porch painted green

Letter from architect John M. Adams

More about 'Isaacs, Ken'

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