Issue 442 December 18th 2024

The Headlines

Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy Files Legal Response To Price Tower Lawsuit

The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy has filed a legal response to the lawsuit filed by the owner of the Price Tower in October.

The lawsuit filed by the owner of the Price Tower claimed the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy was interfering with the owner of Price Tower’s ability to sell the tower.

In August, the conservancy filed legal statements against the current owner of the Price Tower, Cynthia Blanchard. The statements were filed because the conservancy believed it had legal interest in the items inside Price Tower including the ones sold earlier this year.

In 2011, the owners at the time, Price Tower Arts Center, made an agreement known as a preservation easement with the conservancy laying out guidelines in preserving the building. Blanchard filed a lawsuit against the conservancy claiming the easement became null and void when she bought the tower.

Now the conservancy has responded by filing a legal response in the District Court of Washington County. The conservancy said that their response emphasizes the legal validity of the easement the Conservancy holds on the Price Tower as well as the importance of preserving the legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright.

They said that includes not only the tower itself, but the artwork, furnishings and other features within the tower that were designed by Wright. The conservancy said the response also asserts counterclaims against the owners of the Price Tower for breaching the easement and requests “declaratory and injunctive relief to ensure the easement is upheld and Ms. Blanchard is prohibited from selling off any further items from the Price Tower.”

"Easements are a critical tool for the preservation of American cultural heritage," said Safina Uberoi, president of the board of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy. "We are defending our easement on Price Tower to preserve the integrity of Wright's design, so it can continue to serve as a source of inspiration for future generations."

The conservancy also said Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP as well as Crowe & Dunlevy will partner to provide representation on a pro bono basis to the conservancy.

Mark Mills Banyan House In Carmel-by-the-Sea For Sale

The striking A-frame abode in Carmel-by-the-Sea, dubbed Banyan House, is the first home designed by Mark Mills, an apprentice at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin Fellowship from 1944 through 1948. He went on to design over 40 homes throughout his career. Completed in 1951 and later acquired by his father, Mills lived in Banyon House from 1954 to 1957. Fun fact: the project was financed by Mrs. Clinton (Della) Walker, who also commissioned and owned the only oceanfront home Frank Lloyd Wright ever built, which is also in Carmel.

Similar to Wright’s Taliesin West in Arizona, Banyan House was constructed via desert masonry, a technique that uses both concrete and local materials such as stone to bring it to life. Through the three-bedroom property’s custom iron gated entry, a closer look at its main and guest house façades instantly speaks to this approach with bases that display smooth gray surfaces next to irregular stones. Beautiful woodwork leading from the carport also gives an idea of what the $2.79 million pad has to offer inside. Tim Allen of the Tim Allen Properties Team at Coldwell Banker Realty holds the listing.

“This is a unique property,” Allen says in a statement. “The lot is lush and private, and the design of the house with redwood, rock, and glass provides a warm feeling while allowing light to bathe the inside.” Owners are instantly able to catch his drift as they step into the living room, which sits under a vaulted ceiling with a central skylight along the apex. Warm lighting bounces off the wood-paneled ceilings and back onto the floors, bringing the massive stone fireplace into focus. A triangle-shaped glazing at the back of the room also gives the home an indoor-outdoor feel.

A short pathway leads to the guest house. The open living area features an eye-catching vintage fireplace, a tiny kitchenette and a dining area beneath a huge skylight, while the bedroom sports a multi-colored geometric stained-glass window.

What A Visit To Taliesin Taught Oren Safdie

Oren Safdie, playwright, screenwriter, and teacher at Interlochen Center for the Arts, explores the unique experience of visiting Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright's famous home and studio in Wisconsin. Safdie reflects on how the place feels like a living, breathing example of Wright's genius—blending architecture with nature in a way that makes you see the world differently. Walking through Taliesin, he can felt Wright’s vision for creating spaces that were both functional and beautiful, with every room thoughtfully designed to reflect his ideas about art, nature, and design.

What stands out in the Safdie's visit is how Taliesin feels timeless yet full of surprises, much like Wright’s work itself. The home isn’t just a museum, it’s a place where you can almost hear the echoes of Wright’s passion for architecture. Whether you're a fan of design or just curious about this architectural icon, Taliesin offers a glimpse into a truly one-of-a-kind space.

Winter Break Camp Taliesin West – 2 Day Design Spectacular (ages 9-11)

Winter Break Camp Taliesin West – 2 Day Design Spectacular (ages 9-11) December 30, 2024 – December 31, 2024

During this camp, children discover Frank Lloyd Wright’s home and studio, Taliesin West. They will then learn about organic architecture and participate in games and crafts relating to Wright’s groundbreaking architectural designs. Campers will then dream up their own floor plans and create a 3D scale model of their structure to take home. Registration includes a catered lunch for your camper.

Time: 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Price: Youth $160.00

Your Next Role Could Be With Preservation Specialists Of Wright And Sullivan Landmarks

This week’s edition of the Job Highlights series is exploring an open role on Archinect Jobs for a Preservation Architect at Architectural Preservation Studio, DPC.

The role, based in New York, calls for an individual with a background in historic preservation and building envelopes with at least 4-6 years of practical experience. Among the responsibilities for the role will be “building envelope investigation and analysis, report writing, preparation of design and construction documents with little supervision, construction administration, and field inspections for a variety of building types.”

The open role at Architectural Preservation Studio offers the opportunity to explore the various high-profile buildings to which individuals in the studio have contributed preservation expertise. Perhaps most notably, professional staff from the studio headed the restoration effort for Frank Lloyd Wright’s Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the first holistic conservation treatment in the structure’s then-50-year history.

“The project included extensive on-site documentation and monitoring of existing conditions, as well as detailed structural analysis of the building and testing of suitable repair products to address the deterioration of the exterior shotcrete and poured-in-place concrete,” the studio notes, in addition to an MEP upgrade, energy efficiency analysis of glazing, and moisture-management interventions.

Staff from the studio were also involved in materials conservation for Wright’s iconic Fallingwater. Over a 15-year period, the studio contributed to a range of preservation interventions, including re-roofing and re-waterproofing of roofs and terraces, below-grade damp-proofing, restoration for original steel-casement windows and doors, and reconstruction and restoration of failed concrete and masonry.

Elsewhere, staff from the studio performed preservation works on the Bayard-Condict Building, a 12-story building from 1897 by Wright’s mentor Louis Sullivan which was Sullivan’s only built project in New York. Works on the building included preserving as much of the original terra-cotta facade as possible, which involved dissembling 1300 of the building’s 7000 terra-cotta units for repair. Replicas of the original column capitals were also installed on the ground floor following their unsympathetic removal in the 1960s.

A Gingerbread House Inspired By Wright's Seth Peterson Cottage

Anna Zaleski, a senior product manager out of Lake Country, Wisconsin, shrunk the intricacies of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Seth Peterson Cottage into a midcentury modern gingerbread house that’s on display through Dec. 31 at the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa.

Zaleski and her fiancé Tony bought their very own midcentury modern home years back, and with intent to embrace and appreciate this style, the pair created a flourishing Instagram account (@midcentury.wi) to share the lifestyle within their 1952 split-level MCM ranch.

Discovering the Grand Geneva Gingerbread House Competition just five days before registration closed, Zaleski endured a week of late nights inside the home. She completed a cardboard model of Seth Peterson Cottage on her first day of edible construction, and just two days later, gingerbread walls stood tall.

“When you create the pieces for a gingerbread house, you want everything to be precise so that your lines line up,” said Zaleski. “After pulling them out of the oven, and before they were cool, I trimmed those lines to make sure I had perfect square pieces. I broke off the little trimmings and adhered them to some of the wall faces in order to get the look of bricks jetting out.”

Seth Peterson Cottage isn’t Zaleski’s first gingerbread rendition of celebrated architecture. Three years ago, she assembled an A.D. Stenger MCM ranch. She considered the Austin home to be a bit simpler in architecture than the cottage and has every intention of continuing the challenging holiday craft in years to come.

“I love the math of it all, building the model, figuring out how to create a structure that way and all of the different steps that go into making these,” said Zaleski. “It’s definitely a labor of love, to say the least, but it’s so fun! And I came away with something that I’m super, super proud of. To see it up at the resort on display, see people looking at it and pointing to it, hearing ‘Oh! It’s Frank Lloyd Wright!’ It’s just really cool to be able to create something like that.”

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