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I recently found out that the Frankoma Pottery company shuttered for good and auctioned-off all of its assets. Collectors actively seek Frankoma pottery, but architecture lovers would be interested to note that the founders of the pottery, John and Grace Lee Frank, commissioned Bruce Goff to design their astounding Sapulpa, OK home--which features loads of Frankoma brick and tile decoration. Read about the company here and about the Frank House here.
Image via frankoma.org
Blair Kamin reports that a former Synagogue on the West side of Chicago was seriously damaged by fire over last week. What gives this story a twist is that the building has many striking similarities to Frank Lloyd Wright's Larkin Building (formally of Buffalo, NY). Find out more here.
(Photo of the Beth Jacob Anshe Kroz synagogue from the archives of the Ryerson and Burnham Libraries at the Art Institute of Chicago)
Everyone should be able to enjoy the design genius of Frank Lloyd Wright. With that in mind, the Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio in Oak Park, IL has completed several modifications to make it more accessible for people with disabilities. Some of these elements include new ramps, props for the visually impaired, and other enhanced tour materials for those who need it. Find out more and watch a video clip here.
Image via abclocal.go.com
The Iannelli Studios in Park Ridge, IL has been selected for the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 2011 This Place Matters Community Challenge! The home and studio that once housed artistic luminaries like Edgar Miller, Bruce Goff, Margaret and Alfonso Iannelli is one of 100 nationwide finalists competing for $25,000. The best part is that you can help the organization working hard to save the building, The Kalo Foundation, win the prize! Starting June 1, 2011 go to this website and cast your vote. For more info about the effort to save the Iannelli Studios, follow the link.
Image via Tim Samuelson
Wright & Like 2011 tour in Milwaukee is going to be filled with amazing architecture. Case in point: this article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel highlights a house on the tour that George Mann Niedecken is thought to have had a hand in. Read about it here and see more here. Get your tickets for Wright & Like 2011, and see all the houses here.
Image via jsonline.com
Bertram Goldberg's Prentice Women's Hospital is on life support and the outlook is not looking so good. But, hope's not lost yet: The mission of the Save "Old" Prentice Coalition is to convince key decision makers to protect this modern masterpiece from demolition by designating it a Chicago Landmark. This effort is being led by a coalition of organizations that includes: docomomo, Landmarks Illinois, The National Trust and Preservation Chicago. If you care about important architecture, then follow the link and sign the petition to save this building.
Image via change.org
The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust will host Summer Saturdays at the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Robie House, in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, this summer. Beginning Saturday, June 18, and operating through Saturday, August 20, Summer Saturdays features family programs in the morning and an evening sampler that highlights a different Chicago cultural partner each week. The featured Chicago cultural institution will entertain guests while discussing their organization’s summer programs. The evening sampler is complete with drinks, hors d’oeuvres and a festive, casual atmosphere where guests can wander the museum at their leisure. Details after the jump...
Continue reading "Summer Saturdays At Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House" »
Steve and Marian Dodge, architecture lovers and longtime supporters of Cal Poly Pomona, plan to donate $3 million through a bequest gift to Cal Poly Pomona’s College of Environmental Design. What's especially siginificant is that they have included their Raphael Soriano-designed Los Feliz home as part of the gift. Read more about it here.
Image via walnut.patch.com
The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Kraus House in Kirkwood, Missouri will celebrate its 10th anniversary as a house museum, along with Wright's 144th birthday, on Sunday, June 5, from 2 to 5 pm. Read more about it here and get details here.
Image via ebsworthpark.org
If you love great music and amazing architecture, then you will not want to miss "The Common Pattern," a suite of performances taking place at a series of Frank Lloyd Wright-designed buildings. Details after the jump...
Continue reading "Usonia, Airplanes, Beethoven...And Wright" »
We posted a few weeks ago about the need to raise funds to help see film maker Rob Barros' much anticipated John H. Howe documentary completed. The end of the Kickstarter campaign is coming soon and as of this post there is still $4,385 left of the goal amount to raise. Please consider giving to help fund a very worthwhile and exciting project. Donate here.
Image via kickstarter.com
Wright & Like 2011: Milwaukee Originals is fast approaching and this year's tour is bigger than ever. To make the event a success, volunteer help is needed. Find out how to see amazing architecture and help a good cause after the jump...
We recently heard from Elisabeth Dunbar, President of Wright In Kankakee, about some unique volunteer opportunities at Frank Lloyd Wright's Bradley House. Find out how you can help put-in some quality time at this amazing Prairie School home after the jump...
As time runs out on the 60-day reprieve for Bertram Goldberg's Prentice Women's Hospital, Blair Kamin wonders why The Commission on Chicago Landmarks has not stepped forward to try and stay the "execution" of this obviously important structure. Read more here.
Image via Blair Kamin's Cityscapes blog
Here's a link to an article on photographer Christopher Little, whose images of Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater appear in the book titled appropriately enough, Fallingwater, which was recently released by Rizzoli. Read more here.
Image via Rizzoli
Buffalo, NY really does have a lot going for it, despite the persistent notions that it's not as flashy as some other New York cities. That said, the marketing "geniuses" who come-up with catchy taglines to try and lure visitors to towns have outdone themselves with the new "For Real" campaign for Buffalo. The phrase can't help but have a question mark appear at the end of it every time it's uttered, making it ironically sarcastic. Add the fact that the logo uses Eaglefeather, one of the most overused and trite fonts there is, and you have a winner. It may even give Oak Park's "arousing" new logo a run for its money. Read more here.
Image via hypervocal.com
Scott T. sends a link to an Alfred Browning Parker home for sale in Coral Gables, FL. Check out the listing here.
Image via home-flip.com
The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation is working with Big Green Zero, a team of energy engineers and planners, to launch Energizing Taliesin West™, a pioneering integration of sustainable energy and sustainable architecture. The Energizing Taliesin West™ program will both transform Taliesin West into a sustainable energy laboratory and advance the Frank Lloyd Wright legacy of sustainable architecture as the property celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2012. Read more after the jump...
Tune-in your televisions to WTTW Channel 11 from 7:00—8:00pm CST to watch "Chicago Tonight." Park Ridge's Iannelli Studios will be featured during the "Art Beat" section of the program. More info on "Chicago Tonight" here.
Image via Tim Samuelson
Frank Lloyd Wright Wisconsin recently announced that for the first time ever the Wright-designed Albert & Edith Adelman House in Fox Point will be open to a select number of visitors as part of the Wright and Like 2011: Milwaukee Originals tour on June 11, 2011. Mr. Albert "Ollie" Adelman will personally welcome a limited number of guests to his home for this very special in-depth tour. Details after the jump...
There are two chances to catch author and architect Randolph C. Henning this week in Wisconsin discussing his new book on historic postcards of Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin. The first chance is on Thursday May, 26, 2011 at 7:00pm at the Barnes & Noble at West Towne Mall (7433 Mineral Point Road) in Madison, WI. The second chance is on Saturday May 28, 2011 at 7:00 at Taliesin's Hillside Theater (6604 Hwy. 23, Spring Green, WI). Details here.
Image via taliesinpreservation.org
Curbed LA reports that the Lloyd Wright-designed Farrell House (1926) is available for monthly rent...so long as you have $6,200 a month! See more here.
Image via Curbed LA
The Canberra Times reports that a long-lost Walter Burley Griffin drawing meant for the 1912 Canberra city design competion was discovered recently by historian David Headon and reunited with the other suite of drawings at hte Australian National Archives. Read more about it here.
Image via canberratimes.com.au
Reveal: Studio Gang Architects is as unique a monograph as the architecture firm it highlights. I've been a fan of Jeanne Gang and the talented crew at her Studio ever since I heard her speak at a Unity Temple lecture. Jeanne spoke and presented numerous slides depicting the amazing variety of work the Studio completed to date. With her award-winning "Aqua" skyscraper waiting to open, Jeanne Gang was still relatively unknown beyond Chicago. After hearing her speak, though, I was hungry to learn more and wished that a monograph of her work existed.
Luckily, when I recently sat down to finally absorb this book, published by Princeton Architectural Press, I was not disappointed. Read more after the jump...
Continue reading "Book Review: Reveal: Studio Gang Architects" »
Add another fantastic house to the list of Wright's on the market! The beautiful Prairie School gem, the George Millard House (1906) in Highland Park, IL, is on the market for $1.4 million. Check out the listing and photos here.
Image via realtor.com
If you have not visited the ArchiTech Gallery in Chicago to see the Edgar Miller show currently on display until August 27, 2011— then here's a couple more images of some of the pieces you'll see to whet your appetite. It's definitely a must-see show for lovers of progressive design. Details here.
Images via the ArchiTech Gallery
John Van Bergen historian, Marty Hackl, will be holding a special window and art glass restoration workshop June 11 and 12, at the John Van Bergen exhibit currently at the Barrington History Museum. Hackl will be restoring six 96-year-old-casement windows with their art glass panels from the Alan Miller House from 1915. Admission to the event is $10. More details here.
Image via Marty Hackl
The eight-house Robert Rummer tour and lecture presented by the Historic Preservation League of Oregon were a smashing success. Architectural historian Jack Bookwalter provided an overview of mid-century residential architecture as context for Rummer's work and Mr. Rummer himself was in attendance to answer questions and provided many interesting (and amusing) anecdotes. He graciously applauded the craftsmen with whom he worked on his projects, giving them credit for implementing his designs. Several current Rummer homeowners participated in the Q&A - one even discovered that he's living in Rummer's former personal home - and there were even some out-of-state guests who traveled great distances to attend. This annual tour is highly recommended for anyone interested in mid-century design and architecture. More photos of the homes can be seen here. Mr. Rummer will be speaking again at Rejuvenation in Southeast Portland on May 25 (the day before his birthday!).
Image via Martrese
Hearing the news of the Bachman Wilson House's endangered status prompted Erika Bleiberg to remember her other encounters with New Jersey Wright architecture, specifically an impromptu tour of the Stuart Richardson House in Glen Ridge, NJ. Read more about the experience here.
Image via tarantinostudio.com
Here's a link to an article relating the experiences of seeing the homes on last weekend's Lombard, IL historic house walk, sponsored by the local Kiwanis Club. Why mention it? Lombard's only true Prairie School residence, the Watt House designed by John S. Van Bergen, was on the walk.
We didn't make it to this house walk, but did any PrairieMod readers go? If so, let us know how this house was. Read the article here.
Image via triblocal.com
Ann Arbor, MI is going Hollywood, with news that the Wright-designed Palmer House is the setting for the production team filming the next Jason Segel movie called "Five Year Engagement." More info here.
Image via annarbor.com
Scott T. reminds us that there will be an exhibit of Pedro E. Guerrero photographs on display in the FLLW Visitor Center at Taliesin from June 4 — September 15, 2011.
The photos will show a series of intimate and rarely exhibited photographs taken by Guerrero of Wright and Taliesin circa 1940–1953. These photographs, specially selected and custom printed by Guerrero for this exhibit, will be available for purchase, with a percentage of the proceeds going toward the preservation of Taliesin.
Exhibit info and more Taliesin Centennial event details here.
News of the Guggenheim Foundation's next planned museum site expansion always makes big news. Bilbao, Venice, Berlin, Abu Dhabi, and now...Brooklyn? According to this post on thelmagazine.com, the Guggenheim Museum has started planning a pop-up exhibition space at MetroTech in Downtown Brooklyn. Read more here.
Image via thelmagazine.com
Here's a link to an article about the listing of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Bachman Wilson House on Preservation New Jersey’s 2011 list of the ten most endangered historic places in New Jersey. Even thought the house is beautifully restored, it's constantly facing damage from the flood waters of its nearby Millstone River neighbor. Read more here.
Image via mycentraljersey.com
Photographer Andrea Hubbell recently coordinated a shoot based on a mid-century modern wedding theme. The orange ice pops in vintage highball glasses look particularly "mod" (and refreshing)!
Image credit: Andrea Hubbell
I came across this June 2011 event listed at the Morton Arboretum website:
Part designer, planner, social reformer, conservationist and artist! Explore the world of one of America's most influential landscape architects with a tour of the exhibit, “Jens Jensen: Landscapes for People.” See original landscape drawings, archival photographs, and modern color photographs of Jensen’s ideas. See the impact of landscapes he presented in his 1939 book, ‘Siftings.’ Then, join Arboretum landscape architect, Susan Jacobson, to discover how Jensen has helped shape the landscape of the Chicago area by capturing the horizontal lines of the prairie while providing places for people to find relaxation, restoration, and renewal in nature. Register at www.mortonarb.org/education or 630-719-2468. Costs $19 (discounts for Arboretum members). Adults. Sterling Morton Library. June 29: 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
We'll provide additional details on the exhibit as we learn of them. Info about visiting the Morton Arboretum here.
Image via wikipedia
Australian author, Alasdair McGregor, was awarded the $20,000 2011 National Biography Award for his book Grand Obsessions: The Life and Work of Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin. Read about it here.
Image via penguin.com.au
If you had a chance to visit the fantastic Louis Sullivan exhibit this last year at the Chicago Cultural Center titled "Louis Sullivan's Idea" then you know how fantastic it was. I've been eagerly awaiting the catalog put together by Tim Samuelson and artist Chris Ware, but have not heard when it was supposed to be released. Thanks to a Chicago Magazine article on artist Chris Ware, we have some tantalizing news. More after the jump...
The Wright Chat message board has been buzzing recently about the upcoming Wright20 auction, which features several furniture pieces from the Kenneth Laurent House in Rockford, IL—apparently consigned by the house's original owner.
The Laurent home has been on the market for some time at a fairly high price (for its area), there have been attempts to turn it into a public house museum and now part of its integrally-designed furnishings have been placed on the auction block. It's news that is most distressing, since separating Wright furniture from a Wright house leaves both the lesser for it.
See all of the Laurent pieces up for auction here (and all the other Frank Lloyd Wright artifacts being auctioned off here.)
Image via Wright20
Blair Kamin reports that H.H. Richardson's impressive Chicago architectural icon, the Glessner House, will be celebrating its 125 anniversary with a series of special events. Read more here.
Image via Cityscapes blog
Check out this ultra cool customized PC done-up as an homage by Jeffrey Stephenson to Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian architecture. See it here.
Image via slipperyskip.com
Celebrate the centennial of Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin and help contribute to its ongoing care and restoration by purchasing one of these exclusive prints, depicting an homage to Eugene Masselink's graphic interpretation of Wright's Wisconsin estate. Available as both a photo print and a canvas print.
Image via taliesinpreservation.org
Mark Hertzberg sends a link to an article discussing the recent awarding of Gold LEED certification to SC Johnson's Fortaleza Hall, designed by Foster + Partners. Read more here.
Iamge via worldarchitecturenews.com
The Racine Art Museum will open a new exhibit May 29 through August 2, 2011 titled "The Wright Stuff: Artists Respond to the Work of Frank Lloyd Wright." It will feature graphics and photographs by other artists who have looked to Wright's iconic structures as visual inspiration for works in documentary, abstract and conceptual styles. Get the details here.
Image via RAM
On the drive up to Milwaukee yesterday to catch the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Museum before it closed, I listened to an interesting interview with sculptor Richard Serra on Bob Edwards Weekend. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City just opened a new exhibit titled Richard Serra Drawing: A Retrospective which showcases this often overlooked aspect of his creative output. Find out more here and about the Met exhibit here.
Image via bobedwardsradio.com
If you don't have your tickets for the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust's annual Wright Plus house walk this next weekend, you're out of luck: the event for 2011 is sold out! However, if you want to get your Wright house walk fix this summer, then order your tickets for Wright in Wisconsin's "Wright and Like" in Milwaukee, WI this year. Details here.
Image via wrightinwisconsin.org
Mark Hertzberg sent a link to an interesting article in the New York Times about Baghdad's re-discovery of color with respect to their painting their buildings. This pent-up desire to express freedom of choice has led to some interesting choices: including the Trade Ministry being painted pink with orange stripes. Read more about it here.
Image via nytimes.com
The 1917 Meier House in Monona, IA, one of Frank Lloyd Wright's American System-Built designs, is on the market for the astonishing low price of $129,000 (making it the new most affordable Wright on the market.) From the images, it looks like it could use some TLC to restore it back to its original design—but at that price, it would be doable. Details here.
Image via russettrealestate.com
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