Issue 339 January 4th 2023

The Headlines

Exploring The George Smith House

When news broke on December 15, 2022, that the 1898 George Smith House in Oak Park, Illinois, had been listed for sale, Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy executive director Barbara Gordon immediately reached out to listing agent, Catherine Cannon, and the house was then included on the organization's Wright on the Market. Within days of it being listed, Barbara, Conservancy preservation programs manager John Waters and Architectural Advisory Committee member Patrick Mahoney, AIA, met with the realtor and family to tour the house and discuss its future. While familiar with the simple, bold exterior forms of the house, the Conservancy team found inside spaces and details that equaled the expectations raised by the exterior. Under many coats of paint and layers of wallpaper, most of the original features of the house appear to remain. John Waters created a digital model to give some idea of what the house may have looked like when first built and hopefully spur a preservation-minded new buyer to bring this early Wright-designed gem back to life. Check out more by following the link.

Wallpaper* Magazine Top 10 Architecture Posts Of 2022

In the top 10 architecture posts of 2022, as picked by Wallpaper* editor Ellie Stathaki, variety is the name of the game. Their selection spans from well-known names to dynamic future-facing firms, and from bijou designs to expansive, era-defining jobs.

Check out #3 on the list: Unbuilt Frank Lloyd Wright houses brought to life in 3D.

"Intrigued by the fact that over half of Frank Lloyd Wright’s works were never built, home project internet company Angi took on an unusual task: to bring to life some of the mid century American architecture master’s houses using the magic of contemporary 3D design. ‘Remarkably, more than half of Wright’s 1,171 architectural works never took a solid form. While unbuilt Frank Lloyd Wright houses occasionally materialize on the American landscape, 660 of his building designs remain confined to paper,’ says the company. Three of these unrealized gems were selected to be digitally reconstructed, including Mrs David Devin House (Chicago, 1896), Cottage Studio for Ayn Rand (Connecticut, 1946), and Lake Tahoe Lodge (Lake Tahoe, California, 1923). To transform Wright’s expert and beautiful architectural drawings into photo realistic renders, Angi worked with creative studio NeoMam Studios. The London-based experts went through the architect’s archive sketches, plans and notes, while undertaking thorough research in order to compose a series of images that offer a tangible feel of what the buildings might have looked like, if realized." More here.

Advanced Photography Workshop At Historic Park Inn Hotel

Join internationally published architecture and travel photographer Andrew Pielage June 2-4, 2023 at the Historic Park Inn Hotel in Mason City, Iowa for a photo workshop experience truly like no other, including a 2-night stay at the hotel! This 3-day workshop includes a tour and exclusive interior and exterior photography access not usually given at each of the three Wright sites. Frank Lloyd Wright designed only six hotels, all of which were created between 1908 an 1923. Five were built; the Park Inn is the second and the only one that survives. It can be found in the National Registry of Historic Places. This 3-day workshop includes a tour and exclusive interior and exterior photography access not usually given at each of these three Frank Lloyd Wright sites: The Historic Park Inn, the Stockman Home and the Lowell and Agnes Walter House at Cedar Rock. More information here.

In Memoriam: Duey "Duke" Wright

News reaches us that original Frank Lloyd Wright client Duey "Duke" Wright (no relation) passed away on December 21, 2022 at the age of 83. His love of radio drew him to the hobby of amateur radio. In 1971, Duke started Midwest Communications with the building of WROE in Appleton, Wisconsin. Over the next five decades, Duke built Midwest Communications into one of the largest privately held, family-operated radio broadcasting companies in the United States, with over eighty radio stations in nine states. In the late 1950s, Duke approached Wright to design a house which was constructed on a bluff above the Wisconsin River in Wausau, Wisconsin. Viewed from the sky, the house resembles a musical note. Read more about Duey's life here.

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