A Dialogue Restored Rooms Open at Robie House
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For Members of the Volume 45 : Issue 2 Summer – Fall 2018 Frank Lloyd Wright Trust Wright Angles: A DIALOGUE RESTORED ROOMS OPEN AT ROBIE HOUSE From the President & CEO In August the Trust completed phase 1 restoration of the Robie House interior, and visitors began touring the restored front entry hall, main stairway, billiard room and living room. Refreshed wall and ceiling plaster and vibrant original coloration have transformed the rooms, and the reinstallation of lighting and leaded glass windows illuminate the space with a balanced mixture of natural and incandescent light. With renewed excitement, we welcome guests from around the world to see Robie House restored to Wright’s 1910 vision. Unanimously recognized by European critics in 1930 as the precursor to international modernism, Robie House today is Photo: James Caulfield Photo: re-evaluated by contemporary audiences. A grant from the Getty The restored Robie House living room open for tours. Foundation has facilitated our preparation of a Robie House Conservation Management Plan that will establish guiding principles and policies for generations to come. A value-based assessment is part of this plan. I hope you will participate in the 2018 Board of Directors survey described on pages 10-11. John M. Rafkin, Chairman Join us on Tuesday, October 2, for the Trust’s 7th annual Robert Miller, Vice-Chair and Chair, Executive Committee Thinking into the Future: Robie House Series on Architecture, David Dunning, Treasurer Design and Ideas. This year’s speaker, Mark Sexton, will discuss Graham J. Rarity, Secretary Architect / Artist Collaborations, a hallmark of his distinguished Peter R. George Chicago firm Krueck + Sexton, a 40-year architectural partnership. David Hernandez Patricia Hunt With many worthy educational and restoration initiatives this Kurt Neumann year, please consider a much-needed and deeply appreciated Robert Pasin Don Rosenwinkel gift to the Trust’s 2018 Annual Appeal this fall. Join our Donor Kelly Small Circle and enjoy exclusive benefits such as the October 25 Randall S. Thorne private reception and tour of the Laura Gale House with new Tim Samuelson, Advisory Member owners Andrea Kayne and Andrew Mead. The value of the Trust is founded in the treasure of its friends. Thank you for your commitment and friendship. Cover: South balcony doors, Robie House Photo: James Caulfield Celeste Adams President & CEO Contents 4 Thinking Into The Future with 8 Next Generation Preservationists 14 Worldwide Travel in 2019 Architect Mark Sexton at Robie House 18 Celebrating Our Volunteers 6 Robie House: A Revolutionary Moment 13 Donor Circle Members Tour 22 Summer-Fall Programs Page 2 “SKYLANDING” NEAR ROBIE HOUSE MARKS SITE WHERE WRIGHT DISCOVERED JAPANESE ARCHITECTURE Rendering courtesy of wHY Architecture and Yoko Ono and Yoko courtesy of wHY Architecture Rendering "Skylanding" by Yoko Ono. Yoko Ono's "Skylanding," a monument to world peace, is now installed on the site of the 1893 Columbian Exposition’s Japanese Pavilion, the Ho-o-den or Phoenix Pavilion. This is where Frank Lloyd Wright discovered Japanese architecture. Yoko Ono, a Robie House restoration Yoko Ono’s “Skylanding,” composed of a dozen metal 12-foot-tall lotus flower petals donor, attended Wright's Jiyu Gakuen was described by the artist as the “place where the sky and earth meet and create School while growing up in Tokyo. a seed to learn about the past and come together to create a future of peace and harmony, with nature and each other.” Ono, who remembered visiting Tokyo’s Wright-designed Imperial Hotel, attended Jiyu Gakuen (Frank Lloyd Wright, 1921), a girls’ school with a focus on teaching creativity. The site of “Skylanding” was of particular significance to the artist for the Ho-o-den was destroyed by arson because of World War II’s anti-Japanese sentiment. “Skylanding” represents healing. As the Trust completes the restoration of the Robie House, Wright’s lifelong admiration of Japanese culture is reaffirmed in the proximity of Matthew Placek/©Yoko Ono Matthew Placek/©Yoko “Skylanding” to his own masterpiece. Page 3 ARCHITECT/ARTIST CREATIVE COLLABORATIONS THINKING INTO THE FUTURE: THE ROBIE HOUSE SERIES ON ARCHITECTURE, DESIGN AND IDEAS Co-founder of the Chicago-based firm Krueck + Sexton Architects, Mark Sexton is the 2018 speaker for the Trust’s signature annual program, Thinking Into the Future: The Robie House Series on Architecture, Design and Ideas. Sexton will present on the firm’s iconic architecture, the significance of art in the firm’s projects, and their collaborations with artists such as Jaume Plensa and Ursula von Rydingsvard. As the influence of new materials, fabrication practices and technologies shape the future of architecture, Sexton will consider how Krueck + Sexton Architects continues to push the boundaries of design, and what role art and its inspiration will play in the future of the firm’s work. Founded in 1979, Chicago-based firm Krueck + Sexton Architects has gathered acclaim for its work in exploring the leading edge of modernism as well as Chicago’s rich architectural tradition. Partners Ron Krueck and Mark Sexton both studied architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology, where they were steeped in the pure modernism of Mies van der Rohe. From this foundation, they developed a distinctive visual language influenced by art as much as by architecture, as evidenced in their impeccably designed and constructed buildings. Working in collaboration with the Spanish Photograph: William Zbaren Photograph: sculptor Jaume Plensa, Krueck + Sexton The faceted façade of the Spertus Institute, developed the award-winning Crown Chicago, IL serves the functional purpose Fountain at Millennium Park. Identifying new of admitting natural light to a building surrounded by older masonry structures materials and technologies, the firm created a along Michigan Avenue. 21st century fountain that has been embraced by the city and has become a defining feature of Millennium Park. The firm’s faceted glass façade for the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies embraces contemporary materials and technology, while conforming to norms of scale and organization to harmonize with the streetwall ensemble of Michigan Avenue. Program partners: Page 4 ARCHITECT MARK SEXTON LECTURES OCT 2 THINKING INTO THE FUTURE: THE ROBIE HOUSE SERIES ON ARCHITECTURE, DESIGN AND IDEAS MARK P. SEXTON, FAIA, LEED® AP As founding partner of Kreuck + Sexton, Mark Sexton is integral to the design and management of the firm’s work. His dedication to fine detailing and responsible project delivery ensures the quality and consistency of all projects. By embracing the ideas of colleagues, investigating possibilities, and engaging with the community, Sexton constantly evolves and advances the firm’s projects. Sexton, a graduate of the College of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology, continues his support of the school today by serving on the Board of Advisors. He is a member of the GSA Design Photograph: Steve Hall/Hedrich Blessing Photograph: Crown Fountain, in Millennium Park on Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL. The way it's been embraced by the people of Chicago and visitors clearly is a testament to the strength of the initial concept. — Mark Sexton on Crown Fountain Excellence Program National Registry of Peer Professionals, the Chicago Architecture Biennial Board, and is on the faculty of Taking Wright’s future thinking philosophy as expressed Northwestern University teaching Architecture in the Frederick C. Robie House, Thinking into the Future: Engineering and Design at the School of Civil The Robie House Series on Architecture, Design and Ideas and Environmental Engineering. He received engages leading voices in conversations about design the distinction of Fellow of the American issues in contemporary society. Designed in 1908, Frank Institute of Architects in 2006 and annually Lloyd Wright’s Robie House is an iconic work of the participates in the Bridge mentor program twentieth century. sponsored by the AIA, College of Fellows and Young Architects Forum. Tuesday October 2 Tickets: flwright.org or 312.994.4000 Cocktail reception: 5 pm, Lecture: 6 pm Logan Center for the Arts, University of Chicago, 915 East 60th Street Frank Lloyd Wright Trust members/University of Chicago alumni, faculty and staff/AIA Chicago members: $20; Non-members: $25; Students: $5 Page 5 ROBIE HOUSE: A REVOLUTIONARY MOMENT IN AMERICAN ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY As the Trust reveals restored rooms of the Robie House and Frank Lloyd Wright’s original vision re-emerges for the first time in decades, we take the opportunity to consider the national architectural context within which the building was conceived and realized. The late 19th and early 20th century was a period of transition in American architecture. The era was marked by the emergence of original architectural design styles that were not derived from historical precedents. In the years preceding the Civil War, American architectural styles reflected the country’s ties to the culture and architecture of Europe. As the nation emerged from the War, American architects, like their contemporaries in art, literature and music, sought new forms to express the country’s developing national identity. Given an expanding technology, prosperity and a climate that supported progress and originality, architects began to see possibilities for experimentation and expansion beyond traditional European architectural styles. The inventive, eclectic and richly ornamented buildings