William Wenzler’s Daring Mid-Century Modern Hyperbolic Paraboloid Churches

Join us for Docomomo Wisconsin’s “From the Archive” Lecture Series in partnership with the AIA, the Milwaukee Public Library and the Wisconsin Architectural Archive. Exhibition Opens at 5:30pm; Lecture at 6:00pm; Archive Drawing Demo at 7pm.

William P. Wenzler, FAIA was only 27 years old in 1957 when he designed the first church in Wisconsin with a thin-shelled concrete roof in the form of a hyperbolic paraboloid. St. Edmund’s Episcopal Church in Elm Grove, WI was so innovative, so unconventional in form and structurally untested that Wenzler flew to Mexico City to consult with Felix Candela, one of the leading engineer-architects of the day, about his design and structural calculations. In the decade to follow, building on the success of St. Edmunds, Wenzler would design three more churches, each uniquely designed around a hypar roof, the last made from wood. This lecture and pop-up exhibition will examine the origins of these unique hyperbolic paraboloid structures, the first churches of their kind in the United States, and will reveal the academic sources, engineering expertise and global inspiration behind these cutting-edge Wisconsin buildings. Concept sketches by Wenzler and construction drawings by his chief draftsman, Michael Johnson, and his in-house structural engineer, David Brandt, held at the Wisconsin Architectural Archive, will be made available for this one-time event both before and after the lecture so attendees can get a hands-on look at the beauty of the construction details and the complexity of the structural geometries required to realize these amazing churches. This is a unique opportunity to look more closely at Wisconsin’s mid-century modern architectural history. A “not-to-be-missed event" for architects, engineers, preservationists, and MCM enthusiasts alike.

Learning Objectives:

1. Learn the basics about hyperbolic paraboloid structures and their relevance to both architectural history and the design of contemporary buildings.
2. Learn how to read historic construction documents and better understand their details to support current preservation initiatives related to mid-century modern buildings.
3. Better engage with clients regarding their historic buildings with a newly refined understanding of the social, cultural and economic conditions under which the historic buildings were produced.
4. Apply that refined understanding to suggest adaptive reuse solutions to their clients that are more sympathetic to the original historic designs and details of their subject mid-century modern buildings.
5. Gain knowledge of the Milwaukee Public Library resource of Architectural Archives of Milwaukee buildings.

Submitted for AIA/CES approval.

No refunds day of event.

Andy Hope is the author of “Architecture of Faith Milwaukee,” an online study of the city’s historic churches and synagogues. He received his BA degree from the University of Michigan and his MArch from UWM’s School of Architecture and Urban Planning. He has worked in historic preservation all of his post-college years, first for the New York State Historic Preservation Office in Albany, and then for the California Department of Transportation (known as "Caltrans") in Oakland and Sacramento. After twenty-one years working on compliance with the state and federal historic preservation laws for highway projects, he has returned to Milwaukee to research and write about local architectural history. He is currently working with Docomomo Wisconsin on a chapter in the upcoming collection Milwaukee Moderns about William’s Wenzler’s mid-century hypar churches.
Eric Vogel is currently scholar-in-residence at the Taliesin Institute in Scottsdale, AZ. He is a designer, educator, architectural historian, and former Chair of the 3D Design Department at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. He holds a degree in art history from Harvard University, a masters in architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture and is pursuing a mid-career PhD at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at UW-Milwaukee. As board president of the Wisconsin chapter of Docomomo US, Eric is editing a book on Milwaukee's 20th century architectural history titled Milwaukee Moderns. Concurrently, he is working with the Museum of Wisconsin Art on two new architecture and design-related exhibitions: the evolution of Frank Lloyd Wright’s early modern furniture, from Taliesin to Usonia, and the photographic work of mid-century Wisconsin architectural photographer Richard H. Bills.

Host or Publisher AIA Milwaukee