Issue 50 June 21st 2017

The Headlines

Fascinated By Frank

Frank Lloyd Wright’s out-sized personality and the many stories born from it continue to fascinate the public. At the end of the day, though, it’s the buildings themselves that prove irresistible. Over 300 Wright structures are still standing, and Wright’s enduring legacy is that his buildings remain as pilgrimage sites for fans of architecture from all over the world who want to experience the intangible feeling of inhabiting a special space. Read more.

All Wright, All Day in Buffalo

In honor of Frank Lloyd Wright's 150th, Buffalo, NY is offering an "All Wright, All Day" trolley tour on select dates now through October 27, 2017. The tour takes in the highlights of Wright’s Buffalo work, including structures that were designed by Wright but built decades after his death in 1959. Read more.

E. Fay Jones' Fletcher Residence Burns

The Adrian Fletcher Residence, a 1957 design by E. Fay Jones, was damaged by a fire Thursday, June 8, 2017. Fayetteville, Arkansas architect Walter Jennings said it was one of the first homes Jones designed. President Bill Clinton moved into the house in 1973 when he was a law professor at the University of Arkansas. The Fayetteville home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. Hopefully the house can be restored, but that remains to be seen. Read more.

Fold Your Own Paper Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings

Frank Lloyd Wright Paper Models: 14 Kirigami Buildings to Cut Out and Fold by paper artist and design director, Marc Hagan-Guirey, instructs you in how to create 14 of Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic buildings, including Fallingwater and the Guggenheim Museum, using the art of kirigami (cutting and folding). Suitable for folding experts and beginners alike, Frank Lloyd Wright Paper Models is a must for Wright fans and architectural model enthusiasts. Read more.

Resurrecting Wright Boathouse Design for Madison

Frank Lloyd Wright designed a total of 33 buildings for Madison, WI between 1893 and 1959, the year of his death, including a house discovered just last year. Some of Wright’s projects for Madison were built but then demolished, like the 1893 boathouse for Lake Mendota which lasted until 1926. But nearly half of his projects, including some of the best and most important designs, were not built. Now Madison is revisiting building the 1893 Frank Lloyd Wright Boathouse as part of a new parkway. Do you think it's a good idea to bring these "Wright's" to life? Read more.

Merging East And West At Wright's Imperial Hotel

Frank Lloyd Wright's best-known building in Asia, the now-demolished Imperial Hotel, is where he combined his western design principles and a fascination with Japan. Wright's hotel was completed in 1923 with the aim to showcase Japan's modernity and entice western visitors. Famously, the hotel survived the 1923 Great Kantō Earthquake, while many surrounding buildings were destroyed. Read more.

Milwaukee Art Museum Celebrates Wright

The Milwaukee Art Museum will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of Frank Lloyd Wright’s birthday with Frank Lloyd Wright: Buildings for the Prairie. On view July 28 – October 15, 2017, this exhibit presents a selection of the renowned architect’s designs from the Wasmuth Portfolio, alongside related pieces of his furniture, art glass, and textiles. Long considered the most significant collection of Wright’s early work, the Wasmuth Portfolio showcases the breadth and beauty of his designs. A digital component to the exhibition will allow visitors to explore in greater depth the illustrations and text of the Wasmuth Portfolio. Read more.

11 Compelling Wright Sites Close to Cleveland

Susan Glaser invites us to explore Frank Lloyd Wright’s properties near Cleveland, Ohio. Ohio is home to three Wright buildings that are open to the public, and near by western Pennsylvania and western New York offer at least eight more including Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob. Read more.

Celebrating Wright Brick By Brick

This delightful article by Tom Alphin explores the life and legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright using photographs of LEGO models to illustrate Wright's many iconic building—adding to this unique biography. Read more.

Re-Imagining The Gardens Of A Famed Schindler House

Letting the imaginations of landscape architects run wild? That's what curator Mia Lehrer and the MAK Center’s Executive Director Priscilla Fraser have done for “Lush,” a new group exhibition which asks designers to rethink the landscape of Rudolph Schindler's Fitzpatrick-Leland House in Los Angeles. Read more.

Still America's Greatest Architect

Dissecting Frank Lloyd Wright's spatial moves, beautiful compositions, intricate details, and ornament, Aaron Betsky, the dean of the School of Architecture at Taliesin, notes that almost every element in a Wright-designed structure is a delight to the eye and often the hand. There are few experiences in architecture more rewarding than visiting a building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and that is at the heart of why he remains America's greatest architect. Read more.

A Visit To Mr. Peterson Lovely Cottage

Mark Hertzberg recently had the chance to visit the Wright-designed Seth Peterson Cottage on Mirror Lake in south central Wisconsin. Check out the story and some beautiful photos of this little gem at Mark's Wright in Racine website. Read more.

How Today's Designers Are Influenced By Wright

The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation's Whirling Arrow blog recently reposted an article from the Design Milk blog which asked a number of designers working today how they've been influenced by the ideas, principles, and works of Frank Lloyd Wright. Read more.

About

This weekly Wright Society update is brought to you by Eric O'Malley with Bryan and Lisa Kelly from PrairieMod. If you enjoy these free, curated updates—please forward our sign-up page and/or share on Social Media.

If you’d like to submit content to be featured here, please reach out by emailing us at mail[at]wrightsociety.com.