Issue 103 June 27th 2018

The Headlines

Billionaire Lists Ennis House For $23 Million

Weeks after buying a former estate of the late entertainer Bob Hope, billionaire Ron Burkle is listing another prominent Los Angeles property, the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Ennis House, for $23 million. Built in the 1920s and named after the original owner, the home was crafted out of roughly 27,000 concrete blocks. Read more.

Sharing Frank Lloyd Wright's Vision Through Digital Innovation

Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation announced that it is partnering with Leica Geosystems, part of Hexagon, industry leader in measurement technology, to capture, document, and deliver immersive 3D experiences featuring the iconic architect’s properties.

Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home and studio, is the first property that will be made available through an immersive online experience led by Leica Geosystems. The Arizona property attracts more than 110,000 tourists each year. Now, the world can explore Taliesin West through accurate and detailed 3D models of the physical site that will allow viewers to remotely experience the property as if they were actually there. Read more.

9 Iconic Modernist Holiday Homes You Can Rent

Included in The Spaces list of modernist homes to rent is the Frank Lloyd Wright’s restored Eppstein House in Michigan. This 1951 home by Frank Lloyd Wright has undergone a recent top-to-toe renovation. Original details have been carefully restored, while salvaged period pieces and original furniture by the architect emphasise the property’s historic atmosphere. Design buffs can settle in for a good read, choosing from shelves well-stocked with architecture books. See it here.

David Wright House Donation Called Off

After the Arizona Republic announced the news, a joint statement from the David & Gladys Wright House and the School of Architecture at Taliesin (formerly known as the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture) which says plans are no longer in the works for the school to receive the house in Phoenix that the famous architect designed for his son.

A year ago, owner Zach Rawling announced that he was gifting the David and Gladys Wright House to the school if $7 million could be raised to restore and manage the 1952 property. Rawling had purchased the Phoenix home in 2012 with plans to turn it into a museum. Over the past year, we have learned that the fundraising timetables of both parties do not lend themselves to a joint campaign. Read more.

"Wright This Way" To Support The Gordon House

The 1957 Gordon House, one of Wright's Usonian designs, was built on the banks of Oregon's Willamette River but relocated to the Oregon Garden in Silverton to save it from being demolished.

The term "Usonia" stands for living in harmony with the land in the United States of North America (USONA). He described his dwellings as having an organic appearance as if they rose "out of the ground and into the light."Learn more about the architect, his work, and the "Wright This Way!" fundraiser that supports the preservation and ongoing renovation of the Gordon House. The event will take place Wednesday, June 27 and will take place at Design Within Reach, 825 N.W. 13 Ave. in Portland. Read more.

Re-Examining Ravine Bluffs

The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy recently shared an article by Karen Ettelson which explores the history of Wright's 1915 Ravine Bluffs development in Glencoe, IL and explains that, although Wright's first built neighborhood of modern homes for well-heeled upper middle class buyers, it was never meant to be "affordable housing." Read more.

Wright: Master Architect of GOT's Meereen?

Paul Hardt's a huge fan of both Frank Lloyd Wright and “Game of Thrones.” So when he started seeing Wrightian-inspired interiors in the Great Pyramid of Meereen (Season 4), he wanted to find out if the designer of these interiors was actually influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Paul contacted Deborah Riley, BAFTA-award winning production designer of “Game of Thrones,” and she generously consented to do an interview. Listen to it here.

New Wright-Inspired Homes Based on Usonian Designs

Lindal Cedar Homes has partnered with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation to launch the Lindal Imagine Series, a new line of modern homes, inspired by the work of Wright. The new effort unites the enduring design principles of Wright’s Usonian homes with current developments in technology, construction, and design theory.

The venture is a partnership with the School of Architecture at Taliesin, which has its roots in the Taliesin Fellowship, an apprentice program initiated by Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1930s. “We have strong ties with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and the School of Architecture at Taliesin, so this new collaboration makes sense,” said Josefin Kannin, marketing director for Lindal Cedar Homes. “There’s been a surge of interest in mid-century modern homes for the middle class that are affordable and aesthetically pleasing. These homes will meet that demand; they are unique, are integrated with nature, and have the feel of a much larger home. We hope the new Imagine series will be much more accessible to people who want the look of an architect-designed home but may not have the budget for a completely custom creation.”

According to Stuart Graff, President and CEO of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, “The Lindal Imagine series reflects a modern embodiment of Frank Lloyd Wright’s principles; sensitive to the attributes of Usonian design while meeting the demands of contemporary living."Read more.

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