Editor's Note: This is a developing story, Archinect will be updating this post as new information comes to light.
Archinect has learned that the Board of Directors for the School of Architecture at Taliesin (SoAT) voted this week to rescind their previous decision to close its facilities.
According to a statement sent to Archinect by Kirkland & Ellis, a law firm that is currently representing the school, the decision was made following significant student outcry over the planned closure and as the school has “secured additional funding” to remain open.
Additionally, the statement adds, “The Board confirmed that its financial situation is such that it has long-term viability, especially in light of new support that has come forward since January of this year.”
The Board’s decision, however, does not guarantee the continued existence of the School. Because the School is housed within buildings owned and maintained by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, it must receive the foundation’s blessing to remain open. “The School Board,” the statement continues, “is now calling on the Foundation to allow the School to extend its existing agreement so it can remain open, but the Foundation is being resistant and still retains the power to force the School to close unless a deal is reached.”
Dan Schweiker, Chair of the School’s Board of Governors: "The legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright embodied by the School is, as the outpouring of support has shown, one of international importance. The quality of the work the students have been doing in recent years is excellent. It would be a severe blow to the future of architecture if these talented students would not have the chance to continue this legacy."
This most recent development follows the announced closure of the school on January 28th, when the 88-year old institution abruptly announced that it would close down at the end of the Spring semester, following a disagreement between the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and SoAT over the future of the school.
At the time of the announcement, a statement from the school read "The School of Architecture at Taliesin will cease operations after this semester, after a gut-wrenching decision by its Governing Board on Saturday. The School of Architecture at Taliesin was not able to reach an agreement with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation to keep the school open."
The school received accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission in 1987 for a three-year Masters of Architecture degree program, which is offered across two campuses, one in the Arizona desert and the other in Wisconsin. In 1992, the school earned accreditation from the National Architectural Accrediting Board.
Click here to download the entire manifesto in PDF format
In 2013, the Higher Learning Commission changed its accreditation guidelines, requiring that accredited schools of architecture have independent and autonomous governing boards. As a result of this change, the school suspended enrollment for a year to retool its organization as part of an effort to meet the new guidelines. Financial issues dogged the school as it sought independence from the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Architecture educator and critic Aaron Betsky was brought on to lead the school in 2015. In 2017, the Foundation and SoAT formally separated in order to meet updated accreditation guidelines. The school, which up until then had been known as the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, changed its name as part of the separation.
In recent years, under Betsky's leadership, the SoAT completely reoriented its pedagogical approach to create a forward-thinking institution that embraced contemporary design approaches and building methodologies to much acclaim.
News of the planned closure earlier this year prompted a great deal of outcry within the architectural community. The program, beloved by its small student body and defended by a passionate set of alumni and supporters, is not going down without a fight, however. Students and professors at the school quickly launched a series a petitions, published a manifesto, and disseminated opinion pieces in a variety of publications voicing deep disagreement with the decision to close the school.
While current students are being offered an opportunity to complete their architectural education at Arizona State University, many viewed the closure as deeply unfair to the students who had quite intentionally decided to embark on their architectural studies in pursuit of the "organic architecture" approach espoused by Wright. Some of the outspoken defenders of the school argue that the closure was driven by financial motives on the part of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, and fear that the school facilities will be repurposed as tourist destinations.
A manifesto published by these critics (the full text is included above), reads:
"Taliesin is not just an Architecture School. Taliesin has been our home, where we share experiences, ideas, and discourses. Taliesin has been our laboratory, where we test ways to think, make, and live in architecture.
Taliesin has been our legacy, where we learn from history while making new history. History won’t be kind to those who think the ethos of Taliesin can be found ‘hanging in the butcher shop.’ The legacy of Taliesin can’t be bought on souvenir shops or faux organic products. The legacy of Taliesin can’t be exchanged into profitable tour tickets, or into dinners in the drafting studio, or into wedding photos on the prow."
14 Comments
Please let this work. ❤️ Please.
Why is the FLLW Foundation objecting to the very thing FLLW loved = teaching young people? — The only lecture I heard from FLLW himself changed my life — why no statements from the FLLW Foundation? — were they hacked? — did someone take over and is milking it for their own personal profit? — ZOUNDS!
All great artists love to teach; we long to pass on the knowledge to the tale nted— that statement itselr is a wonderful teaching, if you’re paying attention, of course,
All great artists love to teach; we long to pass on the knowledge to the tale nted— that statement itselr is a wonderful teaching, if you’re paying attention, of course,
The author may not have checked the facts for the "background story" portion of this article. Though the School may have obtained HLC accreditation in 1987, as the article states, it was not NAAB accredited certainly from 1990 (through 1994 when I attended Taliesin) through 1996. It was only as high as "Candidate" for NAAB accreditation. I cannot speak for the School's status between 1987 and 1990, but I am fairly certain the School achieved its initial NAAB accreditation in 1997. An achievement nonetheless. That accreditation may have allowed a retroactive period for degrees granted 2 to 3 years prior, but I cannot recall those details.
Let the Spirit live!
The fight isn’t yet over, as it stands the school is still dependent on the Foundation to be willing to re-open negotiations to continue being in operation
Please sign and support the students by signing our petition
Stand with the students ✊
https://www.change.org/p/frank-lloyd-wright-foundation-save-the-school-of-architecture-at-taliesin-from-closing
The AIA has not commented at all about the school's proposed closing which says volumes about the AIA.
My earlier comment saying just that was somehow deleted. Just an accident, I'm sure.
Your comment wasn't deleted. You posted it to another article, here: https://archinect.com/news/article/150188412/frank-lloyd-wright-foundation-responds-to-latest-taliesin-news
My apologies to you. What I thought happened did seem out of character for your site.
Volunteer I'm genuinely curious what you would expect the AIA to say about it? The AIA is a *professional* organization.
Nothing lasts forever.
FLW would understand both sides of this disagreement.
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