William "Al" Lanier

Albert Lanier was born in a small town in Georgia. At the age of sixteen he enrolled at Georgia Tech to study architecture. He interrupted his studies to serve in the United States Navy. After service he returned to Georgia Tech, but decided along with other dissatisfied students including Ragland Watkins and Si Sillman to enroll at Black Mountain to study art and architecture.

Lanier enrolled in the fall of 1947 and remained through the summer of 1948. He was instrumental in the design and construction of the Minimum House at the college.

At Black Mountain, Lanier met his wife, Ruth Asawa, and the couple married in 1949 making San Francisco their home. Initially, Lanier worked as an architectural draftsman and took on various architectural jobs to help support the family.

He worked for a year for San Francisco architect Mario Corbett before establishing a partnership with Roy Maru. After working for John Funk, he established a second partnership with Paul Merrill. Lanier was noted for his residential designs and renovations. A committed preservationist, he was instrumental in saving the historic Piazzoni murals at the de Young Museum from destruction and designed the first renovation of the Noe Valley Branch Library. He designed a number of youth hostels in California.

He worked tirelessly with Ruth to establish a high school for the arts, the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts. Asawa and Lanier were collaborators on many projects, and their home in the Mission district was a center for arts and political activism.

Biography written by Mary Emma Harris for the Black Mountain College Project.

Relationships

Wife: Fellow BMC student, Ruth Asawa

Black Mountain College Project

Mary Emma Harris interviewed Albert in 1998 (transcript) and 2002 (transcript) which are available from Appalachian State University under The Mary Emma Harris and Black Mountain College Project, Inc. Oral History collection.

Topics 1998: Hearing about BMC – Georgia Tech students at BMC – general classes – construction of Minimum House – Max Dehn class and importance – M.C. Richard’s writing class – Josef Albers classes and personality – Peek’s Tavern – student study – Peggy Tolk-Watkins – move to San Francisco and BMC people there – the Tin Angel – the Fallen Angel – Fantasy Records – 1948 summer session faculty – Buckminster Fuller and Supine Dome – Willem de Kooning – Elaine de Kooning – props for Satie’s Ruse of Medusa – Richard Lippold – John Cage and Merce Cunningham - post-BMC professional work

Topics 2002: Minimum House design and construction – studies at Georgia Tech and transfer – purchase of Model A Ford and cross country trips – sale of blood for gas – work in buildingtrades in San Francisco – early architecture experience and architecture commissions in San Francisco area – experience in community gardening – discussion of student studies