UNESCO approves 8 FLLW sites to the World Heritage list

[ZacharyMatthews]

Congratulations on the many years of effort and dedication it took to make this happen.

The World Heritage Committee, meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, has officially inscribed The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, which includes eight major works spanning 50 years of Wright’s career, on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The sites in the group inscription span Wright’s influential career. They include Unity Temple (constructed 1906-1909, Oak Park, Illinois), the Frederick C. Robie House (constructed 1910, Chicago, Illinois), Taliesin (begun 1911, Spring Green, Wisconsin), Hollyhock House (constructed 1918-1921, Los Angeles, California), Fallingwater (constructed 1936-1939, Mill Run, Pennsylvania), the Herbert and Katherine Jacobs House (constructed 1936-1937, Madison, Wisconsin), Taliesin West (begun 1938, Scottsdale, Arizona) and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (constructed 1956-1959, New York, New York).

There are more than 1,000 World Heritage sites around the world, and the group of Wright sites is now among only 24 sites in the U.S. The collection represents the first modern architecture designation in the country on the prestigious list.

“This recognition by UNESCO is a significant way for us to reconfirm how important Frank Lloyd Wright was to the development of modern architecture around the world,� says Barbara Gordon, executive director of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy. “There are nearly 400 remaining structures designed by Wright. Our hope is that the inscription of these eight major works also brings awareness to the importance of preserving all of his buildings as a vital part of our artistic, cultural and architectural heritage. All communities where a Wright building stands should appreciate what they have and share in the responsibility to protect their local�and world�heritage.�

The eight inscribed sites have played a prominent role in the development and evolution of Modern architecture during the first half of the 20th century and continuing to the present. UNESCO considers the international importance of a potential World Heritage Site based on its “Outstanding Universal Value,� which in the Wright series is manifested in three attributes. First, it is an architecture responsive to functional and emotional needs, achieved through geometric abstraction and spatial manipulation. Second, the design of the buildings in this series is fundamentally rooted in nature’s forms and principles. Third, the series represents an architecture conceived to be responsive to the evolving American experience, but which is universal in its appeal.

The Wright nomination has been in development for more than 15 years, a coordinated effort between the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, each of the nominated sites and independent scholars, with a substantial financial commitment realized through subsidies and donations, countless hours donated by staff and volunteers, and the guidance and assistance of the National Park Service. The nomination effort was spearheaded by Fallingwater Director Emerita and founding Conservancy board member Lynda Waggoner, with Fallingwater contributing support and expertise in the nomination’s preparation. The Conservancy will now coordinate the activities of the Frank Lloyd Wright World Heritage Council, chaired by Waggoner, which was established to support the responsible conservation and promotion of the eight World Heritage sites.

In 2015, the U.S. nominated a series of 10 Wright-designed sites to the World Heritage List. At its meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, in July 2016, the World Heritage Committee decided to “refer� the nomination for revisions. Over the past two years, the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy worked with the council of sites and leading scholars to revise the nomination and rework the justification for inscription.

The National Park Service submitted the Wright nomination to the World Heritage Centre in Paris on November 20, 2018, and it was reviewed and inscribed at the 2019 session of the World Heritage Committee, on Sunday, July 7 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

[pharding]

Congratulations to the FLWBC for this great achievement!

[pharding]

To put this in perspective, there are only 10 human made Unesco World Heritage sites in the United States. They cover the last 3,670 years. To get this level of international recognition is a huge achievement and speaks volumes about the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy and the many great architectural works of Frank Lloyd Wright

[Rood]

Yes, according to Wikipedia, the only built sites from the United States previously honoured are: Mesa Verde, Independence Hall, Cahokia, San Juan, Chaco Canyon, Taos, Poverty Point, San Antonio Missions, The Statue of Liberty, and Monticello.

[DRN]

It was a long and difficult process for the Task Force organized by the FLWBC to accomplish this, which they did with perseverance and spirit. They deserve our congratulations and thanks for achieving this recognition which was not by any means a “shoe-in�.
Hopefully this recognition will assist these sites and other Wright sites on their coattails to be better recognized for their significance not just to architectural history, but also world culture.

[SDR]

"In 2015, the U.S. nominated a series of 10 Wright-designed sites to the World Heritage List."

I assume that the eight Wright sites accepted for nomination were also present in the earlier group. Just for the heck of it, which two sites were discarded from the final list ?

S

[pharding]

Price Tower and the Marin County Government Center were dropped.

[peterm]

This is such wonderful news! Though we might all feel that the list could be more extensive, by including iconic structures from each era of Wright’s oeuvre, it acknowledges the importance and breadth of Wright’s achievement.
Kudos to The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy for making this happen!

[SDR]

It's true that important work from the 'twenties and the 'fifties is not represented---but choosing eight structures from the entire oeuvre would be bound to leave major holes in the list. And the
addition of Price Tower and the Marin County Civic Center would have added nothing from the residential component of the catalog---by my lights the most important of all of Wright's work.

S

[Matt2]

It might be easier to devise a list of Wright's work that DOESN'T deserve to be on the Unesco list.

[ZacharyMatthews]

Price Tower and the Marin County Government Center were dropped.

Johnson Wax Research Center was on the original list as well but chose to have themselves removed.

[JChoate]

as P Harding states, it is very impressive when you see the rest of the USA's sites, most of which are natural rather than manmade places.
When you look at this map you see that FLW dominates it. Wow !:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_W ... ted_States

[Paul Ringstrom]

A Thinker Who Redefined US Architecture Receives International Honor

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/a ... 45174.html

[DavidC]

A year ago today, Hollyhock House and seven other sites by Frank Lloyd Wright were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List - (4:51)


David

[juankbedoya]

Price Tower and the Marin County Government Center were dropped.

Johnson Wax Research Center was on the original list as well but chose to have themselves removed.

Why..? Could somebody tell me why there are not buildings like Johnson wax center or home & studio "at least" in the list..?
It's a great achievement with a lot of work behind but considering Le Corbusier has 17 buildings of 80 structures built I think it's a short list for Wright considering as well that he contributed beyond architecture like interior design, furniture design, landscaping, industrial design, lightning, etc. Unfortunately Midway gardens, Imperial hotel and specially Larkin building no longer exist, I'm sure those would be in the list.