Ernest J. Kump
Ernest J. Kump | |
---|---|
Born | Zurich, Switzerland | December 29, 1911
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley |
Occupation | Architect |
Practice | Franklin & Kump Architects Kump & Falk Architects Ernest J. Kump Associates Kump & Takeda Consultants |
Ernest J. Kump Jr.
Family life
Kump was born in Bakersfield, California to architect Ernest Kump Sr. and Mary Petsche. Shortly after his brother Peter was born, Kump's father abandoned the family to set up an architecture practice in Fresno, leaving his mother to raise them alone. Peter became an architect in 1946, and worked in Menlo Park for most of his career. In 1934, Kump married Josephine Clark Miller and had two children.
Education
As a teenager, Kump drafted for pioneer California architect J.N. Saffell (1858–1936) and attended Kern County Union High School where he studied under noted architectural educator Clarence Cullimore
Kump received his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1932 and began studies for his master's degree in architecture at Harvard University in 1933. He was forced to return to California after one year due to limited funding.[2]
Career
Kump began his professional career in architecture working for his father in Fresno. He fully embraced the modernist movement and Kump Sr., having been classically trained, soon discovered the conflict between their design ideals, referring to his son's work as "chicken coop architecture." Kump Sr. fired his son in 1934.[2]
Kump was immediately hired by Charles Franklin, whom he met while working at his father's office. They established the firm of Franklin & Kump in 1937 with offices in Fresno and Bakersfield. It was during this time when Kump's reputation for brilliance and innovation began. Notable early works include Fowler Grammar School, Bakersfield's Sill Building, and Acalanes High School in Lafayette, hailed by critics as outstanding examples of innovative open plan modular construction.
Franklin & Kump rose to national distinction with their "ultra-modern"
Following World War II, Franklin, Kump & Falk established a practice in San Francisco. This firm's most prominent work was the high-profile
In the late 1940s, Kump's partnership received multiple awards and recognitions due to Kump's influence as a public spokesman for modern architecture. Kump was a panelist on the very significant Planning Man's Physical Environment, a three-day symposium held at Princeton University in 1947 as part of the school's bicentennial celebration along with Alvar Aalto, Serge Chermayeff, Sigfried Giedion, Walter Gropius, Philip Johnson, George Fred Keck, Richard Neutra, Konrad Wachsmann, Frank Lloyd Wright, William Wurster and other eminent practitioners and scholars.
Kump formed Ernest J. Kump Associates in 1955 with offices in Palo Alto and New York. During this period he designed numerous educational buildings in California, including the much lauded Foothill College (with Peter Walker, landscape architect), De Anza College, and Crown College, University of California, Santa Cruz. Other designs of recognition include the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, Korea and the Pacific Lumber Company Headquarters in San Francisco.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/Foothill-campus-center-03.jpg/220px-Foothill-campus-center-03.jpg)
Kump was part of the Master Planning Committee at the
Other projects
Kump was a prolific inventor holding 59 international and U.S.
In 1990, Kump partnered with Hiko Takeda to continue his research and development of
Kump authored several books. The most noted of his writings was a short manifesto published in the AIA Journal entitled ″A New Architecture for Man,″ in which he expressed his belief that architecture at its core was the ″expression of feeling through ordered space environment″ and that the basic unit of architectural vocabulary was modular space rather than material.[8] In accordance with these beliefs, he advocated for an architectural design approach based on ″cellular organization of organic units of space environment.″ To achieve ″true organic three–dimensional planning,″ Kump believed that architects should create self–contained modular units that would be both flexible and attractive. The arrangement of these modular units would inherently express order, variety, and economy and result in a better architecture for man.[9]
Kump made several contributions to the profession by serving on President
In 1957 Kump bought Schloss Matzen a historic gothic castle in the Austrian Tyrol. He undertook modernisation works to install central heating, shore up it walls, glaze some of the open arcading and improve the traffic circulation and took a great interest in its medieval construction and intricate floorplan. After his retirement he and his wife Josephine spent several a months a year there.
Legacy
After retiring from active practice in the United States, Kump lived abroad and maintained a London office with Takeda from which he continued working as an international architectural consultant. Until his death, Kump remained dedicated to his research on low-cost modular building systems for housing, educational, and community facilities. Ernest J. Kump Jr., died in
Archives
The Ernest J. Kump Collection is held by the
Records relating to Foothill College and De Anza College are retained at the Foothill College Archives.[7]
References
- ^ a b ""Ernest J. Kump." Environmental Design Archives. 15 May 2013". Archived from the original on January 14, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e Powell, John Edward. (2004). A Guide to Historic Architecture in Fresno, California. [1]
- ^ DOCOMOMO/NOCO. "Ernest Kump." NOCO MODERN Architect Detail. Retrieved October 31, 2013. [2] Archived May 8, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Ernest J. Kump Collection, Environmental Design Archives, University of California, Berkeley.
- ^ Treib, Marc. An Everyday Modernsim: The Houses of William Wurster. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996, pg. 155.
- ^ Hatfield, Larry D. ″Innovative Architect Ernest Kump, 87.″ San Francisco Examiner. January 6, 2000.
- ^ a b Vigor, Emily. Ernest J. Kump Collection Finding Aid. Environmental Design Archives, 2013. [3]
- ^ Ernest J. Kump, ″A New Architecture for Man,″ American Institute of Architects Journal 28 (1957): 392.
- ^ Stiles, Elaine. ″A New Architecture for Man: The Modular, Prefabricated Buildings of Ernest J. Kump, Jr.″ Room One Thousand. Spring/Fall 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2013. [4]
External links
- Environmental Design Archives – Ernest J. Kump Collection
- Online Archive of California – Ernest J. Kump Collection Finding Aid
- Pacific Coast Architecture Database
- Kump Schools Map
- A New Architecture for Man
- Modern Schools: A Century of Design for Education – Acalanes Union High School
- ARCHITECT Magazine – Foothill College