Issue 175 November 13th 2019

The Headlines

Preservation Of Taliesin West Board Room Completed

Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Taliesin West Preservation Manager Emily Butler reflects on the process of preserving Taliesin West’s Board Room, and discusses some of the finishing touches that helped bring the space back to its former glory. Read the article here.

10 Architecturally Renowned Modern Homes Across The U.S.

Bri Thomas of The Travel has put together a list of "10 Architecturally Renowned Modern Homes Across The U.S." and several will be instantly familiar to Wright Society readers. The modern homes that are listed are some of the most noteworthy ones in the U.S. and have been photographed numerous times, studied by professionals/classes and referenced in conversations and similar builds. Bruce Goff's remarkable Ford House in Aurora, IL—one of our favorites—makes the list. See what else made this list here.

Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands Is A Top 30 Place To Travel in 2020

Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands has been voted one of the top 30 emerging travel destinations on the planet for 2020. The annual awards honoring trending destinations were published on the site TravelLemming.com, which promotes emerging destinations around the world as a solution to overtourism.

The article explains the selection of the Laurel Highlands as follows: "Who would have thought that one of the best nature destinations in the United States was just an hour outside of Pittsburg? A landscape so beautiful that it inspired two of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural masterpieces, today the Laurel Highlands beckon with luxury resorts offering prime ski slope access and cozy woodland accommodations perfect for cuddling up next to a cup of coffee and a book. You'll find plenty to get the adrenaline flowing in the summer too - from whitewater rafting to rock climbing to hiking, the possibilities for adventures are endless in the Laurel Highlands." Read more here.

Architecture in Motion: The Gordon Strong Automobile Objective

In an article that originally appeared in the fall 2018 issue of the Frank Lloyd Wright Quarterly magazine, “Unbuilt Frank Lloyd Wright: Architecture for the Automobile”, The Whirling Arrow takes us back to a chapter in Frank Lloyd Wright's ever evolving career.

"In the fall of 1924, Chicago businessman Gordon Strong commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design a resort facility for the summit of Sugarloaf Mountain, Maryland, Strong’s rural estate near Washington, D.C. Referred to by client and architect as an “automobile objective,” the structure was to attract the large motoring public which had evolved in post-World War I America. Wright’s design was one of the most striking of his career. Inside it contained a huge domed planetarium; outside it resembled a circular ziggurat, with concrete automobile ramps spiraling up to the top and back down again."

Read more of this story here, and look for more of architect David Romero's stunning unbuilt Frank Lloyd Wright designs as 3D models in the Fall 2019 issue of the Quarterly.

Daniel Liebermann-Designed Home For Sale For $2.8M

Daniel Liebermann was a Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice who designed many unique homes in the San Francisco region. One such home in the Berkeley Hills is now listed for $2.8 million.

The home features 3,987 square feet in a radial design, allowing for panoramic views of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay and San Francisco throughout. Indoor/outdoor living is an important feature of the four-bedroom, four-bathroom house. A large balcony wraps around the top floor, while the bottom floor includes terracing and a sizable yard. Multiple skylights allow for ample natural light in the main room, which showcases recycled and sustainable materials, including redwood beams. The two-story home has two fireplaces and a two-car garage. See the photos here.

What Is the Definition of Midwestern Architecture?

When people think of the Midwest they often think of small towns, flat farmland, and grain silos. Those who know slightly better, but haven’t spent any serious time pondering the area, probably think of Frank Lloyd Wright or big glass buildings. But the architecture in the Midwest is so much more: weird, innovative, sophisticated and above all, diverse, ranging from the oddball designs of Bertrand Goldberg (who designed Chicago’s famous Marina Towers) and the socially conscious work of Lillian Leenhouts, to unheralded anonymous gems like flea markets, grain silos, rest stops, indigenous mounds and parking lots.

Zach Mortice has experienced it all, from playing in grain silos during his childhood on a farm in Iowa to attending a birthday party in a Frank Lloyd Wright house outside his current home of Chicago. The design journalist edited Midwest Architecture Journeys, a collection of pieces by more than 20 architects, critics and journalists, with the aim of highlighting the area’s lesser-known architectural treasures and championing a region that often gets overlooked in general. Read more about this architecturally interesting region here.

Attorney's Generosity Helps Preserve St. Patrick's Church

Thanks to the generosity of attorney Adrian Schoone, the historic campus of St. Patrick’s, Racine, Wisconsin's oldest Catholic parish, can continue serving the community for decades to come. Schoone’s donations, totaling more than $337,000 over the last two years, have been critical to preserving the integrity of the grounds and buildings.

St. Patrick’s campus features a 95-year-old church listed on the National Register of Historic Places and a 90-year-old school and adjoining convent, all designed by Frank Lloyd Wright associate Barry Byrne with sculpture help from Alfonso Iannelli.

The school building serves the parish’s Christian Formation program and its John XXIII Educational Center, an after-school tutoring and mentoring program open to any middle school or high school student in the Greater Racine area. More here.

The History Behind A Phoenix Church Originally Designed By Frank Lloyd Wright

Originally commissioned in 1949 by the Southwest Christian Seminary in Phoenix, Frank Lloyd Wright (then 82 years of age) was to design a classical university. Complete with chapel and other structures, the campus would occupy eighty acres. His drawings were finished and made public in 1950. The Seminary however, ceased its operations and the university was never built. Permission was obtained from Wright's widow to use the plans for a new First Christian Church. Executed by the Taliesin Associated Architect's, construction began in 1971 and the church was completed in 1973. SkyFOX Drone has a special look. See the building from this incredible perspective here.

Modernism's Effect On The California We Know Today

California modernism reached maturity just as America emerged to a radically altered international scene; the U.S., the world’s first atomic power, spared from the kind of devastation visited upon Europe and Asia during World War II, radiated its economic, political and cultural influence. California served as the emblem of the American dream, the ideal of modernity and purveyor of modernism, which it broadcast to the nation and larger world.

Automobiles served as the midwife to midcentury suburbanization and man’s control of the built environment. “Cars, cars, fast, fast. One is seized, filled with enthusiasm, with joy ... the joy of power,” wrote Le Corbusier in 1924. “One has confidence in this new society: it will find a magnificent expression of its power. One believes in it.” The famed Swiss-French urban planner and modernist embraced the new age with fervor, promoting function, flow and efficiency.

Viennese émigré Richard Neutra found the idea of the drive in market as “a billboard” appealing and prepared numerous unrealized designs “as a means to refine his ideas of a machine-age aesthetics and perhaps to secure clients in a potentially lucrative sphere.” Even dormant, his designs may have cast an influence. Midwestern transplant and son of Frank Lloyd Wright, Lloyd Wright emerged as a leader in drive-in market design in California and across the U.S. between 1930 and 1950.

One might argue such symmetry a fitting complement and parallel to the city’s immigration and migration patterns. During the 1920s, immigrants like Neutra and Rudolf Schindler along with Frank Lloyd Wright also constructed some of the most iconic modernist homes of Los Angeles. During the 1930s, a new wave of modernists, Pierre Koenig, A. Quincy Jones, Raphael Soriano, Gregory Ain, J.R. Davidson, and Craig Ellwood built on these earlier examples. While avant-garde designs would not be incorporated into most suburban tract housing, they did help to shape them. Read Ryan Reft's article here.

Help Bring R.M. Schindler Documentary To Life

The first feature-length documentary about the life and works of R. M. Schindler, one of the most innovative and the least understood of all the pioneers of modern architecture. The film affirms the singular genius of one man, and the eternal challenge every artist faces to stay true to their vision in an effort to leave a lasting impact. The majority of the filmmaking process has been completed. Now, the film makers need your help to gather the funds to finish it.

Austrian-born and educated, R. M. Schindler(RMS) lived and worked in Los Angeles in the early twentieth century. He changed forever the architectural landscape of Los Angeles and laid the foundation for what now is considered California lifestyle of indoor-outdoor living, impacting world architecture as a whole for years to come and to this day. His life story is one of passion for art and architecture and one of emigration to foreign lands.

The house Schindler built for his family and another couple on Kings Road, West Hollywood in 1922, is now a museum: considered the first modern house built anywhere in the world. It was an architectural and social experiment, challenging the precepts of the nuclear family. It marked the birth of counter culture in America, dealing with such issues as feminism, gender equality, communal living. It was a gathering place for artists, radicals and a cradle for modern architecture.

Schindler transformed the way we see space and how we use it. His architecture grew from inside-out directly responding to the lifestyle of its occupants; it elevated their everyday existence by bringing it into harmony with nature. A true original, Schindler, never succumbed to the trends of the day. He experimented and invented over a period of 30 years: suffering the ups and downs of a creative genius, forging his own vision.

The film follows Schindler’s journey from Vienna through Chicago and on to Los Angeles, observing where possible through his own camera lens and in his own words. His story is told through narration, interviews, correspondence, drawings, plans and photos. Schindler’s theoretical writings form the core of the film in order to explain his philosophy. Actors narrate the voices of R.M. Schindler, Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Neutra, Ester McCoy, Ellen Janson to name a few.

Featured in the film are 24 interviews with architects, architectural historians, members of the Schindler family, owners of Schindler designed houses. Most notable among the interviewed are: Frank Gehry, Thomas Mayne, Wolf Prix, Steven Holl, Ray Kappe, Mark Mack, prof. Judith Sheine, prof. August Sarnitz, prof. Thomas Hines, Christoph Thun-Hohenstein, Director MAK Museum in Vienna and Robert Sweeney, Director Friends of Schindler House in Los Angeles.

The film makers have already filmed many locations in Vienna, Chicago, and Los Angeles. A key intent of this film is to show how Schindlerʼs master works have stood the test of the time. Featured in the film are 20 buildings designed by R.M. Schindler as well as several designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and Richard Neutra. Find out more and support the film here.

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