The University of Cincinnati: Architectural Transformation: Tradition and Innovation

Order photographer Bob Flischel’s 192-page coffee-table book, The University of Cincinnati | Architectural Transformation: Tradition and Innovation and support the UC General Scholarship Fund. The UC Parent’s Association and the Alumni Association are cosponsoring sales of the book, with proceeds earmarked for talented students in need. 

The University of Cincinnati: Architectural Transformation -- Tradition and Innovation is $68 (including shipping and handling).  You can avoid shipping fees by purchasing the book at the DuBois Bookstore located at 321 Calhoun St., Cincinnati, OH 45219.  DuBois will be donating ALL PROFITS to the UC General Scholarship Fund!! 

The two towers - McMicken Hall at left and Tangeman University Center at right - pierce the University of Cincinnati skyline and symbolize the aspirations of the community that first created UC as one of the nation's first public, municipal universities.

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For more information about the book please read the below article by M.B. Reilly, April 4, 2007: 

Artistry and Architecture: Coming Book Opens New Lens to Look at Campus

A new book coming out this fall further establishes the architectural legacy and leadership of the University of Cincinnati. UC’s classical and art deco gems as well as its internationally acclaimed modern architecture are chronicled in an eye-catching collection of 250 photographs.

Chronicling a campus consists of the large challenge of capturing little-noticed details and unlooked-for landscapes.

A soon-to-be-released book, University of Cincinnati: School of Light and Form, takes on that challenge in a series of rich images designed to compel the mind’s eye to refocus on the familiar and to reflect on the transformed – and transforming – campus environment.

The coffee-table book represents the years’ long work of Ohio photographer Robert Flischel, with text by New York architecture critic Jayne Merkel and UC historian Kevin Grace. Flischel was a long-time photographer and contributing editor with Ohio Magazine and has served as  contributing editor and photojournalist for a wide range of books and periodicals. His photos have appeared in Life, Time, The Smithsonian and National Geographic Traveler among others. Past major projects include photographic books on Cincinnati and on the Cincinnati Public Schools.

Said Flischel, “I began the UC project because I knew the university had a great, a remarkable story of transformation to tell. I knew the university from almost 30 years ago when I attended some night classes here. Then, it was a city college. Now, it’s a truly national one.”

The McMicken Hall lions have been both physical and cultural symbols of the university for more than 100 years, watching over the Clifton Avenue side of campus.

He added that the last three years of shooting should count toward some sort of special master’s degree… perhaps one in phys-ed, since Flischel contended, “Photography is very physical, very demanding. For almost three years now, I’ve been here as early as 6:30 a.m. and sometimes till late into the evening, always calculating what would make for the best shot, especially after a cold weather front had moved through. Those always produce a dramatic edge of light in their wake. And that’s the time when a photographer needs to attack, attack, attack.”

“Needless to say,” he confessed, “I’m always obsessed with the next great shot. I’ll wake up in the middle of the night either convinced that I have – or horrified that I don’t have – the best of images possible.”

Readers will be able to decide that for themselves when University of Cincinnati: School of Light and Form becomes available in local bookstores – including the university’s bookstore – this fall. A preview of a handful of images and text is currently available online.

While the book includes an overview of the UC campus, specific chapters focus on individual buildings, including

• Albert H. Vontz Center for Molecular Studies
• Baldwin Hall
• Braunstein Hall
• Campus Recreation Center
• Carl Blegen Library
• College-Conservatory of Music
• College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning
• College of Medicine
• Engineering Research Center
• Joseph A. Steger Student Life Center
• McMicken Hall
• Richard E. Lindner Varsity Village
• Tangeman University Center
• Teachers College
• University Pavilion
• Van Wormer Hall
• Wilson Auditorium

  Bronze memorial to Christian R. Holmes, M.D., dean of the College of Medicine from 1912-1919. It stands in front of Holmes Hosptial, placed there by Bettie Holmes after her husband's death.

  
  

The remarkable photographs are offset by brief descriptions of each building, descriptions that incorporate little-known points regarding campus. For instance, McMicken Hall’s tower was inspired by one on the College of William and Mary campus, while Tangeman’s tower reflects on Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The symbolism was intentional: UC was to be a specifically American university.

• More information regarding UC's transformative Master Plan is available online.
  
  Photos By: Robert Flischel