The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright

The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Frank Lloyd Wright, the architect whose buildings are designated as a World Heritage Site
Includes	Eight locations in the United States
Criteria	Cultural: (ii)
Reference	1496
Inscription	2019 (43rd Session)
Area	26.369 ha (65.16 acres)
Buffer zone	710.103 ha (1,754.70 acres)

The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright is a UNESCO World Heritage Site consisting of eight buildings across the United States designed by the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959).¹² These sites demonstrate his philosophy of organic architecture, designing structures that were in harmony with humanity and its environment. Wright's work had an international influence on the development of architecture in the 20th century.³ The eight Wright buildings in the World Heritage Site are located in six U.S. states and were designed over a 50-year period.² The first building included, Unity Temple, was completed in 1908.¹ The last, the Guggenheim Museum, was completed in 1959,¹² although its design began in the 1940s.⁴ All eight buildings are also listed as U.S. National Historic Landmarks.⁵⁶ These structures were nominated because they were deemed "his masterpieces with the highest levels of integrity",⁷ because of their National Historic Landmark statuses, and because there were preservation plans in place for each building.⁸

Wright, a native of Wisconsin, initially studied with noted architects in the Chicago school of architecture (particularly Louis Sullivan) before opening his own practice in 1893. He became a world-renowned architect in the 20th century.⁹¹⁰ Through efforts led by the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, a nonprofit organization, Taliesin and Taliesin West were jointly nominated as a World Heritage Site in the late 1980s.¹¹ The U.S. federal government endorsed the nomination,¹² but UNESCO rejected it because the organization wanted to see a larger nomination with more Wright properties.¹¹ In 2008, the National Park Service submitted ten Wright properties to a tentative World Heritage list.¹³¹⁴ It grew to 11 structures across seven U.S. states in July 2011,¹⁵¹⁶ out of more than 400 buildings reviewed by Wright experts.⁸ The nomination included two of Wright's studios; two office buildings; four private residences; and one museum, church, and government building each.¹⁵¹⁷

The S. C. Johnson & Son Inc. Administration Building and Research Tower in Racine, Wisconsin, was removed from the nomination at the request of its owner.¹⁸ In March 2015, the United States Department of the Interior again nominated ten Wright–designed structures for inclusion on the World Heritage List.¹⁹²⁰⁵ UNESCO declined to designate Wright's buildings in July 2016, referring the nomination back to the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy for revision.²¹²² The Conservancy–led Frank Lloyd Wright World Heritage Council collaborated with the National Park Service and UNESCO to modify the nomination.²³ Eight of Wright's buildings were re-nominated to the World Heritage List in December 2018;²⁴²⁵ the Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael, California, were excluded from the proposal.²³ The International Council on Monuments and Sites recommended the nomination's approval in June 2019,²⁶ and the site was inscribed on the World Heritage list on July 7, 2019.²⁷ It was the 24th World Heritage listing in the United States to be designated,¹²²⁸ and it was the first time that modern American architecture had been recognized by UNESCO.²⁹

In the following table, the buffer zone is an area surrounding a listed site that provides additional protection but is not part of the site itself.³⁰

Properties included in the World Heritage Site

Name31	Picture	UNESCO ID31	Location31	Coordinates	Description	Property area [buffer zone]31
Unity Temple		1496rev-001	Oak Park, Illinois	41°53′18″N 87°47′48″W / 41.88833°N 87.79667°W / 41.88833; -87.79667	Completed in 1908, it was one of the first major reinforced concrete buildings in the U.S.32 The building used four types of concrete,33 with a spacious sanctuary, along with a church house called the Unity House.34 The building's use of concrete has led to it being described as the world's first "modern building".3536	0.167 ha (0.41 acres) [10.067 ha (24.88 acres)]
Frederick C. Robie House		1496rev-002	Chicago, Illinois	41°47′23.4″N 87°35′45.3″W / 41.789833°N 87.595917°W / 41.789833; -87.595917	This 1910 single-family home was designed in the Prairie style for a Chicago businessman.37 The exterior had a heavy emphasis on horizontal design details, including cantilevered roofs,38 which, combined with the open plan interior, "epitomizes Wright's aim to design structures in harmony with nature."39 A significant contributor to the concept of bringing nature indoors is the 175 leaded glass windows and doors, which feature a design of "abstraction of organic shapes".40	0.130 ha (0.32 acres) [1.315 ha (3.25 acres)]
Taliesin		1496rev-003	Spring Green, Wisconsin	43°08′30″N 90°04′15″W / 43.14153°N 90.07091°W / 43.14153; -90.07091	Begun in 1911 and expanded several times over the years,41 Taliesin (Welsh for 'shining brow') became Wright's home, studio, and school of architecture.42 He built the large estate on the brow of a ridge, to be "'of the hill' not on it".4342 While there, he explored the organic theory of architecture and the Prairie School.43 In contrast to the curved shapes of Wright's later work, Taliesin largely incorporates rectangular shapes in its design.44	4.931 ha (12.18 acres) [200.899 ha (496.43 acres)]
Hollyhock House		1496rev-004	Los Angeles, California	34°05′59.85″N 118°17′40.61″W / 34.0999583°N 118.2946139°W / 34.0999583; -118.2946139	Hollyhock House, built 1919–1921 for the oil heiress Aline Barnsdall,45 was Wright's first Los Angeles commission.46 Intended as part of an unbuilt arts colony and live theater complex,4547 the house incorporates extensive motifs depicting Barnsdall's favorite flower, the hollyhock.48 The structure's outdoor gardens and interior spaces are integrated,49 with features such as a central courtyard and a series of terraces.50 The work of Wright and his young apprentices helped inspire what became known as California Modernism.51	4.608 ha (11.39 acres) [13.986 ha (34.56 acres)]
Fallingwater		1496rev-005	Stewart Township, Pennsylvania	39°54′22″N 79°28′5″W / 39.90611°N 79.46806°W / 39.90611; -79.46806	Fallingwater was built as a summer home for the businessman Edgar J. Kaufmann in 1936–1937.52 Placed over a stream and waterfall,53 it includes design details such as cantilevered concrete terraces and a rock chimney, intended to blend with the setting's natural rock formations.54 Wright wanted the Kaufmanns to not just look out at the stream on their summer property but "live with the waterfall ... as an integral part of [their] lives".55 American Institute of Architects members voted Fallingwater "the best all-time work of American architecture" in 1991.56	11.212 ha (27.71 acres) [282.299 ha (697.58 acres)]
Herbert and Katherine Jacobs House		1496rev-006	Madison, Wisconsin	43°3′31″N 89°26′29″W / 43.05861°N 89.44139°W / 43.05861; -89.44139	Built during the Great Depression for the journalist Herbert Jacobs, the Jacobs House I (1937) was one of the first "Usonian" houses designed by Wright.57 Working within a budget of less than $5000, Wright combined his open design plan, functional spaces, and the use of wood, brick, dyed concrete, and large windows, to match a small landscaped neighborhood lot.5859 Some of the house's design features, such as its concrete pad, flat roof, and carport, later became commonplace.60	0.139 ha (0.34 acres) [1.286 ha (3.18 acres)]
Taliesin West		1496rev-007	Scottsdale, Arizona	33°36′22.8″N 111°50′45.5″W / 33.606333°N 111.845972°W / 33.606333; -111.845972	In 1937 Wright began building his winter home, studio, and architectural fellowship center in the foothills of Arizona's McDowell Mountains.61 The property was built using locally sourced construction materials, such as rocks and trees.62 The design included few vertical lines or right angles, and it has ribbed walls and gently sloped terraces, reflecting the appearance of the nearby mountains.63 Taliesin West was set within the landscape with overlapping indoor and outdoor rooms, a triangular garden of native plants, and triangular pool.64 Wright designed many of his later structures while at Taliesin West, such as the Price Tower, Monona Terrace, Gammage Memorial Auditorium, and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.65	4.285 ha (10.59 acres) [198.087 ha (489.48 acres)]
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum		1496rev-008	New York, New York	40°46′59″N 73°57′32″W / 40.782975°N 73.958992°W / 40.782975; -73.958992	Wright's work for the Guggenheim Foundation in the 1940s and 1950s re-conceived the modern museum building as a place in conversation with the art within.27 Placed across from Central Park, the spiral structure incorporates the sinuous forms of nature.966	0.251 ha (0.62 acres) [2.164 ha (5.35 acres)]