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Irving Tobocman (1933-2017) was born in Cleveland and moved to Detroit, where he developed an early interest in architecture at Cass Technical High School before going on to earn his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Michigan in 1956.
After graduating, his first major commission was an apartment complex in northwest Detroit paid for by his mother (Anna Tobocman), which marked the beginning of his career and led to him producing an impressive 400 structures across Metro Detroit, both independently and through his firms, Tobocman and Lawrence Architects, and later Irving Tobocman, Inc.
This includes everything from commercial buildings, religious spaces (including multiple synagogues), and residences, such as the Snyder House located at 1280 Strathcona Drive in Palmer Woods, all of which embody Tobocman’s modernist ideals: forward-thinking design, glass that gives off the illusion of dissolving boundaries, proportional asymmetry and horizontality, and a refined, sculptural restraint.
As far as influences, Tobocman’s architectural hallmarks drew heavily from the Bauhaus and its successors, particularly Louis Kahn, Mies van der Rohe, and the iconic Frank Lloyd Wright, which led him to embracing geometric angles, functional sophistication, industrial materials, and light-filled interiors, and an overall cohesive spatial experience.
A hands-on designer all the way until his death in 2017, Tobocman insisted on overseeing every phase of construction on his properties, often collaborating with his brother Alfred Tobocman, a fellow U-M architecture graduate who he considered his preferred contractor.