Happy Architectural Holidays from the College of Architecture and Planning

 

 

In this 1967 photograph from the College of Architecture and Planning's open house, an undergraduate student is showing his noel-themed design board to his mother. The word noel features prominently in all of the personal holiday cards that can be found in Dean Charles Sappenfield's own collection in the archives, so it's likely this design project was directed by Dean Sappenfield.

 

Image: Open house, 1967. College of Architecture and Planning Images Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Ball State University.

Architectural Holidays

Every December, we post some of our favorite things in the archives--holiday cards designed by architects from our collections. This year we start with one that is truly meaningful for all of us here at the College of Architecture and Planning. It's one of a series of Noel cards designed by the first dean of the college, Charlie Sappenfield, who sadly passed away earlier this year. The card is undated, but was likely sent during the holidays in the late 1960s. A true Modernist, Sappenfield's design for the card displays a restrained color palette with a graphic that is both strong and playful.

Image: Noel holiday card, undated. Charles M. Sappenfield Architectural Records, Drawings + Documents Archive, Ball State University.

Mid-Century Architectural Holidays

Charles Sappenfield, known to just about everyone at the College of Architecture and Planning as Charlie, was an established architect in North Carolina when he was selected to come to Muncie, Indiana, to become the founding dean of the new school of architecture at Ball State University. That was 1965. He brought with him his distinctly Modernist design aesthetic honed through extensive international travel and his own successful practice, and infused the new architecture school with broad ideas about good design. He remained dean until 1981, when he directed DESIGN INDIANA, a statewide office to improve the quality of design in the state.

This Noel card likely dates from the late 1950s to early 1960s due to the Asheville, North Carolina, return address on the verso and since the signature doesn't include his wife, whom he married in 1963. The bi-fold printed card was designed to be folded down the center, sealed with a round sticker along the long edge, and addressed on the verso to allow it to be sent without requiring an envelope. It's a clever format he repeated for other holiday cards.

Image: Noel Holiday Card, ca. 1958. (45-23) Charles M. Sappenfield Architectural Records, Drawings + Documents Archive, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries.

New Collection in the Archive

The Drawings + Documents Archive is proud to announce the latest collection of architectural records open to researchers, the Charles M. Sappenfield Architectural Records Collection. Known to many at Ball State University's College of Architecture and Planning simply as Charlie, Sappenfield is not only the founding dean of the college but also a highly-acclaimed architect.

Many of his residences in North Carolina won awards for their clean, modernist designs and innovative use of materials. He moved to Indiana when Ball State University hired him to establish its new architecture program and, while his focus fell toward teaching and civic engagement, he continued to design outstanding homes and businesses.

The collection represents his work on housing for the aging, one of Sappenfield's lifelong pursuits from his time as a Fulbright scholar in Copenhagen to his later work in Indiana. The Archive maintains his collection of thousands of architectural drawings and business records, from the 1950s-90s. His papers as dean of the college are currently being processed and will be available soon in the University Archives at Ball State University's Alexander M. Bracken Library.

Image: Charles M. Sappenfield, Sketch for Dave residence, North Carolina, 1963, Charles M. Sappenfield Architectural Records, Ball State University Libraries Drawings + Documents Archive.

Seasons greetings

In addition to being an architect, Charles Sappenfield, better known to everyone as Charlie, was the first dean of the College of Architecture and Planning at Ball State University. He left a thriving practice in North Carolina to create an entirely new program at what was then, a fairly small university in the Midwest. His legacy as a dean is considerable and continues to be felt in the college today, from the design of the building to the professors he hired who are still teaching in its classrooms.

The archive recently received and is currently processing his collection of material related to his architectural practice, from the early 1960s to the late 1980s.

To say he fully embraced Modernism is an understatement and his clients knew that. We've found photographs of houses in project folders that have written on the back, "We like this, but it needs modernization". We've also found mid-century product catalogs and fabric samples from Knoll and Herman Miller. And, of course, we've found the holiday cards. Enjoy the Modernist Noel.

Image: Noel card, Carles Sappenfield Architectural Records Collection, Ball State University Libraries, Drawings + Documents Archive.