Herman Jessor's Cooperative Housing Legacy Explored at Citygroup Exhibition

The 'Jessor' exhibition at Citygroup in New York City, running until May 23, highlights the contributions of architect Herman Jessor, who designed over 300 cooperatively-owned residential buildings comprising more than 40,000 units between 1925 and 1974. Curated by Zara Pfeifer, Brad Isnard, and Daniel Jonas Roche, with design by Geoff Han, the exhibit includes a 32-page broadsheet featuring writings by Isnard and Roche, a 'retroactive manifesto,' Jessor's biography, photographs, archival images, and a 1970 critique by Denise Scott Brown and Robert Venturi. Jessor's partnerships with labor unions led to the establishment of limited-equity cooperatives such as Amalgamated Cooperative Apartments (1927) and Penn South (1961), suggesting relevance to contemporary social housing initiatives.