We just got back from Day One of the 2008 Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy Conference. Whew! What a full day! We heard lots of great lectures and saw amazing architecture. Read all the details after the jump...
The day started with us getting up early and having a great breakfast overlooking the grassy ski slopes at the Seven Springs Mountain Resort. We made our way to the lecture hall, got our registration materials and got settled in for the first lecture.
The Keynote address was delivered by Richard Cleary and covered the topic of Wright and E.J. Kaufmann's working relationship--both for built and unbuilt architectural designs.
The next lecture was by Laura Ainsley titled "Splinters at the Root: How Fallingwater Helps to Repair America for Sustainability." This lecture was especially interesting because it explored the two major themes in American cultural identity: The "Pastoral" (or land-based) identity and the "Technological" identity. These two identities have up-to-this-point clashed in our culture, but as Fallingwater exemplifies, they can co-exist in harmony.
We then heard from William Orr on the topic of "Green Building: What would Frank Lloyd Wright Do?" This lecture walked the audience through the aspects that make-up a "Green" Building and what the different points to LEED certification mean. He then pointed out the ways in which Wright was ahead of his time in these same ideas and how he and his work would fare against these standards today.
After the break, Margo Stipe (Curator and Registrar of Collections at the Frank Lloyd Wright Archives) delivered an amazing discussion on "Spiritual Connectivity in the Realm of Sustainability." Through Frank Lloyd Wright's own words and deep reverence for the natural world, Margo challenged us all to think beyond the commodification of how we view the world and look instead at how living "sustainable" means finding ways to nourish the human spirit.
Finally, the last lecture of the day was given by the colorfully vivacious Carol Franklin, whose topic was a close look at "An Ecological Aesthetic" by way of describing her Interpretative Landscape Master Plan for Fallingwater. She very much believes in the strong consideration of not only the built environment, but also the surrounding landscape "ecological design" as well.
As the last lecture concluded, we grabbed our boxed lunch and boarded the buses to our afternoon tours. Our first stop was the architectural focal point of the conference, Fallingwater.
We disembarked from the bus and made our way down the path towards the house, a journey of discovery began. Along the path, stone out-cropping mixes with moss and rhododendrons on all sides of you, preparing you visually for what lay in store with many of the same materials, colors and textures as found in the Kaufmann's "country house".
Eventually, the sound of rushing water begins to fill your ears and people's conversations start to soften, anticipating the moment when the house will reveal itself. Suddenly, we walk around a slight bend and the iconic cantilevered terraces come into view.
What an amazing sight! The house is so masterfully integrated into the surroundings, married to the stones and growing from them much like the plants and rocks we saw on the path leading up to the house.
Fallingwater truly is one of the most remarkable places on the planet. Seeing this culmination of what Organic Architecture has to offer, it both inspires and offers hope for how we can find ways to build in harmony with nature instead of against it.
After our tour of the house, we loaded back onto the bus and headed over to "Kentuck Knob". This phenomenal Usonian design was built in 1956 for Mr. and Mrs. I.N. Hagan. Its dramatic prow and beautiful stonework make it an absolute masterpiece.
The tour was made all the more special because original owner, Mrs. Hagan (99 years young), was at the house and answered questions for all of us. She spoke of what it was like to work with Frank Lloyd Wright, saying that he was accommodating to their needs and not at all difficult to work with. What a treat to meet this wonderful lady and hear firsthand how a house like this gets built.
We then boarded the buses after our memorable tour and headed back to Fallingwater for the evening's events. Conference attendees were treated to wine and hors d'oeuvres on the bridge of Fallingwater at twilight and we had free run of the house. We were also allowed to take photos of whatever we wanted inside...a rare treat!
We then proceeded to the adjacent meadow, lit up with Japanese lanterns. We listened to a jazz concert as we enjoyed our picnic dinner under the stars. What a magical evening! It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and beautifully hosted by the good people at Fallingwater and the FLW Building Conservancy. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's lectures and tour of Polymath Park and the houses located there. Check back tomorrow!
All photos copyright PrairieMod
As a regular reader of your Blog I am Sorry to have missed meeting the Prairie ModSquad in person at this year's FLWBC conference. Thanks for your brief mention of the paper I presented on WWFLlD? I would be interested in your impressions and how it would fit with your PrairieMod principles.
Posted by: William | Sep 22, 2008 at 02:35 PM
Sorry we missed meeting you in person as well. I thought your presentation was very well done in encapsulating what "green" building actually means and how the LEED system of points basically works.
Your discussion of how Wright's legacy compares/contrasts against those concepts (especially Broadacre City) was on target: He was way ahead of his time in philosophy, but was also a product of his time and couldn't totally anticipate all of the issues some of those ideas would run up against. I especially enjoyed your spot-on notion that Wright would say he "invented 'green' building" if alive and working today!
At the heart of both "green" building and Wright's buildings are a deeper set of principles. It's utilizing those same principles that I feel answer the question of what he would "Do" if he were working today.
If you are interested, I'd love to post your paper as a feature article for others to enjoy and absorb. Let me know.
Posted by: Eric | Sep 22, 2008 at 11:16 PM