To celebrate its 110th anniversary, a small, but visually rich and diverse exhibition was mounted in the Marquis Gallery at the fellow member National Arts Club (1898) in December and January. Focusing on current work, it also had an historical component with never-before-displayed drawings from the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University. These drawings were just part of an extensive archive of the company housed at the library.

Designs and commissions executed by the Rambusch Company during its century and decade of activity can be found in every state of this nation and in many different contexts from rural communities to small towns and major cities. The long-time Association member has completed work in more than 40 state capitol buildings and also in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Despite the small size of the company (there are just 40 employees), Rambusch has completed commissions in a surprising number of countries, including Australia, Canada, Columbia, El Salvador, Finland, Ghana, Hong Kong, Mexico, Panama, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Singapore, and Venezuela.

Now in its fourth generation, it is led by Edwin P. Rambusch (president) and Martin V. Rambusch (chairman), the twin sons of Viggo B. Rambusch, FIES, ASID. Viggo is still active in the company as a senior project manager.

“In a real sense, because the Rambusch Company has been awarded repeat commissions in so many public buildings, both religious and secular, the building itself becomes the firm’s client,” noted Edwin Rambusch.

A case in point is Saint Joseph’s Cathedral in Wheeling, West Virginia. One of the drawings from Avery, dated 1927, depicts a wrought iron prie-dieu. During the intervening years, Rambusch designed and completed many more commissions for this cathedral. This year, for example, a state-of-the-art lighting system was installed to enhance the majestic Romanesque-inspired interior.

The historical component of the exhibition served as backdrop for the diverse work currently emanating from the studios and workshop, now located in Jersey City, New Jersey. Old or new, in-process or just completed, what distinguishes the design and craft of Rambusch projects are the custom-made aspects of each object.

Whether the company considers a streamlined recessed luminaire, a decorative replica chandelier, a mosaic, or a stained glass window, the object is the result of a business model that is now rare and all but lost in modern culture. The design, from conception to execution, is an individualized response to the client’s needs and requirements. In its own workshops and studios, Rambusch designers, artists and craftspeople collaborate to achieve the final, custom-made result.

“Some of our favorite commissions are those that call on us to refurbish, refresh or adapt anew our designs executed decades ago,” remarked Martin Rambusch, who heads the stained glass studio that opened in 1930.

The hallmark of projects and others produced by the Rambusch Company is their supreme craft orientation. At a time when craft has become separated from art and design, craft historian Peter Dormer observed that there is a “separation of having ideas from making objects.” The Rambusch Company works against this tide. It prides itself on the articulation of the idea of the object as being integrally linked to the process of its making.

Objects designed and made by the Rambusch Company are now in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of the Moving Image, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and The Wolfsonian.

The company offers a self-guided walking tour of its recent works in situ in Manhattan. Guides are available by calling (201) 333-2525.