Ten Wright Buildings Nominated for UNESCO Status

John Hill
4. February 2015
Photo: Courtesy of SaveWright

The nomination dossier, entitled Key Works Modern Architecture by Frank Lloyd Wright, was prepared under the coordination of Lynda Waggoner, director of Wright's Fallingwater in Bear Run, Pennsylvannia, considered one of the greatest houses of the 20th century. The ten buildings, running left to right and top to bottom in the photo above, are:
 

Unity Temple in Oak Park, Illinois
Frederick C. Robie House in Chicago, Illinois
Taliesin in Spring Green, Wisconsin
Hollyhock House in Los Angeles, California
Fallingwater in Mill Run, Pennsylvania
Herbert and Katherine Jacobs House in Madison, Wisconsin
Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City
Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma
Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael, California

Per the nomination details at SaveWright, these buildings were "chosen for their significance in the development of modern architecture." Further, "They are the most iconic, fully realized and innovative of more than 400 existing works by Frank Lloyd Wright. Each is a masterwork and together they show varied illustrations of 'organic architecture' in their abstraction of form, use of new technologies and masterful integration of space, materials and site. All have been designated U.S. National Historic Landmarks."

If selected by UNESCO, the Wright buildings would increase by nearly 50% the number of sites in the United States currently on the World Heritage List, which stands at 22 of the 1,007 sites worldwide. According to the National Parks Service, only two new U.S. sites have been nominated since 1994. Overseen by the Department of the Interior, the official nomination will be submitted through the U.S. Department of State, with a decision by UNESCO coming in 2016.

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