Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia© 2006 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.
Processed by: Vincent T. Brooks
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Series II. Faculty Papers, Subseries B. Course Materials, Grade Book, 1956-1957; Series III. Professional Papers, Subseries A. Administrative, Employment Application, 1968; and Series IV. Project Records, Subseries A. Files, Communications Executive Center, Personal Financial Statement of Haigh Jamgochian, 1983, are closed to research. See subseries descriptions for additional information.
Haigh Jamgochian. Papers, circa 1930-2006. Accession 41492. Personal Papers Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
Gift of Haigh Jamgochian, 1 August 2004.
Haigh Jamgochian, renegade architect and self-professed "ego maniac," was born in Jackson Ward, Richmond, Virginia, on August 29, 1924, in the apartment above his parents' store at 5th and Leigh Streets. Haigh (pronounced "Hike") was the youngest of three children born to John A. and Azniv E. M. Jamgochian, Armenian immigrants who came to American during World War I. As an architect, Jamgochian had a brief but notable career, but as a newsworthy and controversial local figure, he has been a presence for nearly 50 years.
It was in his parents' Fan District home that Jamgochian began what would eventually become an architectural career. At age 8 or 9, he excavated a portion of the family's basement to create a room for an elaborate train town. He then realized his ability to build and create, an endeavor he would pursue his entire life. First though, like many of his generation, Jamgochian felt the patriotic call and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps shortly after graduation (1942). He served in World War II's Pacific Theater and participated in raiding parties charged with capturing Japanese radar and other electronic equipment.
Jamgochian returned from military service with access to The Servicemembers' Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the GI Bill of Rights, affording him the opportunity for higher education. He began in earnest at Dartmouth College (Fall 1946-Spring 1947), after which he transferred to Virginia Polytechnic Institute (now Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University), where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Building Construction (Spring 1950) and a Master's degree in Architecture (Spring 1951). Princeton University courted the aspiring architect in his senior year at Virginia Tech. Jamgochian had become one of the twelve finalists in the rigorous competition for a scholarship to the prestigious Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, an honor that Princeton wanted for one of its students. On a full scholarship to Princeton (Fall 1951-Spring 1952), Jamgochian again competed for the Paris Prize and again made it to the finals. However, when he was not chosen for the second year in a row, Princeton did not renew his scholarship.
While competing for the Paris Prize, Jamgochian worked as a draftsman and studied for his architectural certification. He labored in the firm of noted Baltimore architect Lucius Read White, Jr. It is White who Jamgochian credits with his success on the certification test. White chaired the Maryland Board of Examination and Registration of Architects and was a very influential person to know in that capacity. Following his receipt of certification, Jamgochian returned to Richmond in 1952 and worked outside of his profession until architect Fredrick Hyland, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, hired him as a designer for his Richmond office.
In the fall of 1955, after leaving Hyland's office, Jamgochian began a teaching position at Richmond Professional Institute (now Virginia Commonwealth University). He taught courses in architectural history, city planning, design, and building construction. Jamgochian attempted to establish an architecture program at the school without success and left the college in 1958 to begin working for local architect John Stafford Efford. As a draftsman/designer for Efford, Jamgochian worked closely with clients and prepared sketches for their approval. Jamgochian and Efford had a rocky relationship due to their opposing personalities and architectural philosophies, which eventually resulted in Jamgochian leaving Efford's employ in 1960 to strike out on his own.
Shortly thereafter, Jamgochian gained international prominence when the Associated Press picked up an image from the local newspaper of his "Tree House" design superimposed over a Richmond streetscape. Jamgochian had created the photo in an effort to convince the Richmond City Council to grant him a variance permit for the building's construction on West Franklin Street. The newspaper photograph looked so realistic that the architect received nearly one hundred letters from all over the globe requesting information about the building. After a protracted battle and a great deal of press coverage, Richmond City Council eventually denied the permit. However, local businessmen, Lewis and Irvin Markel, were looking for someone to design a unique building for their company headquarters and they took notice of all of the publicity surrounding the controversial "Tree House." The Markels operated the insurance company founded by their father in the late 1920s.
Around the time he was approached by the Markels, Jamgochian married Revonda Nunn. The union produced one child, Haigh Jamgochian, Jr. Over the next decade, the marital relationship soured and divorce resulted sometime in the late 1970s.
After the public debate over the "Tree House," the Markel brothers hired Jamgochian and set him to work on their company's main office in the city's West End. After an initial design of mushroom-shaped pods, the one million dollar budget was cut in half forcing the architect to develop the three-story cone-shaped structure clad in wrinkled aluminum that stands today. The idea for the exterior purportedly came when the architect attended a dinner where he was served aluminum-wrapped baked potato. Its unique design and unusual execution have made it a local landmark since its construction. Further, it heightened the exposure of Haigh Jamgochian as an architect and led to his next client, local car salesman Howard Hughes also known as "Dapper Dan The Used Car Man."
Hughes reportedly contacted Jamgochian telling him he would like a residence designed for his property along the James River that was "out of this world." Jamgochian's response, "How about the moon?" Thus began the germination of the "Moon House" concept. This one-of-a-kind residence, built between 1967-1968, had a crescent moon-shaped roof with an all glass interior curve facing the river vista and its points wrapping to create privacy walls for the expansive stone patio and swimming pool. While successful in these two projects, additional commissions would elude the architect over the next thirty years. Proposals from both clients and the architect came and went with no other buildings of his design being executed in Richmond or elsewhere.
A number of manufacturers utilized Jamgochian's distinctive architectural models in print advertisements, and national and international trade journals lauded his forward-thinking designs, however, the clients did not come. Several factors such as a lack of business experience on the part of the architect, the conservative artistic sensibilities of Richmond, and simple bad luck contributed to this outcome. Despite this, Jamgochian continued to put his ideas on paper and took on a number of other endeavors along his career path. For instance, during the "Massive Resistance" Movement of the 1970s, Jamgochian opened and ran a Montessori-type school at his residence on Rockfalls Drive at the behest of his neighbors. The property, purchased in 1968, contained a rock quarry with a large Moderne style house at its precipice. The land's original owner utilized a design by Edward D. Stone published in Collier's magazine (1936) for the home. Jamgochian outfitted the house with classrooms and named it The Rockfalls School. He and his wife operated the school for one year until the endeavor became too expensive to maintain.
Time passed and commissions were non-existent for the maverick architect. In March 1983, his increasingly notorious ten acre estate suffered a house fire in which the architect was severely burned on his hands, neck, and face. During his three month recuperation, Jamgochian conceived a spiral skyscraper design for Southside Richmond's Midlothian Turnpike. Together with his second wife, Betty Cunningham (they would divorce 12 years later in 1997), he envisioned the office tower providing temporary office space with all of the clerical and technological amenities needed by a renting firm. Following financial difficulties suffered by his backers, namely the savings and loan scandal of the mid-1980s, Jamgochian found an unlikely champion, the City of Richmond. City Hall encouraged the architect to relocate his unconventional building to an empty parcel on the north side of the Ninth Street Bridge. Despite city backing, however, Jamgochian could find no financial backing for his design and the proposed development fizzled.
In recent years, a new appreciation has arisen for Jamgochian's designs and his one remaining structure, the Markel Building. The aluminum oddity has been named one of the 75 most important buildings in Richmond ( Richmond Magazine ), and, in March 2006, it was designated a Henrico County landmark building. In addition, a number of recent magazine and newspaper articles have retrospectively considered the enigmatic architect's long tenure in Richmond. The architect continues to design structures for his quarry property working with heavy equipment in what he has termed his "sandbox." The walls and tunnels that he has created with huge boulders within the confines of his estate function as his commissions; his only client being himself. He considers this endeavor simply his childhood train town writ large.
The Haigh Jamgochian Papers, circa 1930-2006, are housed in twenty-one (21) boxes, thirteen (13) oversize boxes, seven (7) oversize map case drawers, and one (1) acid-free tube. The collection originally contained no discernible order, so an arrangement consisting of seven series was imposed by the processing archivist. Series were designated for Personal Papers, Faculty Papers, Professional Papers, Project Records, Rockfalls School, Art and Artifacts, and Additional Donations. The collection includes correspondence, drawings and plans, sketches, architectural models, photographs, manuscripts, diaries, film, videotape, art, theses, artifacts, publications, clippings, and ephemera. The materials document the education, architectural career, and life of controversial Richmond architect Haigh Jamgochian.
Following is a broad overview of the collection. A more in-depth description of the collection can be found in the Series and Sub-series level descriptions. Researchers are encouraged to read the Series level scope and content notes thoroughly prior to utilizing the collection.
The bulk of this collection consists of correspondence; architectural drawings, plans, sketches and models; and photographs related to various realized and unrealized structures designed by architect Jamgochian. Best documented are his two executed projects- The Markel Building and Moon House- and his first architectural endeavor in Richmond, the "Tree House" (SERIES IV). Of considerable note in this series are the architectural models built by the architect for various clients, including himself (SERIES IV, SUB-SERIES D). These are particularly interesting because so few models for unbuilt projects survive. Also documented in this series are plans and designs for client-commissioned works and fanciful expressions of the architect's own mind. These designs are often pencil or colored pencil on tracing paper as a full set of working drawings were never realized for various reasons. Also extant in the collection are hundreds of sketches, large and small, done by the architect. These document the process of a design from the first doodles to a final set of design ideas. Several projects, including the Tree House, Markel Building, Roosevelt Memorial Design Competition, and a number of student projects, are examples of this process.
The collection also contains materials related to Jamgochian's architectural education, namely the student design problems (SERIES I, SUB-SERIES G). These items are indicative of the type of training conducted in modern architectural programs in the mid-20th century. Also in this series are the architect's student submissions for the Paris Prize in architecture. Jamgochian was twice named one of twelve finalists in the rigorous and prestigious competition for a scholarship to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
The newspaper clippings arranged throughout various series and subseries in the collection help to complete the story of the architect's over-fifty-year career in Richmond (SERIES I, SUB-SERIES B; SERIES II, SUB-SERIES A; SERIES III, SUB-SERIES B; SERIES IV, SUB-SERIES E; SERIES V). Jamgochian received a significant amount of newspaper coverage during that time ranging from the remodeling of his parents' delicatessen while an architectural student; his vehement debate with Richmond City Council over zoning for the "Tree House" building; his unconventional, sledgehammer-wielding building techniques on the Markel Building; the unique design of the Moon House along the James River; the operation of a "Massive Resistance" school for white children in his neighborhood during the 1970s; the legal battle with his neighbors over the upkeep of his sprawling estate; the devastating fire that nearly took his life but spawned the idea for his spiral tower building; and retrospectives of his life and career in architecture. Another well-documented aspect of the architect's life reflected in the collection is his unique projects on his Rockfalls Drive property. The ten acre site, which features a quarry, became the architect's "laboratory" where he built structures and features using the materials at hand- mostly stone and discarded building materials. Throughout these projects, he documented the progress with an extensive number of photographs (SERIES I, SUB-SERIES F).
This collection is arranged in the following series:
Series I. Personal Papers, 1936-2006. Series II. Faculty Papers, 1956-1964. Series III. Professional Papers, 1944-2006. Series IV. Project Records, 1949-1996. Series V. Rockfalls School, circa 1971-1974. Series VI. Art and Artifacts, 1935-1955. Series VII. Additional Donations, 2006 ca.Oversized items have been separated. Separation notes have been inserted to direct the researcher.
This series is broken in to seven (7) subseries. Subseries have been designated for Biographical Information, Diaries, Correspondence, Student Work, Photographs, Military Service, and Clippings/Articles.
Arranged alphabetically by subseries title.
Contains undated biographical information on the architect.
Contains clippings/articles related to Haigh Jamgochian's life generally from his childhood to retrospectives of his long tenure as one of Richmond's unique characters.
Contains general correspondence mostly of a personal nature. There are some examples of official correspondence from local government dealing with Jamgochian's various legal difficulties with neighbors of his Rockfalls Drive property. Also contained in this subseries is a folder of correspondence related to the architect's attempt to donate his land to Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Arranged chronologically.
Contains variously dated and time-marked but largely illegible notepads and notebooks maintained by Jamgochian during various periods of his life. These record ideas, thoughts, personal history, or critiques but have been organized under the heading of "Diaries."
Contains materials related to the architect's service in the United States Marine Corps., including Blue Star flags displayed by his parents during he and his brother's service in World War II.
Contains general photographs from Jamgochian's lifetime. The architect took a great number of pictures, especially to document his work on the quarry at his Rockfalls Drive property. Also included are photographs of his participation in several television interview shows, the Senior Olympics, vacations, and family. A self-described "ego maniac," Jamgochian often took pictures of himself while working on his property in order to document the steps of his efforts.
Arranged alphabetically by folder title with general photographs organized at the end.
Contains a significant amount of Jamgochian's student design work at Virginia Polytechnic and State University. The majority of the subseries is made up of design problems executed by the student architect. These problems were assigned to architectural students who then worked out sketches and refined the design, finally presenting their solution in a presentation drawing which was then judged by the professor (usually pass or fail). Also of note in this subseries are Jamgochian's submissions to the Paris Prize competition in 1951 and his Master's thesis titled "A Neighborhood for Richmond, Virginia."
Arranged alphabetically by folder title.
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Still life of blanket, bowl, and ear of corn.
Still life of jug and fabric.
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Contains miscellaneous personal and professional projects outside of the architectural arena. Especially noteworthy is the documentation of Jamgochian sculpture of Virginia Governor Albertis S. Harrison.
Jamgochian solicited the president in an effort to sculpt his likeness. In that effort, he photographed the chief executive's various television appearances.
This series contains materials related to Jamgochian's period as a teacher at Richmond Professional Institute (now Virginia Commonwealth University). Subseries have been designated for Clippings/Articles, Course Materials, and Student Work. Subseries B Course Materials, Grade Book, 1956-1957, is restricted for student privacy until 30 May 2032.
Arranged alphabetically by subseries title.
Contains clippings/articles related to the courses taught by Jamgochian at Richmond Professional Institute.
Contains grade book and notes related to the courses taught by Jamgochian at Richmond Professional Institute. Grade Book, 1956-1957, is restricted for student privacy until 30 May 2032.
Arranged alphabetically by folder title.
RESTRICTED for student privacy until 30 May 2032.
Contains photographs of student work completed for Jamgochian's various architectural courses at Richmond Professional Institute.
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This series is broken in to seven (7) subseries. Subseries have been designated for Administrative, Clippings/Articles, Correspondence, Reference Files, Research Notes, Writings By/About, and Miscellaneous.
Arranged alphabetically by subseries title.
Contains various applications, both employment and contest; board registration information; a portfolio of architectural work; and telephone log. The 1968 employment application by the architect is restricted until 29 August 2024. Redacted copy is available.
Arranged alphabetically by folder title.
RESTRICTED until 29 August 2024. Redacted copy available.
Contains extensive print coverage of various projects by architect Jamgochian, as well as articles collected by the architect based on his professional interests. Included are trade magazines, foreign publications, newspaper clippings, professional journals, popular magazines, and the like. In most cases, the entire magazine or journal has been retained. The publications have not been individually foldered but are arranged in chronological order. A marker has been placed to note the location of the article or ad pertaining to Jamgochian, his designs, or similar subject matter.
Arranged chronologically with loose and undated material at the end.
Three copies: one of 1963 and two of 1964.
Three copies.
Two copies.
Three copies.
Three copies.
Three copies.
Three copies: two August and one September 1967.
Three copies.
Two copies.
Two copies.
Three copies.
Two copies.
Two copies of each issue.
Two copies. Includes two copies of 2002-2003 calendar documenting Richmond architecture. Markel Building and Moon House mentioned.
Contains articles copied from magazines regarding career/work of H. Jamgochian.
Contains general correspondence related to the architect's practice. It includes non-project and multi-project correspondence.
Arranged chronologically.
Contains files, manuals, and publications maintained by the architect as reference material. This mostly includes product literature.
Arranged alphabetically.
Contains articles, both published and unpublished, by the architect and others concerning his architectural philosophy, designs, controversial stature, and opinions. Some of the materials are copies of term papers given to the architect by students who submitted their work for credit in an art history or related class at the college level. Of note is "The Architecture of Haigh Jamgochian," by Barbara Ross Luck, Virginia Commonwealth University, M. A. Thesis, 1970, and "Architecture Drafting and Design," a textbook, that contains copies of some of Jamgochian's models. Also included in this subseries is a children's book written and illustrated by Jamgochian titled "Little and Big." While this is outside of the architectural profession, it was organized here to maintain one subseries of the architect's writing.
Contains miscellaneous materials related to Jamgochian's professional career, including a television news interview on the near-30th anniversary of the Markel Building.
Arranged alphabetically by folder title with miscellaneous at the end.
Segment of Channel 6 (WTVR) newscast titled "Richmond After Six" hosted by Charles Fishburne. Reporter Jeff Moore discusses near 30 year anniversary of the Markel Building and Jamgochian's architectural career. Moon House and unfinished Amoeba House are also shown. Various models and drawings are also shown in the segment.
This series contains five subseries of project records created Haigh Jamgochian. Organized into subseries for Files, Photographs, Drawings, Models, and Clippings.
Arranged alphabetically by subseries title.
Contains the surviving correspondence, notes, specifications, reports, and other project related materials for architectural projects designed by Jamgochian. Documented in this subseries are numerous projects that were not constructed by the clients. The following is restricted due to privacy issues: Communications Executive Center, Personal Financial Statement of Haigh Jamgochian, 1983. Especially well-documented in this subseries are the "Tree House," Markel Building, Moon House, and Communications Executive Center.
Arranged chronologically.
Personal Financial Statement of Haigh Jamgochian RESTRICTED until 12 December 2024.
Contains photographic representations of structures, models, and renderings executed by architect Jamgochian. The two built projects, the Markel Building and Moon House, also have extensive construction photographs. Oversized photographs are noted.
Arranged chronologically.
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Contains an extensive number of drawing, plans, shop drawings, and sketches for built and unbuilt projects designed by architect Jamgochian. Especially well-documented are the "Tree House," Markel Building, Moon House, and Communications Executive Center. Numerous other projects that did not make it past the proposal stage are also documented in this voluminous subseries. All projects, including those that pre-date Jamgochian's professional status, are organized in this subseries for ease of research. An example of a pre-professional project is the architect's work for his parents at the Town House Delicatessen, circa 1949. All drawing types and stages are housed together since most did not make it beyond the planning stage. In the case of completed projects with ample documentation, the drawings have been housed in multiple folders and separated by working and record drawings. The "Amoeba House" design was proposed for a parcel in Richmond's Forest Hill neighborhood and on the Rockfalls Drive property. Consequently, researcher can find information on this design, mostly photographs, in Series I, Subseries F. Photographs, Rockfalls Property, 1968-.
Arranged chronologically.
See also "Amoeba House." This project represents the architect's first design for this site. About a decade later, the architect designed "The Amoeba" for the same site.
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Contains architectural models for eight projects proposed by the architect. These models were all designed and constructed by the architect. Considerable care should be used with these fragile objects.
This box contains two models related to Jamgochian's M. A. thesis, " A Neighborhood for Richmond, Virginia," 1951. Their creation date is unknown, but it is known that they were displayed at the 27 March 1971 Richmond Public Forum lecture titled "It's Our World: let's talk about it...with Dr. Isaac Asimov." See Series III, G. Miscellaneous.
Contains newspaper clippings related to specific architectural projects. The majority pertain to the "Tree House," Markel Building, Moon House, and Communications Executive Center.
Arranged chronologically.
This series contains information on the private school operated by Haigh Jamgochian in the early 1970s during the "Massive Resistance" movement in Virginia. Also included is information on art classes taught by the architect as a means of income. Included is information on the building; photographs of students, teachers, and activities; and examples of student work.
Arranged alphabetically by folder title.
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Super 8mm film.
Service copies for original photographs damaged by water.
Originals damaged by water. Do not serve.
Originals damaged by water. Do not serve.
Height: 10 in., Width: 9-1/2 in.; Materials: Copper framed in tin.
Height: 27 in., Width: 54 in.; Materials: Acrylic on pressed board.
Height: 14 in., Width: 43 in.; Materials: Acrylic and unknown materials on pressed board.
This series was created in anticipation of additional donations to this collection.