#620 The Newest Usonian

Frank Lloyd Wright died 54 years ago, yet his work is still being built.

Florida Southern College is the site of the most Wright structures ever built for a single client.  For several years, the college has been working on a new Usonian house according to Wright's original plan.  So when it opened in 2013 of course we visited.

Wright designed this Usonian home as faculty housing in 1939, but the plan went unbuilt. The house has three bedrooms and one bath and is constructed of almost 2000 hand-made textile blocks with thousands more gleaming colored-glass inserts. 

This new structure adjoins the main campus where Wright connected his buildings with covered walkways to protect students from the elements while mimicking the regular spacing of the citrus trees covering the original site.

The Wright buildings are all still in use putting it at the top of Forbes' list of most beautiful college campuses...

  

  

  ...and proudly displayed in the school's promotional materials.

The campus boasts Wright's only theater in the round...

 ...and Wright's only planetarium...

 ...and Wright's only water dome. 

Of course our favorite building was Wright's circular library.

Kudos to Florida Southern College for their stewardship and promotion of architectural wonders. 

Yours in Wright appreciation,
Kelly