‘A Long-Awaited Tribute: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian House and Pavilion’ Exhibition
In 1953, six years before the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum opened to the public, two of his structures—a pavilion and model Usonian house—were built on the future site of the museum to house a temporary exhibition displaying the architect’s lifelong work. From July 27, 2012, to February 13, 2013, the Sackler Center for Arts Education at the Guggenheim Museum will present A Long-Awaited Tribute: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian House and Pavilion, an exhibition comprised of selected materials from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Archives, highlighting the first Wright buildings erected in New York City. Text Courtesy of: The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation (SRGF). More information on the exhibition after the break.
Looking for a Frank Lloyd Wright? You Have 30 Days…
According to a local Arizona news channel, a home Frank Lloyd Wright designed for his son, David S. Wright, is on the chopping block.
The house, located in Arcadia, Arizona, was purchased earlier this year by developers who plan to demolish the site – unless a buyer steps forth within the next 30 days.
The circular house is rather unique for Wright as an architect, and holds special significance for the Wright family. As Frank’s great-granddaughter, Anne Wright Levi, who often visited the house growing up, shared with 3TV: “This house is a piece of history, it represents a piece of Arizona that Frank Lloyd Wright loved so much. [...] This house was the community before the community was here, and it should be saved.”
So, how much will this piece of history cost you? Well, the developers bought the property for $1.8 million, so you can expect to dish out at least the same. But what’s a couple million when it comes to preserving a piece of architectural history?
Story via Yahoo News
Films & Architecture: “The International”
Not that many films can have the amount of high-end architecture as location for their scenes. In “The International” the characters goes to a secondary position – through architects’ eyes - since the movie is a showroom of well known buildings and cities.
The mythic Guggenheim Museum in New York by Frank Lloyd Wright serves as the space for one of the main scenes, jumping to the Phaeno Science Center by Zaha Hadid in Wolfsburg, Germany. Cities where the movie was filmed include Istanbul, Berlin, Lyon, Milan, and New York, showing us an impressive catalogue of “international” architecture.
Let us know your thoughts about the movie and international architecture. What does this concept mean today? Or was it only an utopian modern movement?
Happy 145th Birthday Frank Lloyd Wright
In 1991, the American Institute of Architects called him, quite simply,“the greatest American architect of all time.”
Frank Lloyd Wright, born today, June 8th, 1867, would have turned 145 years old today. Despite the years, Wright’s relevance hasn’t diminished.
Perhaps best known for his Fallingwater House and New York’s iconic Guggenheim Museum (see our original doodle below), Wright was a prolific architect, interior designer, and writer who spent his life advocating an “organic” architecture at harmony with its surroundings.
On the occasion of Wright’s birth, we invite you to look back on his truly impressive oeuvre. And what better place to start, than his classics:
- AD Classics: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
- AD Classics: Frederick C. Robie House
- AD Classics: Fallingwater House
- Frank Lloyd Wright at the Guggenheim: From Within Outward
- LEGO Architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright Collection
Films & Architecture: “Gattaca”
Two weeks ago we started proposing films relevant to our field for you to primarily enjoy and also to encourage its discussion. First with “The Belly of an Architect”, and then “Blade Runner”, this week is the turn for a slightly more contemporary movie written and directed by Andrew Niccol, Gattaca. The film presents a future were the human condition is already defined in DNA, therefore human’s opportunities for life development are pre-established. Beyond the interesting ethical issue, the architecture where this story occurs is carefully selected in order to fit the director’s image of the future. Locations include the Marin County Civic Center by Frank Lloyd Wright and the CLA Building by Antoine Predock.
PBS lists Top Ten Buildings that Changed America
PBS has released their selections of the top ten buildings that have changed the way Americans live, work and play. From Thomas Jefferson’s 224-year-0ld Virginia State Capitol to Robert Ventui’s postmodern masterpiece the Vanna Venturi House, each building on the list will be featured in a new TV and web production coming to PBS in 2013. Continue after the break to view the top ten influential buildings and let us know your thoughts!
Frank Lloyd Wright appears on “What’s My Line?” in 1956
This June 3, 1956 clip of the Long-running CBS game show What’s My Line? has been making its rounds on the internet for quite sometime now. As it just recently popped up on Dwell’s twitter feed, we knew it must be featured on ArchDaily for our readers who may have not seen it yet, as it is a classic and features the 89-year-old “World Famous Architect” Frank Lloyd Wright. Just as any good architect would do, Wright critiques the poor acoustical qualities of the space as a blindfolded all-star panel (such as Arlene Francis and Peter Lawford) attempts to guess his professional title.
Reference: Mediabistro
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Heller House on the Market for $2.5M
Frank Lloyd Wright‘s 16-room, 6,100 square foot house built in 1897 for Isidore Heller was just placed on the market with an asking price of $2.5 million. Sitting on a large piece of land in Hyde Park, one of Wright’s more highly regarded house, is an architectural marvel with its high ceilings and and large rooms, which contrasts with the more well-known houses Wright is known for. The house also includes seven bedrooms, 33 stained glass windows, four fireplaces and an operational elevator. More images after the break.
Iconic Houses by Grant Snider
Curbed lead us to Colorado-based webcomic Grant Snider and his clever blog Incidental Comics. Snider uses the classic “glass houses” proverb in his own unique depiction of midcentury “Iconic Houses”, highlighting The Glass House by Philip Johnson, Farnsworth House by Mies Van der Rohe, Villa Savoye by Le Corbusier and Fallingwater by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Curious about the red beavers gnawing at the Farnsworth House? Snider clears up the confusion stating, “In an earlier draft of this comic, it appeared the Farnsworth house was being gnawed by ordinary beavers. My architect brother informed me that Mies van der Rohe was known for his innovations in steel and glass, not wood. So just to clarify: those are MUTANT beavers.”
Tickets Available: Frank Lloyd Wright Housewalk and Ultimate Plus Weekend
Tickets are now on sale for the 38th annual Wright Plus – an internationally renowned architectural housewalk featuring rare tours of eight private residences designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and his contemporaries, along with three landmark Wright buildings. Participants will enjoy in-depth research of the homes’ history and architecture, including discussions of the original occupants’ lifestyles. Hosted by The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust, the tour will attract visitors worldwide for an intimate look into the famous architectural styles lining the streets of Oak Park, Illinois on Saturday, June 2nd.
Continue reading for more information about the tour.
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater iPad App
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater has joined a rapidly growing list of interactive apps catered to architects and architecture fanatics. Brought to you by planet architecture, you may now explore the iconic 1930’s Pennsylvania home right from your media device. Get a behind-the-scenes tour through hundreds of photographs, floor plans, archival drawings, VR panoramas and over 25 minutes of video clips from the documentary film “Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater”. As architecture continues to join the interactive world of apps, we cannot wait to see which architect or project will be next! Learn about the Zaha Hadid Architects app here.
Continue after the break for more screenshots and video.
Trees of the Architects
We found this great image from The All Nighter – a tumblr dedicated to students who want to share and prospective students who would like to know about the architecture studio experience. The ArchDaily team would like to wish you a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year!
Exhibit: Frank Lloyd Wright: Organic Architecture for the 21st Century
In celebration of the 75th anniversary of Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home, studio and architectural campus in Scottsdale, Arizona, Phoenix Art Museum presents Frank Lloyd Wright: Organic Architecture for the 21st Century. The exhibit will explore Wright and his relevance today through a survey of more than 40 projects shown through rarely seen drawings, models, furniture, films and photographs.
The Arizona exhibit will be open to the public from December 18th, 2011 to April 29th, 2012 at the Steele Gallery in the Phoenix Art Museum.
Film: Frank Lloyd Wright ‘Taliesin’ directed by Bruce Beresford
Most of us have heard stories about the life of Frank Lloyd Wright, including the scandalous tale of his mistress Martha “Mamah” Cheney and the tragic murder that took place in their Wisconsin home. The legendary architect has also captured the attention of veteran filmmaker Bruce Beresford and producers J. Todd Harris and Ed Bachrach, as they have signed on to create a film about Frank Lloyd Wright entitled Taliesin.
Beresford told The Hollywood Reporter, “It’s a very good script. It doesn’t cover his whole life, just a small section of it, and it doesn’t whitewash him into some sort of saint.”
Via The Hollywood Reporter and Archinect
AIAS FORUM 2011 To Be Held In Sunny Phoenix Arizona
The annual AIAS FORUM meeting for 2011 will take a break from the snow of the past two years (2009 Minnesota, 2010 Toronto) and be held in sunny downtown Phoenix, Arizona. FORUM is the annual meeting of the AIAS and the premier global gathering of architecture and design students. The conference provides students with the opportunity to learn about important issues facing architectural education and the profession, to meet students, educators, and professionals with common interests, and to interact with some of today’s leading architects through keynote addresses, tours, workshops and seminars, last years FORUM was attended by over 1,000 young and ambitious architecture students and AIAS members. This years Keynote Speakers will be Jeffrey Inaba, founder of C-Lab and former project manager with Rem Koolhaas and OMA, Brad Lancaster, author of www.harvestingrainwater.com, and University of Californa, San Diego architect and professor Teddy Cruz.
Taliesin – A Guided 360 Virtual Tour
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin turned 100 this year. As part of the commemoration Tour de Force 360VR produced an award winning “guided” 360 degree virtual tour of the estate. The center of Frank Lloyd Wright’s world was Taliesin near Spring Green, Wisconsin. It was his home, workshop, architectural laboratory and inspiration for nearly all his life. Our international award winning Tour de Force, allows visitors from around the world to experience this place in ways only a personal visit could provide before. The response has been dramatic. More information on the tour after the break.
A Musical Interlude with Simon & Garfunkel / So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright
For those of you who may not know who Simon & Garfunkel are (don’t worry I wouldn’t admit to it either), they were an American duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. Most notably known for their hit single “The Sound of Silence” and also for their music being featured in the film The Graduate which featured another one of their hits “Mrs. Robinson”.
Simon & Garfunkel rose to critical and commercial success between 1960 and 1970 when they recorded their final studio album Bridge Over Troubled Water which included the song “So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright”. The origins and meaning of this song have long been debated, one argument is that the song is a dedication to Frank Lloyd Wright from Art Garfunkel who was himself a former architecture student, and the other argument is that the song served as a hidden farewell between Simon & Garfunkel since this would be their final album together. Evidence can be found within the lyrics of the song that says, “I remember the nights we’d harmonize till dawn, I never laughed so long, so long, so long…” The repeated use of the “so long” can be interpreted as a goodbye between the two.
What do you think were the intentions behind this song…?
So long, Frank Lloyd Wright.
I can’t believe your song is gone so soon.
I barely learned the tune
So soon
So soon.
I’ll remember Frank Lloyd Wright.
All of the nights we’d harmonize till dawn.
I never laughed so long
So long
So long.
Architects may come and
Architects may go and
Never change your point of view.
When I run dry
I stop awhile and think of you
So long, Frank Lloyd Wright
All of the nights we’d harmonize till dawn.
I never laughed so long
So long
So long.
Paolo Soleri’s Arcosanti : The City in the Image of Man
70 miles north of Phoenix, in central Arizona lies an experimental town created by Paolo Soleri, intended to house 5,000 people. Arcosanti is the study of the concept of arcology, which combines architecture and ecology. The intensions of this community is to form a gestalt that houses the relations and interactions that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment.
And the newest addition to LEGO Architecture is…Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House
On September 1st LEGO® Architecture series will now include Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House. The 10th addition to the popular series, which also includes Wright’s Fallingwater and the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, the Robie House was one of the first properties to be declared a National Historic Landmark because of its architectural merit. The American Institute of Architects also listed the Chicago home as one of the 10 most significant structures of the 20th century.
Stay tuned to ArchDaily as we are going to have an exclusive surprise about the LEGO® Architecture Robie House just for our readers. More images of LEGO® Architecture’s Robie House, designed by architectural artist Adam Reed Tucker, following the break.
You can find it on Amazon for $199.
Aesthetic Fillup: Gas Stations
The design of gas stations is mostly stripped down to that required for bare function. The inextricable relationship of the aesthetics of modernism to that of the automobile begs a different approach, one that fulfills the traditional function of a gas station but also reflects shifting movements within design. Just like the cars that have driven up to utilize them, these gas stations represent design principles contemporary to the time in which they were constructed.
SC Johnson to Exhibit Frank Lloyd Wright Wright Artifacts
SC Johnson and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation entered into a long-term loan agreement on July 14, allowing the company to display artifacts highlighting Wright’s impact on families and the home. The agreement is an exciting addition to the wealth of Frank Lloyd Wright-related sites around Chicago, but raises questions about Wright’s place in popular conceptions of architectural history.
