Issue 246 March 24th 2021

The Headlines

Growing Up In A Frank Lloyd Wright House

As one of the most iconic architects in American History, fans of Frank Lloyd Wright, as well as historical preservation enthusiasts, won’t want to miss this free virtual program sponsored by the Petit Branch of Onondaga County Public Libraries.

Central New York played a critical role in the history of the Arts & Crafts style, or “Craftsman Style,” that Wright is famous for. The area has many examples of Arts & Crafts architecture, as well as being home to the famous craftsman Gustav Stickley. In this program, author Kim Bixler will share her experience growing up in a house designed by the famous architect. Her family bought the Rochester, NY house built by Wright in 1908, and she will share all of the unique experiences they had while living there. Learn about Arts & Crafts architecture, as well as the quirks of the architect himself.

Bixler is the author of “Growing Up in a Frank Lloyd Wright House” and she was featured in the PBS documentary “Frank Lloyd Wright’s Boynton House: The Next Hundred Years.” Bixler’s family owned Frank Lloyd Wright’s prairie-style Edward E. Boynton house (1908) from 1977 to 1994. Kim started giving tours of her family home when she was eight years old - sharing Wright’s architectural design details, revealing her favorite hiding spots and dodging the habitually leaky roof. A graduate of Cornell University, Bixler has traveled the country giving lectures at numerous Wright sites including Taliesin West, Unity Temple, the Darwin Martin House, Wright’s Mason City Iowa sites, the Marin County Civic Center and the Hollyhock House.

Kim will recount the tumultuous history of the house through a presentation of family photographs, historical documents and personal anecdotes ending with a Q&A session with participants.

The program will be held from 7 to 8 p.m., Thursday, March 25th, 2021, via Zoom. The event is free but registration is required. You can register here to register. The event is sponsored by the Petit Branch Library, 105 Victoria Place, Syracuse, New York.

Taliesin Tour Season Begins In Wisconsin

The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation informs us that the inspiring architecture and landscapes of Taliesin, the personal home of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, reopens to visitors May 1st, 2021 and continues through October 31st. Taliesin Preservation offers a variety of tours across Wright’s country estate, as well as a full complement of cultural and educational programming.

Taliesin is the home, studio, school, and 800-acre agricultural estate of architect Frank Lloyd Wright — his primary residence from 1911 until his death in 1959.

With buildings from nearly every decade of Wright’s life from the 1890s to the 1950s on land homesteaded by his Welsh grandparents, Taliesin is one of the most significant architectural anthologies in the world and on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Taliesin stands as a lifelong laboratory for what Wright called “organic architecture.” Rebuilt twice and modified routinely, the Taliesin residence is often described as Wright’s autobiography in wood and stone.

This year at Taliesin Preservation while COVID-19 practices are still in place, some items were temporarily placed on hold due to the pandemic including April & November shoulder touring season, Twilight at Taliesin, and Taliesin Winter Festival. Nonetheless, there are still many safe, enjoyable touring options available. Be sure to peruse upcoming self-guided, safely-distanced tour options including monthly Family Days and a newly added Wisconsin Trail experience.

All tours begin and end at the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center. Inside, visitors may browse the Taliesin Bookstore and select grab-and-go menu items from The Riverview Terrace Café. The café, now an in-house venture, features estate-grown produce and tasteful cuisine for locals and travelers alike. Overlooking the beautiful Wisconsin River, the Visitor Center is the only structure Wright designed expressly for the food-service industry, and today it serves as the gateway to Taliesin.

Taliesin Preservation looks forward to sharing this unique property with its visitors. Advance reservations are required for all tours.

For tour descriptions, pricing and reservations, call (877) 588-7900 or visit www.taliesinpreservation.org.

Niki Ciccotelli Stewart Named Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Vice President And Chief Learning & Engagement Officer

The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation has named Niki Ciccotelli Stewart its Vice President and Chief Learning & Engagement Officer.

As an artist, educator, and seasoned museum professional, Stewart most recently served as Chief Learning and Engagement Officer at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. She was instrumental to the art foundation Art Bridges where she created and initiated grant-making, collection sharing, and exhibition programs that continue to serve people across America.

Notably, Stewart brings over eleven years worth of experience in a variety of roles at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, AR. During her time with Crystal Bridges, Stewart was part of the inaugural team that conceptualized and launched the museum. She went on to create an endowed school visit program, designed and curated a variety of exhibitions which included programmatic design for Frank Lloyd Wright’s Bachman-Wilson House, and was a vital part of the museum’s expansion to a second site.

“At Crystal Bridges, Art Bridges, and the Academy of Natural Sciences, I was encouraged to explore how we might transform the museum experience and take it to the next level—make it even more engaging, more relevant, more meaningful, and more fun,” Stewart mused. “This kind of work is exciting, and gives teams the freedom to innovate, collaborate with community members, and connect with new audiences in the process. I’ve learned so much from this approach to museum meaning-making, and I’m eager to bring that same energy to the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.”

Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation President & CEO Stuart Graff said, “We’re thrilled to add Niki’s thought leadership around engaging museum experiences to our team, especially as the world is recovering from the pandemic and needs the kinds of connection that Wright designed more than ever. Niki will help us to create opportunities for understanding, healing, and thriving through this great American legacy that is Frank Lloyd Wright’s work.”

“I’m truly honored to join the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation in this role,” Stewart said. “Throughout my career, I’ve always focused on building connections between art, architecture, nature, and people. This idea is central to Wright’s philosophy and the Foundation’s mission, and I’m very excited to continue that work with the Foundation.” Read more about Niki Ciccotelli here.

Spending The Pandemic in a Frank Lloyd Wright House

Cindy La Ferle and her architect-husband, Doug, discovered the Usonian-style Carl Schultz residence, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (1957), in St. Joseph, Michigan 12 years ago.

"Located on a wooded bluff overlooking the St. Joseph River, it wasn't the carefree beach house on our bucket list—but it needed our help. It was a rare opportunity to preserve a small part of architectural history, since the house was Wright's final mark in western Michigan before his death in 1959.

Like many flat-roofed homes, the Schultz house had so many leaks that I nicknamed it "Running Water" whenever Doug climbed a ladder to patch the ceiling. In 2013, we hired a construction crew to help restore the damaged foundation, concrete floors, and wood fascias to their original condition.

Driving back and forth from our primary residence in Detroit, we spent our free weekends sweeping construction dust at what had become our family "workation house." But it took the COVID-19 pandemic to transform what had become a mini Wright museum into a real home." Read about their experience and see the photos here.

Lloyd Wright Home Listed In Grayslake, Illinois For $2.75M

A Grayslake, Illinois home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright's son has again hit the market — this time with a reduced price tag.

The 5,947-square-foot home located on 30 acres has five bedrooms and five bathrooms; waterfalls, inside and outside; an indoor gun range; a cabana and guest rooms leading to an in-ground pool; and a study with a wood-burning fireplace. There's also a greenhouse, pond and tennis court on the property.

The home, which was built in 1952, has been listed at $3.9 million four different times since 2016, according to property records. In February, the home was listed at a lower price, $2.75 million, for the first time. See photos here.

Pawena Studio Features Ceramic Designs Inspired By Taliesin West

The Frank Lloyd Wright Store announced its newest artisan collaboration with L.A.-based Pawena Studio. The ceramics artist Pawena Thimaporn has created hand-crafted ceramic planters inspired by bold Wright designs found at Taliesin West.

The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation caught up with ceramic artist Pawena Thimaporn to learn more about her design inspiration for her exclusive Taliesin West line. See her beautiful planters and read more about Pawena here.

Architect’s Transform An Arata Endo Villa Into A Hotel

Kamiya Architects transformed a Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie-style villa into a beautiful and modern hotel in Japan.

Before Kamiya Architects' renovation, the Hayami Kachi house, a Prairie-style home designed by Arata Endo, a disciple of Frank Lloyd Wright, had fallen into disrepair since its original construction in 1928. As an adaptive reuse project was planned, the designers had to balance the initial design intention with the modern requirements of a hotel or short-term rental property. They also wanted to include elements of a traditional Japanese spa.

They highlighted the natural beauty of the site by opening up the outdoor terrace space to better connect the interior to the outside world. All new furniture was carefully designed to blend in and respect the historic home. The asymmetry and planned randomness of design elements help to align the man made structure with the qualities of nature—a concept that is important in Prairie style architecture. All of these ideas make the new and improved Hayami Kachi house a great adaptive reuse project and the perfect place for an architecture getaway in Tokyo. Read more about the transformation here.

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