Elizabeth Close exhibit... a life in modern architecture | HomesMSP

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If you know anything about mid-century-modern architecture in Minnesota the name Elizabeth Close should be a familiar one. Born in Vienna, Austria, in 1912, she was among the first professionally trained women architects in the world. Elizabeth Sheu came to America in 1932 and studied architecture at MIT, where she met Winston Close, a student from Minnesota who would become her lifetime collaborator and husband.

She moved to Minnesota in 1936 and “Lisl” and “Win” co-founded the first practice in Minnesota dedicated to modern architecture in 1938. The Lippincott House (aka Faulkner House) was their “Opus One,” the first of many houses designed by Elizabeth and Winston Close and the first house built in Minneapolis in the new ‘International’ style. Located in Prospect Park on Bedford Street where it comes to a dead end at I-94, it is right across the street from The Willey House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1934.

Not only did she design more than 250 buildings including custom designed houses, she also created numerous prefabricated house plans from which at least 10,000 homes were built.

The Goldstein Museum of Design is presenting an exhibit in the HGA Gallery in the Rapson architecture building at the University of Minnesota in conjunction with a new book about Elizabeth Close by Jane King Hession. We were there last weekend when it was quiet and mostly free from students. With UMN classes going online for a few weeks it should be uncrowded any day of the week. Their website says the gallery will remain open during regular building hours… more info here… ELIZABETH SCHEU CLOSE: A LIFE IN MODERN ARCHITECTURE.

Offerings include a Learning/Life course in April and book signing and closing reception on April 20, 2020 5:30-7:30 pm. Be sure to check their website for potential changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.