Issue 140 March 13th 2019

The Headlines

A Rare Look At A Lost Early Wright-Designed House

Eric Nordstrom of BLDG. 51 and Urban Remains recently shared scanned photos originally taken by Richard Nickel of the 1892 Harlan House before its demolition. the Harlan House is a little known early "bootleg" design in Chicago by Frank Lloyd Wright. Check out the remarkable images here.

If you want to learn more about Harlan and other early Wright designs, then be sure to pick up a copy of the Journal of Organic Architecture + Design V5:N2 titled "Wright's Roots," authored by Chicago Cultural Historian, Tim Samuelson. Get your copy here.

Help Kickstart a Miniature Unity Temple

The Little Building Co. has announced the launch of a Kickstarter campaign to promote their latest model kit of the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Unity Temple. “We have been working with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation in Scottsdale, AZ to develop models of Wright’s work and we’re excited to share our first model kit with the world”, says Marcus Bree, Founder, Little Building Co. The model kits are developed at the Little Building Co’s Brisbane studio, and are beautifully crafted from timber and have the option of being housed in a clear acrylic case.

"Through Kickstarter we are able reach others who believe in our products and those who are passionate about the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. Our models give you a chance to build a detailed model without the need for a fully equipped workshop”, expressed Bree. Marcus and his company have been developing their models for a number of years. The Unity Temple is a great addition to their existing range which already includes the Guggenheim Museum in NY and the Sydney Opera House. The Unity Temple is considered by many to be one of the first modern buildings due to its method of construction. Built between 1905 and 1908 and cast in concrete it was revolutionary for its time. The Kickstarter campaign only runs for 30 days so those interested need to be quick to jump on board. More here.

Architecture Officially Recognized As STEM Subject

In July, the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act was passed by the United States Congress. The bi-partisan act, which goes into effect on July 1, 2019, is meant to improve Career and Technical Education (CTE) resources for schools, employers, students, and learners on all levels. In addition, this federally funded initiative will lead to architecture being recognized as a STEM (science, technology, education, and mathematics) and STEAM (science, technology, education, arts, and mathematics) subject.

In this article the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Director of Education, Kevin Conley, tells us more about the significance of this new legislation and how architectural principles and STEAM work together. Read it here.

Architecture And Design Film Festival Returns To Los Angeles

For design fans and movie buffs alike, the Los Angeles edition of the Architecture and Design Film Festival, taking place March 13–17 at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, will exhibit a range of films examining designers, architects, and the craft itself. Among the offerings is That Far Corner: Frank Lloyd Wright in Los Angeles. The film, by Christopher Hawthorne, chief design officer for the city of Los Angeles, peels back the layers of Wright’s LA designs, framing five houses as a type of catharsis for the architect in the wake of an emotionally turbulent period. More about the other offerings here.

Frank Lloyd Wright, The Art Institute, And The Robie House, 1900–1910

The Frank Lloyd Wright Trust, in partnership with the Art Institute of Chicago, presents Frank Lloyd Wright, the Art Institute, and the Robie House, 1900–1910, a lecture by author and historian, Kathryn Smith.

Kathryn Smith explores the exhibitions of his work that Wright organized and presented with the Chicago Architectural Club at the Art Institute during his Chicago years. Wright had substantial ties to the Art Institute during the first decade of the 20th century when he created the Prairie style, finally and fully expressed in the Robie House. Daniel Catton Rich, Director of the Art Institute during the 1950s, was among those leaders who spearheaded the campaign to save the Robie House from demolition in 1957.

Smith's recent book, Wright on Exhibit, published by Princeton University Press and supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship, was selected as one of the 25 best books of 2017 by Metropolis Magazine. Wright organized over 100 exhibitions over his lifetime. Smith demonstrates that Wright was an artist-architect projecting an avant-garde program, an innovator who expanded the palette of installation design as technology evolved, and a social activist driven to revolutionize society through design. Smith’s other books include Frank Lloyd Wright: American Master, Frank Lloyd Wright, Hollyhock House, Olive Hill: Buildings and Projects for Aline Barnsdall, and Schindler House.

This event will take place on Friday, April 5, 2019, at 3 - 4 pm, at Fullerton Hall, The Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60603. Admission is free with admission to the Art Institute. Register here.

Farm Dinner At Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin

In the spirit of Frank Lloyd Wright’s organic architecture and Taliesin’s rich farming history, Taliesin Preservation is pleased to announce the 2019 Summer Farm Dinner Series, featuring outstanding chefs and unique menus. Each event includes a cocktail reception and three-course farm-to-table dinner with local beer and wine in a relaxed atmosphere and breathtaking environment. Dinner will be sourced from local producers and will feature farm-fresh seasonal vegetables from the Taliesin Farm. Taliesin Preservation will host two farm dinners in 2019, each dinner featuring the produce and harvest of the season.

The first event will be July 28, at 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm. The cost is $150 per person. More information here.

Elizabeth Wright Ingraham-Designed House Could Face Demolition For Flood Levee

Fargo, North Dakota City Commissioners gave the go-ahead for city staff to start negotiating buyouts of four properties in the Belmont neighborhood despite reservations that it ultimately might force the demolition of a historically significant house.

The commission’s unanimous decision Monday, March 11, came after a discussion in which Commissioner John Strand vowed to oppose the destruction of any historically significant building if a solution that is technically and financially feasible can be found. “Somebody needs to stand up for these structures that don’t have a voice,” Strand said.

The home at 1458 S. River Road belongs to John and Sherri Stern and was designed by Elizabeth Wright Ingraham, the granddaughter of noted architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The home, built in 1958, represents a rare example of Usonian architecture in the area and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Read more about this controversy here.

"Brick" Is A Visual Ode To The Humble Building Block

A brick is anything but ordinary; it’s an essential building block of humanity’s story. Its ubiquity renders it almost invisible, a hidden-in-plain-sight part of our built environment, whose fascinating history and radical architectural applications are often overlooked. In Phaidon’s new mini edition of the 2015 photo book Brick, author and editor William Hall pays homage to “the humblest thing imaginable … [a] brick is after all just earth.” Yet the 168 eye-catching photos of this small, brick-size book — featuring buildings spanning millennia and continents, and highlighting modern architects from Alvar Aalto to Peter Zumthor — prove otherwise.

One of Hall's examples is Frank Lloyd Wright’s V.C. Morris Gift Shop in San Francisco, a stark church of consumerism. Inside Wright’s building, light fills the atrium where a spiral walkway — an early prototype for his later Guggenheim design — swirls upward. But from the outside, it’s windowless; a wall of bricks with an arched mousehole-like doorway. More information about this interesting book here.

Women Architects Brought Big-City Style To Early Orlando

Joy Wallace Dickinson writes in the Orlando Sentinel about the women architects who brought big-city style to ’20s Orlando. One of those women was Ida Annah Ryan. Ryan was Orlando, Florida's first registered female architect. Ryan had come to Orlando in 1917. About 1920 in Orlando, she had formed a partnership with Isabel Roberts, and their architectural works included the 1920s band shell at Lake Eola (torn down about 1957). Ryan died in 1950; Roberts, in 1955. Before Roberts moved to Orlando, she worked in Frank Lloyd wright's Oak Park Studio. Born in 1871, Roberts grew up in South Bend, IN, and was hired by Wright after three years of study in Manhattan. She moved to Florida in 1920 and joined forces with Ryan, whom history now records as the nation’s first woman to earn a master’s degree in architecture, from MIT in 1906. Read more about these remarkable women here.

Call For Robert Llewellyn Wright House Photos

Steven M. Reiss, an architect and author, recently completed a book on Frank Lloyd Wright's Pope-Leighey House. He is now working on a book documenting Wright's design for his youngest son, Robert Llewellyn Wright. The house is in Bethesda, MD. and is one of Wright's few, built, hemicycle designs. It is the only FLLW design that has remained in the Wright family since its completion in 1958. Thomas Wright, FLLW's grandson, and Steven are searching for any and all photographs or information on the house; during construction, after completion, interiors and exteriors, all would be appreciated. Bob Beharka was Wright's apprentice on the project (also supervising the Marden house at the same time).

If you have any images or information on the house you would be willing to share for the book it would be much appreciated. All photos and information will be credited in the book. I can be reached at stevenr0520@Yahoo.com.

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