Gergory Ain
*28. 3. 1908 – Pittsburgh, USA
†9. 1. 1988 – Los Angeles, USA
Biography
Gregory Samuel Ain was an American modernist architect active in the mid-20th century primarily in the Los Angeles area, where he realized affordable family housing. He was a visionary who spent decades combating outdated planning and building regulations and obsolete practices in the real estate sector. He originated from Pittsburgh but grew up in Los Angeles. His family lived for a short time in the experimental agricultural colony Llano del Rio in California's Antelope Valley.
He decided to pursue a career in architecture after visiting Schindler's house. From 1927 to 1928, he attended the School of Architecture at the University of Southern California but left without completing his studies.
His main influences were Rudolph Schindler and Richard Neutra, for whom he worked from 1930 to 1935 and collaborated with Harwell Hamilton Harris on Neutra's most significant projects from that period.
In 1935, he became independent and established his own practice, designing houses for the working and middle classes. In 1940, he received a Guggenheim Fellowship to study housing. During World War II, he served as chief engineer for the Eameses in the development of their famous wooden splints and plywood chairs.
In the 1940s, he partnered with Joseph Johnson and Alfred Day to design large residential complexes, collaborating with landscape architect Garrett Eckbo.
Since 1940, he also worked with James Garrott. Their joint projects caught the attention of Philip Johnson, curator of architecture at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, who commissioned him in 1950 to design and build the second MoMA exhibition house in the museum's garden after Marcel Breuer's house from 1949.
By the late 1950s, the office had shrunk because Ain was perceived as a communist. As a result of the growing "Red Scare," he lost several opportunities, including participation in John Entenza's Case Study program. After the war, he also taught architecture at the University of Southern California. Subsequently, from 1963 to 1967, he served as the Dean of the College of Architecture at Pennsylvania State University. He then returned to Los Angeles and died in early 1988.
Gregory Samuel Ain was an American modernist architect active in the mid-20th century primarily in the Los Angeles area, where he realized affordable family housing. He was a visionary who spent decades combating outdated planning and building regulations and obsolete practices in the real estate sector. He originated from Pittsburgh but grew up in Los Angeles. His family lived for a short time in the experimental agricultural colony Llano del Rio in California's Antelope Valley.
He decided to pursue a career in architecture after visiting Schindler's house. From 1927 to 1928, he attended the School of Architecture at the University of Southern California but left without completing his studies.
His main influences were Rudolph Schindler and Richard Neutra, for whom he worked from 1930 to 1935 and collaborated with Harwell Hamilton Harris on Neutra's most significant projects from that period.
In 1935, he became independent and established his own practice, designing houses for the working and middle classes. In 1940, he received a Guggenheim Fellowship to study housing. During World War II, he served as chief engineer for the Eameses in the development of their famous wooden splints and plywood chairs.
In the 1940s, he partnered with Joseph Johnson and Alfred Day to design large residential complexes, collaborating with landscape architect Garrett Eckbo.
Since 1940, he also worked with James Garrott. Their joint projects caught the attention of Philip Johnson, curator of architecture at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, who commissioned him in 1950 to design and build the second MoMA exhibition house in the museum's garden after Marcel Breuer's house from 1949.
By the late 1950s, the office had shrunk because Ain was perceived as a communist. As a result of the growing "Red Scare," he lost several opportunities, including participation in John Entenza's Case Study program. After the war, he also taught architecture at the University of Southern California. Subsequently, from 1963 to 1967, he served as the Dean of the College of Architecture at Pennsylvania State University. He then returned to Los Angeles and died in early 1988.
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