Creators

Preview

image preview

Source Collection

Alan Karchmer collection, Special Collections Department, University of Memphis Libraries

Identifier

19_24.B

Description

Kimbrough Tower Apartments, Kimbrough and Union, Memphis, Tennessee. Built 1938. Photographer: Alan Karchmer. © Alan Karchmer.

This building marks a major achievement in slipform reinforced concrete technology. As each story was poured in place, the handsomely modeled steel framework was removed and reused in the upper floors. Cantilevered floor slabs at the corners allow large corner windows.

Following the 1925 Exposition des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, the highly ornamental Art Deco or Modernistic Style began to develop in America. Mostly rectangular ornament, used sometimes with geometric curves and the use of polychrome mark this streamlined style. Often dramatically if not formally three-dimensional in massing, these structures carefully balance complementary horizontal and vertical elements.

Date Created

2021

Date

undated

Keywords

Architecture--Tennessee--Memphis.

Share

COinS