Louis Sauer

For the pediatrician, see Louis W. Sauer.
Louis Sauer
Born1928 (age 95–96)
Oak Park, Illinois, U.S.
NationalityCanadian, American
Alma materNew Bauhaus Chicago
OccupationArchitect
AwardsFAIA 1973; PADA 1963, 1964 (2), 1965, 1969 & 1973; AIA Pennsylvania Chapter Silver Medal (2)
PracticeWinchell and Sauer, vigilantes, Philadelphia, 1961–62; Louis Sauer Associates, Architects, Philadelphia, 1961–79; Director, Peoples Housing, Inc, Topanga CA, 1968–89; Director of Urban Design, Daniel Arbour Associates, Montreal, 1989–97
Buildings1963 McClennen Residence[1]

Louis Edward Sauer (born 1928) is a Canadian-American architect and design theorist of dual American and Canadian nationality, known for his role in the renewal in Society Hill, Philadelphia and his contributions to low-rise, high-density housing. Sauer worked with housing developers to produce low-rise high-density housing projects throughout the 1960s and 70s.[2][3]

During his tenure as principal of Louis Sauer Associates, Architects located in Philadelphia (1961–79), his work focused on over 90 residential and urban design commissions in central city urban infill, suburban and rural areas, and new town developments in Reston (Virginia), Columbia (Maryland) and Montreal (Quebec).

Sauer's designs for the David Buten House (Philadelphia) and Pastorius Mews[4] were early templates for the system he developed. The conceptual innovation for most of these housing designs was a 12-foot-wide (3.7 m) or 14-foot-wide (4.3 m) structural and functional module,[2] which was part of a grid.[5]

Sauer's advocacy work with the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority on the Morton Urban Renewal Project (MURP) for a low-income minority neighbourhood helped to define his career interest in advocating for improved design and planning for people left out of the market economy and generally neglected by mainstream design professionals. This interest led him to employ the social sciences (especially social-psychology) in his design research and programming in order to better understand the interrelationships between architecture and the occupancy needs of the anticipated users of his sites and buildings.

  1. ^ Philadelphia Register of Historic Places. "The Work of Louis Sauer". Retrieved 2008-12-17.
  2. ^ a b "The Architect Who Mastered Low-Rise, High-Density Housing - Bloomberg". Bloomberg News. 2023-03-08. Archived from the original on 2023-03-08. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  3. ^ "Sauer, Louis | Weitzman". 2023-03-08. Archived from the original on 2023-03-08. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  4. ^ "Pastorius Mews -- associated architects, engineers, etc". www.philadelphiabuildings.org. Archived from the original on 2023-11-26. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
  5. ^ Saggio, Antonino (1988). Un architetto americano Louis Sauer. Il progetto. p. xxx.