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[Municipal Art, B.A.I.A.] Prize Winning Design Local ID #: 1922/121 <I>AIA/T-Square Yearbook</I>, p. 121 (1922)
[Municipal Art, B.A.I.A.]
Prize Winning Design
Local ID #: 1922/121
AIA/T-Square Yearbook, p. 121 (1922)

Born: 1/25/1901, Died: 2/20/1958

Housing expert Kenneth M. Day was the son of one of Philadelphia's most prestigious architects, Frank Miles Day. His mother was Anne Blakiston Day. After graduating from Chestnut Hill Academy, Day entered the University of Pennsylvania and received his B.S. in Architecture in 1922. He worked in the London office of Sir Aston Webb and with Day & Klauder, his father's firm, while an undergraduate, but joined Ritter & Shay upon graduation. By 1923 he had moved to New York City and was with McKim, Mead & White there from 1923 to 1926. Returning to Philadelphia in 1927, he briefly joined Thomas, Martin & Kirkpatrick before launching his own firm, Purves & Day. By 1932 this firm had dissolved, and Day continued in private practice until his death. Although many of the published designs of Purves & Day indicate a use of traditional styles and Beaux Arts planning, the later career of Day demonstrates a greater interest in large scale planning of housing operations as well as a more modernistic approach to residential design.

Day was a member of the AIA, and he served as president of the Octavia Hill Association in 1941. From 1947 to 1948 he was an associate professor in Yale University's School of Architecture, and he also served as guest lecturer at Cornell University. He was registered to practice in New York and Pennsylvania. His early career was marked by a number of honors, including the Warren Prize and the Huckel Prize while at the University, first prize in the Municipal Art Society of New York competition of 1922, and medals from the Beaux Arts Institute of Design in 1922.

Written by Sandra L. Tatman.

Clubs and Membership Organizations

  • American Institute of Architects (AIA)
  • Philadelphia Chapter, AIA
  • Octavia Hill Assoc.

School Affiliations

  • University of Pennsylvania
  • Yale University
  • Cornell University

 

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