Archinect - News

John Ronan's Frank Lloyd Wright visitor center in Oak Park hits preservation hurdles

2019-09-09T19:45:00-04:00

A proposed 8,000-square-foot visitors center designed by Chicago's John Ronan Architects has been dealt a set back following a recent Oak Park Historic Preservation Commission decision to unanimously deny the project's efforts to impact a pair of homes located next door to the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio.

In the effort to build the visitors center, the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust of Oak Park seeks to move or demolish portions of one home and the entirety of another house next door to the property. The two homes are located within the Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie School of Architecture Historic District and are therefore subject to significant preservation review, according to The Chicago Tribune.

Responding to the decision, the trust writes, “American architecture was born in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Oak Park studio. This is where the story begins. It is where Unity Temple, Robie House and all of the great Prairie houses were created. A new visitor and education center should expre...

Newly designed Frank Lloyd Wright Trust Visitor and Education Center takes subtle cues from the master

2019-06-27T19:41:00-04:00

For decades, fans of Frank Lloyd Wright have made the journey to the small residential neighborhood of Oak Park, Illinois to where the architect built more than 25 structures during the first half of his career. Of greatest significance is the home and studio he built for himself in 1889, which has been open to the public since 1976 after it was declared a National Historic Landmark.

Children's playroom in The Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio. Photographer unknown.

In an effort to preserve the look and feel of the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio campus, little has been added or reorganized at the site. The newest addition to the campus, however, will be a visitor and Education center designed by Chicago-based John Ronan Architects.

Rendering of The Frank Lloyd Wright Trust Visitor and Education Center, by John Ronan Architects.

At first glance, the renderings of the visitor and education center bears little resemblance to the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, and even less to any of t...

Blair Kamin calls restoration of Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple "triumphant"

2017-05-22T14:29:00-04:00

Frrank Lloyd Wright was never one to fret about meeting deadlines, sticking to budgets or roofs that leaked. So there is something fitting about the delayed, but altogether triumphant, restoration of Wright's Unity Temple, [...] the finest public building of Wright's Chicago years and home to one of the most beautiful rooms in America. Instead of finishing on schedule last fall, the $25 million project is wrapping up just in time for the 150th anniversary of Wright's birthday, June 8.

"Success, it's often said, has many fathers, and so it is with here," Kamin writes. "A team of consultants led by Chicago's Harboe Architects has lavished exacting care on every aspect of this project, from the restoration of jewel-like art glass to the recreation of textured plaster walls."

In the Neighborhood of an American Master

2015-12-19T17:54:00-05:00

As I walked back down Forest Avenue, I realized how revolutionary the Prairie School was for its time. Wright and the architects in his fold built a genre based on their interpretations of how living spaces could evolve. So many elements of Wright’s designs were bold, such as raised floors and roofs that extended significantly from their structures, while also retaining a strong sense of simplicity.

John L Dorman recounts the glories of homes found in Oak Park (a village 10 miles west of the Loop outside of Chicago), designed by Frank Lloyd Wright between 1889 and 1909. An easy way to take in the sights is the “Wright Around Oak Park Tour” ($60), an extensive three-hour guided walking tour offered daily from April through October.