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Here's a link to an article discussing the impact Frank Lloyd Wright's ideas have had on the development of mega-tall mile-high buildings--specifically the one in Burj Dubai (as seen in the middle image). Read about it here.
images via constructionweekonline.com. Mile High Illinois drawing copyright Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.
I'm so excited I stumbled upon Made by Mavis's Etsy shop. Mavis makes these really cool Moss Terrariums in an array of containers. There's something to fit any decor. One of my favorites is the one photographed, Moss Terrarium No. 78. Head over to her store and check them out!
Image copyright Made by Mavis
Sarah Susanka was featured in USA Today recently, promoting both her philosophy of "Not So Big" and her new book on remodeling. Seems Americans might be picking up on this message. According to the article, new homes, after doubling in size since 1960, are shrinking. Last year,
for the first time in at least 10 years, the average square footage of
single-family homes under construction fell dramatically, from 2,629 in
the second quarter to 2,343 in the fourth quarter, Census data show. Keep going, Sarah...keep going! Read more here.
Photo copyright Bob Donnan/USA Today
Here's a link to a story at azcentral.com about Urban Land Institute Arizona honoring the cities of Scottsdale and Tempe, AZ with the organization's first awards for smart growth. Scottsdale, for protecting the land around Taliesin West and Tempe for turning its city's livable and smart redevelopment. Read more here.
Image courtesy of Wikipedia
Chroma Lab has some pretty sweet mod wall clocks. All the clocks are handmade and painted in the US. I love how they look all together.
Image copyright Chroma Lab
This year marks the 50th anniversary of both Frank Lloyd Wright's passing and his last masterpiece, the Guggenheim Museum in NYC. A huge retrospective titled "Frank Lloyd Wright: From Within Outward" will open in May at the museum to much anticipation. Read more about this upcoming event at the Guggenheim's website.
According to Blair Kamin's "Skyline" blog, we'll find out Wednesday as part of Gov. Pat Quinn's budget speech. Read more here.
Image via Blair Kamin
New visitor centers are all the rage! The Toshiko Mori-designed visitor center for the D.D. Martin house in Buffalo, NY recently opened to rave reviews. Now it seems that the architectural firm of VSBA is planning a visitor center for the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed "Moutain of Light", aka the Beth Sholom Synagogue in Elkins Park, PA. Visit VSBA here and as more info surfaces, we'll report.
Image copyright Beth Sholom Congregation
If you're in D.C. you have to check this out:
The Art and Craft of Greene & Greene, the largest exhibition of Greene & Greene's work to date, examines the their legacy with beautifully inlaid furniture crafted from exotic hardwoods, artfully executed stained glass and metalwork, as well as rare architectural drawings and photographs. Specific details after the jump...
I love these felt circle placemats. With 19 different colors to choose from you could have a lot of fun with these all over your table.
Image copyright FilzFelt
If you are going to be in Barcelona March 19, 20, 21 go check out the Festival eme3 Collapse. eme3 COLLAPSE is a festival that for three days that will bring together thinkers, artists, students and professionals of architecture and other disciplines, so that they may reflect, experiment and engage in debate on the new scenarios that collapse has generated. For more information click here. There's also an online pdf to view here.
Image copyright eme3
The Winona County Historical Society recently won a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to help in planning a future exhibit showcasing the town's architectural heritage, including the amazing Merchants Bank designed by Purcell & Elmslie. Read more here.
Image courtesy of Wikipedia
PrairieMod reader, Eric S. sent me a link to the ultimate architectural hobby kit called UberARC. As described on their site, UberARC is a:
"professional construction kit that gives children a chance to build a model of a real building, honing their skills in spatial intelligence and problem solving. Using authentic blueprints, young builders create foundations and make representations of actual skyscrapers—or they can design their own buildings! Kids will apply for a building permit online that will show them the seismic and wind loads for their proposed skyscraper. They can even pinpoint the location on a map with the name of their skyscraper displayed to other UberARC builders! Kids love it, but it is perfect for architects, engineers, contractors and anyone who loves to build big. The UberARC 3200 series includes 24 pages of blueprints to build a tower almost 8 feet tall!"
Check out more photos and details by follwoing the link.
Image copyright UberARC
The Smart House has been redesigned and will reopen March 19th. This 2,500-sq. ft. modular home has been reinterpreted with a new color palette, products and furniture. Features include: an eco-friendly baby nursery, a home automation system, a do-it-yourself “green” garage workshop, countertops made with recycled glass, a recyclable steel dining table, art developed with the power of the sun, and much more
Image copyright Museum of Science & Industry
Readers of PrairieMod probably know the ups and downs of remodeling via my Little Red House write-ups. Remodeling can seem daunting, however with Principles to guide you, it can be a very rewarding process. This idea is driven home in Sarah Susanka's new book in her wildly popular "Not So Big" line, the Not So Big Remodeling. Read more about it after the jump...
Taliesin-trained architect Gerald Lee Morosco's book How To Work With An Architect has been out for awhile, but if you haven't read it, then check out this article all about it. Read here.
Here is a bittersweet article taking a look at what it is like to be related to America's most famous architect and what it means to let go of one of his most sublime domestic creations. Read it here.
Image copyright Michael Baxter
Bambu, the company that produces quality and very Mod bamboo products now makes cute kids plates and utensils. Fork and Spoon sets for baby, and for young children. The Bamdino®
collection includes specially designed Veneerware plates and knife
fork and spoon range of dinosaur-inspired characters. Check it out here.
Image copyright Bambu
Here's a link to a YouTube video where the Dean of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, Victor Sidy, explains some of Wright's ideas behind T-West and gives a peek at how the Legacy lives on. Check it out here.
One quibble with the video--the narrator says Wright was born in 1869. This is incorrect, he was born in 1867.
Check out this video on The Buffalow News website. The new visitors pavilion designed by architect Toshiko Mori looks awesome!
Image copyright The Buffalo News
How would you like to stay in a classic modern home and take guided architecture tours during the day? Check out these three modern properties available for short-term rental from Andrew Weaving, author of architecture and interior design books "Sarasota Modern" and "Living Retro."
They include:
Lakeland House by Mark Hampton FAIA, a classic modern mid-century home in Lakeland, Florida, near Frank Lloyd Wright's Florida Southern College and Gene Leedy FAIA's amazing body of work in Winter Haven.
More places to visit after the jump...
If you didn't hear the news yesterday, the Sears Tower will be renamed the Willis Tower when
global insurance broker Willis Group Holdings moves into 140,000 sq. ft. in the Chicago landmark building. While I'm not personally happy about this change, it certainly isn't the first Chicago landmark to have its name changed. However, because it is such a global icon it will be incredibly hard to get used to calling it Willis Tower.
Via the Chicago Tribune.
Image copyright Alex Garcia/Tribune
Buy or sell all kinds of vintage modern furniture, lighting & home decor (from mid-century American to art nouveau) at new Deconet.
Image copyright Deconet
Inhabitat.com recently posted on an exciting Czech Republic project that take a page out of the Usonian past. Slunakov is a center for ecological and educational activities that uses passive solar hemicycle design and lots of warm, natural materials. Frank Lloyd Wright used this idea back in 1944 in the design for the Jacobs II House in Middleton, Wisconsin--a landmark work of architecture. If you want to see Jacobs II in person, make sure you sign-up for the Wright & Like Tour happening this June. We've been told that space will be limited to see this particular house, so as more info comes along, be prepared to sign-up early!
Top image copyright Projektil Architekti, Bottom image copyright Bernard Pyron
Botanical Paperworks has developed a line of greeting cards that contain wildflower seeds in them, so that instead of disposing of those old birthday cards, you can plant them in the ground and enjoy a gift that keeps on giving. Check it out by following the link.
Image copyright Botanical Paperworks
The home overhaul happening at 360 Winnett Avenue in Toronto, Canada is coming along nicely. Jeremy and his wife have been covering the events of their renovation on their blog and recently reported that a new oak stairway has gone in. One particular piece of info I picked-up on was the decision to go with wood vs. metal to keep a warmer feeling to the stairway--definitely "Think Natural". Check out the progress by following the link.
Image copyright Jeremy Bell
When Robert Venturi’s 1969 Lieb House was in danger of being destroyed, Venturi’s son James Venturi scrambled to save it and helped connect the house with its new owners. The Lieb House is being moved from the New Jersey coast on a barge to the couple’s home in Glen Cove, Long Island. If you live in the area, you can watch the journey that starts Thursday and will pass under the Brooklyn Bridge on Friday morning between 7:30 – 8:30am. The move is being filmed by James as part of documentary about his father and mother, Denise Scott Brown.
There will also be a lecture on Thursday, March 12 at 7pm with the architects Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown at the Storefront for Art and Architecture. Read the article here.
Top Photo copyright Storefront for Art and Architecture, Bottom Photos copyright Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates
Uber-designer, Karim Rashid has designed another group of modern "blobjects", this time for ceramic company Slice. The array of granny smith apple green products include a riff on X-acto knives, veggie peelers and food graters--all with ceramic blades. Check them out here.
Image copyright Slice
Etsy seller Bear Paw Rustics makes some really great birdhouses that definitely "Think Natural." These round birdhouses are handmade from jute, hemp, pine needles, Moss, sticks and other forest items.
Weather-proof and sturdy, they last for years outdoors and great for indoor decor. Check them out here.
Image copyright Bear Paw Rustics
Here's a link to an HGTV video clip featuring a tour of Lloyd Wright's famous Mayan temple-like John Sowden House. Check it out here.
Image copyright HGTV
Here's a link to a filmmaker who is putting together a documentary about Frank Lloyd Wright's impact on the generations of subsequent Organic Architects--specifically
Alfred Browning Parker. See more here.
Image copyright Holly du Rivage
The new Toshiko Mori-designed visitor center at the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed D.D. Martin House in Buffalo, New York is set to open in a few days. Here's a link to some fabulous sneak-peek photos of this amazing structure. You can see this and many other amazing works of architecture at this year's Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy Conference. Find out more here.
The Chicago Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians is hosting a special event about Bertrand Goldberg on April 2, 2009 at 5:30pm.
With several building designed by Bertrand Goldberg in danger of being demolished, we will have the honor of hearing his son Geoffey Goldberg, a talented architect in his own right, discuss his father's works and the innovative designs that are so important to Chicago's rich architectural heritage.
More info after the jump...
Architectural Record recently ran an article about two New York state-related projects that, while originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, were not executed to well after his passing (and also not without controversy.) Read about it here.
Everything old is new again! Case in point: Green roofs. Treehugger.com posted on an Architectural Digest article which discusses Richard Neutra's use of a sod roof for a Bozeman, Montana log house project during the 50s. Read and see more here.
Image copyright Roger Wade
PrairieMod reader, Paul R. sent us the heads-up about an upcoming talk given by the daughter of architect Buckminster Fuller at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. Titled "Growing Up: Buckminster Fuller: Allegra Fuller Snyder reflects on her father's formative years" it promises to be an interesting and informative look into the personal life of growing up with this extraordinary man. Read more about it here.
Image courtesy of MCA of Chicago
Ila Coretti wrote us with info about the endangered Ross House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. She writes: I have a listing for a FLW house for sale in E. Glencoe. The home is listed at $575,000 and it needs work. The home is located on a street with other FLW homes. Please share this info with your readers, it's a great opportunity for someone to save a FLW home.
If you're a house hero looking to take on the "Wright" project, it's listed with Baird & Warner in Highland Park and you can reach Ms. Coretti at 847-432-0500.
Photo copyright Landmarks Illinois
We recently received some very good news about the estate of Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice E. Donald Erickson from his daughter, Karyn L. Erickson. Read more after the jump...
I recently stumbled across this auction notice for a home in Lakeland, Florida designed J. Bruce Spencer, one of Frank Lloyd Wright's students. It's made from concrete block and will go to the highest bidder--who may or may not have plans to preserve it--a troubling thought for other buildings like this on the market. Check out more info and photos here.
Image courtesy of Higgenbotham Auctioneers
One of our readers emailed us about a great online gallery called Ashes & Milk.
From their site:
Ashes & Milk is an online gallery space founded on the principle
that a lot can be created from very little. We are driven by modern
ideas with a reverence for traditional methods and believe that the
things we bring into our homes should have a soul and a sense of
history.
I love this ceramic bird feature on Ashes & Milk.
Image copyright Ashes & Milk
Check out this adorable Animal Alphabet Poster by Petit Collage. Head on over and see what else they have to offer.
Image copyright Petit Collage
NewsOK.com recently ran an article on how the daughters of Frankoma pottery founders are preserving the legacy of the family home--which just so happens to be designed by Bruce Goff. Check out the article here.
Image via NewsOK.com
Hopefully you remembered to "Spring Forward" yesterday for daylight savings (unless you live in Arizona or Hawaii). If not, consider getting a one of these rockin' recycled LP clocks that may help you remember to mind the time. Check it out here.
Image copyright The Grateful Thread Ltd
SFGate.com recently ran a story talking about the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Fawcett House in Los Banos, California. Check it out along with some great photos here.
Image copyright Scott Mayoral
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