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| Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy | |
|---|---|
| Name | Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy |
| Formation | 1992 |
| Type | Nonprofit organization |
| Headquarters | Oak Park, Illinois |
| Location | United States |
| Leader title | President |
Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy is a nonprofit preservation organization dedicated to the documentation, conservation, and advocacy for the built works of Frank Lloyd Wright. Founded in the early 1990s, the Conservancy operates within a network of preservation groups, museums, architectural schools, and heritage agencies to protect buildings, landscapes, and archives associated with Wright across the United States and internationally. It collaborates with municipal governments, cultural institutions, and private owners to secure landmark status, support restorations, and promote scholarly research on Wright's designs.
The Conservancy was established in 1992 amid preservation efforts for sites like Taliesin and Robie House, and grew from coalitions that included stakeholders such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Preservation Chicago, Landmarks Illinois, and regional organizations tied to Oak Park, Illinois and Madison, Wisconsin. Early campaigns addressed threats to properties in locations including Buffalo, New York, Spring Green, Wisconsin, Racine, Wisconsin, River Forest, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California, often intersecting with municipal landmark designation processes and state historic preservation offices such as the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and the Wisconsin Historical Society. The Conservancy's founding aligned with international conservation conversations at venues like the Getty Conservation Institute and dialogues influenced by charters like the Venice Charter.
The Conservancy's mission emphasizes preservation of Wright's architecture, interiors, and landscapes through documentation, advocacy, and public programs. Activities include technical assessments in partnership with organizations such as the American Institute of Architects, the Association for Preservation Technology International, and university programs at Columbia University, Harvard University Graduate School of Design, University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design, and University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. It provides guidance to owners of properties ranging from private residences to civic commissions including projects related to Unity Temple, Fallingwater, Guggenheim Museum, and regional Wright houses like Hollyhock House and Ennis House. The Conservancy liaises with funding bodies like the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, and state councils on the arts.
The Conservancy runs targeted programs including emergency response for threatened sites, technical advisory services, and grant programs modeled after initiatives by National Trust for Historic Preservation and World Monuments Fund. Notable interventions have addressed stabilization and restoration at properties including Taliesin West, Martin House Complex, Darwin D. Martin House Complex, S.C. Johnson and Son Administration Building, Westcott House, Robie House, Usonian houses, and scattered estate landscapes in locations such as Phoenix, Arizona, Madison, Wisconsin, Springfield, Ohio, and New York City. Collaborations have involved conservators from institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and academic conservation labs at Northwestern University and University of Pennsylvania.
The Conservancy produces newsletters and scholarly publications and supports research drawing on archives at repositories including the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Archives, Wisconsin Historical Society, Columbia University Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Ryerson & Burnham Libraries at the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Library of Congress. Its bibliography, technical bulletins, and conference proceedings complement monographs by scholars like Meryle Secrest, Ada Louise Huxtable, Vincent Scully, Anthony Alofsin, and Robert Twombly. The organization promotes research on topics such as Wright's structural innovations, materials studies, stained glass conservation exemplified by Tiffany Studios parallels, and landscape preservation akin to work by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. and Jens Jensen.
Educational initiatives include annual conferences, walking tours in communities like Oak Park, lecture series hosted with institutions such as the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust, Taliesin Preservation, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and exchanges with international partners like ICOMOS and the International Council on Monuments and Sites. Programs serve professionals, students from schools such as Cornell University College of Architecture, University of Michigan Taubman College, and community audiences in cities including Chicago, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Outreach leverages partnerships with media outlets like The New York Times, Architectural Digest, The Guardian, and scholarly journals including The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians.
Governance comprises a board of directors and advisory committees drawing expertise from preservationists, architects, historians, and conservators affiliated with institutions such as Princeton University, Yale University, Stanford University, and professional societies like Society of Architectural Historians and American Institute for Conservation. Funding sources include membership dues, philanthropic gifts from foundations like the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and state arts agencies, corporate sponsorships, and proceeds from conferences and publications. The Conservancy coordinates with municipal preservation commissions, state historic preservation officers, and private owners to leverage tax incentives such as rehabilitation credits administered through agencies similar to the National Park Service.
Leadership and notable supporters have included preservation figures, architects, and scholars associated with firms and institutions like Taliesin Associated Architects, Herzog & de Meuron (as interlocutors in international dialogues), and academics from Harvard Graduate School of Design, Columbia GSAPP, and the University of Illinois. Prominent board members and advisors have included authors, curators, and conservators linked to the Art Institute of Chicago, the Carnegie Museum of Art, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. The Conservancy's networks extend to notable owners of Wright properties, donors engaged with trusts such as the Rockefeller Foundation, and international preservationists from organizations like English Heritage and Historic England.