Victor Christ-Janer

Victor F. Christ-Janer (March 27,1915 -March 24, 2008 ) was an American modernist architect.

Victor Christ-Janer was born in Elysian, Minnesota on March 27, 1915 and raised in nearby Waterville. Mr. Christ-Janer trained in liberal arts, sculpting, painting, and architecture at St. Olaf College from the years 1933-1935. From 1937-1939, he served as director of a summer art school at Stephens College. From 1941-1942 he was the chief graphic designer for Nelson Rockefeller, the Office of Inter-American Affairs. He continued his education at Yale University, where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts with honors in 1940. His studies were interrupted when he served in World War II. After securing a conscientious objector status, he volunteered for service in a non-fighting position, where he then served in the European theatre. ("He had access to photos taken at a German concentration camp right after it was entered by the Allies. He kept the photos on his desk in his office in New Canaan referring to them often as examples of the horror of the Holocaust and something he would never forget. In fact, when an accountant, who worked for him (who was Jewish) bought a Mercedes, Victor chided him so much that he sold it and bought a Jaguar."). After the war, he was employed as an associate of Nemeny and Geller from 1946-1948. Mr. Christ-Janer returned to Yale University where he received his Bachelor of Architecture in 1947. He was employed as a designer for IBEC from 1948-1949.

After completing his college education, Mr. Christ-Janer designed and built his home in New Canaan, CT. in 1949. In 1955, he founded the Victor Christ-Janer and Associates architectural firm on Elm Street in New Canaan, Connecticut. But his occupation was not restricted to design alone. He also taught the course: The Master’s Degree in General Design at Columbia University, beginning in 1963 to 1977 and lectured at Danforth University on the topic of “Irrationality and a Contemporary Consciousness” from 1963 to 1970. Later in his career Mr. Christ-Janer spent considerable time developing building materials resistant to natural calamities such as earthquakes, cyclones and hurricanes.

Notable Works

*Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio
*Lewisboro Village, New York
*Meinrad Abbey for the United Christ Church in Western Connecticut
*Saint Mary’s Abbey in Morristown, New Jersey
*Unitarian Universalist Church in Rochester, Minnesota
*Charterhouse of the Transfiguration [http://transfiguration.chartreux.org/] in Arlington, Vermont
*Walter Stewarts Market New Canaan CT, (1957) Connecticut

Descendants

Daughters Katherine Christ-Janer, Karey Christ-Janer, and a grand-daughter, Karissa Gallo.