Victor F. Christ-Janer (March 27, 1915 – March 24, 2008) was an American architect who along with the world-renowned

Harvard Five The Harvard Five was a group of architects that settled in New Canaan, Connecticut in the 1940s: John M. Johansen, Marcel Breuer, Landis Gores, Philip Johnson and Eliot Noyes. Marcel Breuer was an instructor at the Harvard Graduate School of Desig ...

helped define the Modernist architectural movement in

New Canaan New Canaan () is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,622 according to the 2020 census. About an hour from Manhattan by train, the town is considered part of Connecticut's Gold Coast. The town is bounde ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. He was also an educator, artist, and inventor. Victor Christ-Janer was born in Elysian,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

on March 27, 1915 and raised in nearby Waterville. Christ-Janer trained in liberal arts, sculpting, painting, and architecture at St. Olaf College from 1933 to 1935. From 1937 to 1939, he served along with his friend, Adolf Dehn (water colorist, lithographer) as director of a summer art school at Stephens College. From 1941 to 1942, he was the chief graphic designer for

Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. A member of t ...

Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs The Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, later known as the Office for Inter-American Affairs, was a United States agency promoting inter-American cooperation ( Pan-Americanism) during the 1940s, especially in commercial and eco ...

. He continued his education at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts with honors in 1940. His studies were interrupted when he served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Christ-Janer was a pacifist who applied for and secured a conscientious objector status after being drafted in November 1941. In December 1942, he was inducted into the United States Army as a volunteer in a non-combatant position where he served in the European theater as a camouflage artist and also in intelligence for the Army’s Department of Engineers and Military Intelligence. He was honorably discharged as a Corporal in 1946. His wartime experiences made a deep and lasting impression on him and the theme of non-violence followed him throughout his life. Never shy of making bold statements, he kept a dozen or so wartime photos in his desk at his architectural firm. He had obtained photos of a German concentration camp right after it had been liberated by the Allies. Shocking as they were, he referred to them often as teaching examples of the horrors of war, of the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

, and to underscore the veracity of his strong philosophical and ethical beliefs. In this regard, he swore off buying German cars and anecdotally, he was said to have gently chided his accountant into selling his Mercedes. After the war, Christ-Janer returned to

where he received his Bachelor of Architecture in 1947. He was employed as an associate of Nemeny and Geller from 1946 to 1948. He was by employed by Nelson Rockefeller as a designer for the International Basic Economy Corporation (IBEC), from 1948 to 1949. After completing his college education, Christ-Janer designed and built his home in

New Canaan, Connecticut New Canaan () is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,622 according to the 2020 census. About an hour from Manhattan by train, the town is considered part of Connecticut's Gold Coast. The town is bounde ...

in 1949 where he lived until his death in 2008. The residence was sold in September 2010 and eventually demolished in early 2013 after a campaign by family, colleagues and preservationists failed in efforts to preserve the home. In 1955, he founded the Victor Christ-Janer and Associates architectural firm on Elm Street in

. Outgrowing the office space on Elm Street in the mid-1960s, the firm eventually moved to 10 Forest Street in New Canaan. Christ-Janer's love of modern art was expressed when he opened an intimate gallery within the office with various work including

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

Claes Oldenburg Claes Oldenburg (January 28, 1929 – July 18, 2022) was a Swedish-born American sculptor, best known for his public art installations typically featuring large replicas of everyday objects. Another theme in his work is soft sculpture versions ...

Jasper Johns Jasper Johns (born May 15, 1930) is an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker whose work is associated with abstract expressionism, Neo-Dada, and pop art. He is well known for his depictions of the American flag and other US-related top ...

and

Roy Lichtenstein Roy Fox Lichtenstein (; October 27, 1923 – September 29, 1997) was an American pop artist. During the 1960s, along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and James Rosenquist among others, he became a leading figure in the new art movement. H ...

. Here, the firm flourished, with around 26 draftsmen when at its height. Many of the young architects who started with this firm went on to open successful firms of their own. Christ-Janer's occupation was not restricted to design alone. He also taught the course: The Master's degree in General Design at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

, from 1963 to 1977. From 1963-70, Christ-Janer was a guest lecturer participating in the Danforth Visiting Lecturers Project, sponsored jointly by the Danforth Foundation and the Association of American Colleges. Christ-Janer's lectures included "Aesthetics, Space and Theology," "Beyond Architecture," and "Irrationality and the Contemporary Consciousness." At one point in the mid-1970s, Christ-Janer taught a version of this class to an open classroom of New Canaan high school students. Later in his career, Christ-Janer spent considerable time developing building materials resistant to natural calamities such as earthquakes, cyclones, and hurricanes.

Notable works

*The Irwin House, New Canaan,

, 1953 *The Daine House, New Canaan,

, 1956 *Lake Erie College, Painesville,

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*Lewisboro Village,

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*Meinrad Abbey for the United Christ Church,

*Saint Mary’s Abbey, Morristown,

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*Unitarian Universalist Church, Rochester,

Charterhouse of the Transfiguration The Charterhouse of the Transfiguration is the only Carthusian monastery in the United States, located on Mt. Equinox, in Sandgate, Vermont. It was founded in 1960 under the initiative of Fr. Thomas Verner Moore and completed in 1970. It superse ...

, Arlington,

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*Walter Stewarts Market, New Canaan,

, 1957 *The Willows Medical Offices, Westport,

*West Norwalk Congregational Church, West Norwalk,

*Unitarian Fellowship of Northern Westchester, Mt. Kisco,

*Tenth Church of Christ Science, New York,

*McGaw Chapel, The College of Wooster, Wooster,

, 1971 *YWCA, Greenwich,

, 1970

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christ-Janer, Victor 1915 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American architects Modernist architects