Issue 280  November 17th 2021

Open Studio With Jared Bowen: Frank Lloyd Wright Homes

The Currier Museum is the singular art museum in the world with two Frank Lloyd Wright houses. Accessible by guided tour, they are the only Wright buildings open to the public in New England. The Usonian Automatic and the Zimmerman House express two equally beautiful visions through their closely related designs and contrasting materials.

In this segment of Open Studio With Jared Bowen we are taken on a video tour of the two Frank Lloyd Wright houses in New Hampshire. See this episode here.

Click for more details: wgbh.org  

Houston's Only Frank Lloyd Wright Home Quietly Sells For $2.7 Million

Houston architecture lovers who have coveted the city’s only Frank Lloyd home are out of luck. The home, known as the William Thaxton House, has quietly sold for $2.7 million.

Sitting on a 51,727-square-foot (1.9 acres) gated lot, the home sprawls across more than 8,000 square feet, nestled into its outdoor space as though it were grown from the ground. That signature marrying of a home to the natural space around it creates a harmony with nature — a hallmark of Wright’s work.

Built in 1955 for William Thaxton, a Houston insurance executive, the home underwent renovations over the last half century, including an addition to the home in 1995. Thaxton’s home emphasizes exquisite design, flooded with natural light. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlook a central courtyard with a sunken pool, its angles dovetailing to those of the house.

A primary bedroom has two entrances that open to the courtyard. Two fireplaces sit in the spaces between rooms, smartly bringing them together. Meanwhile, a wide pool anchors the backyard, which serves a compound. Myriad windows line the exterior, giving an outside-in feel for indoor dwellers and outdoor loungers.

This Wright home is a significant piece of Texas architecture — Frank Lloyd Wright only built two other homes in Texas, in Dallas and Amarillo. See the photos here.

Click for more details: culturemap.com  

Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Elects Séan Rush Chair & New Members To Board Of Trustees

At its August 20, 2021, meeting, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation’s Board of Trustees elected two new members, along with advancing Seán C. Rush to the role of Board Chair.

Residing outside Boston, MA, Seán has been an active member of the Board since 2016, and served as vice-chair for the past year. For more than three decades, as a business/not-for-profit leader, consultant, and author, Seán has developed and delivered innovative ideas on higher education; economic development; and organizational strategy, leadership, and operations. He is the author, editor, or contributor to more than 20 books and articles on the mission, governance, leadership, and operations of institutions of higher learning. Seán’s experience will help guide the Foundation as they constantly look for innovative ways to apply their mission within the surrounding community and beyond.

The Foundation also welcomed Jason Barclay Morris and John Anderson. They both bring unique skills and backgrounds to round out the Board of Trustees. Read more here.

Click for more details: franklloydwright.org  

Architecture Bike Tour: Chicago Suburbs Of Riverside And Brookfield

To this day, the western suburbs of Riverside and Brookfield retain a lot of their original charm, thanks to windy streets old trees and views of the Des Plaines River. WBEZ features an amazing bike tour sure to interest the architectural enthusiast.

Biking along curving roads, you’ll see why people often say Riverside is one big park. The original 1868 layout of the town by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux — designers of New York’s Central Park, and later the 1892 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago — was an idealized landscape of people living surrounded by nature. Here, you’ll see everything from candy-coated Victorians to hard-edged, modern homes.

On this tour you will get a glance at the Coonley estate, a large complex that Frank Lloyd Wright designed in 1907 for Avery and Queene Ferry Coonley. It included a house, cottage and stables. One of the most interesting details you can see from the street is the color panel frieze that runs along the walls above the drive-through carriageway. Click here for the entire itinerary.

Click for more details: wbez.org