'frank lloyd wright: from within outward'

the planetarium building by frank lloyd wright all images © robin hill

florida southern college’s long-hidden treasure trove of frank lloyd wright buildings is the largest single site collection of the architect’s work in the world. known collectively as ‘child of the sun,’ the work will be featured in an upcoming exhibition from may 15 to august 23 at the guggenheim museum in new york. in the context of wright’s other projects, the show, ‘frank lloyd wright: from within outward’ will feature photos and drawings of wright’s one-of-a-kind master plan. coincidentally, an ambitious restoration effort is currently under way on wright’s college campus. the project occupied wright for 21 years, from 1938 until his death in 1959. eager to realize his dream of masterminding an entire city, wright designed 18 buildings for florida’s southern college, 12 of which were built. to save money, five of the buildings were constructed by the students themselves in exchange for tuition.

esplandes and watson administration building

fletcher building

the water dome

wright’s centerpiece, a massive, 160-foot-diameter, 74-jet fountain called the water dome, was too technically advanced for its time. it was finally completed in 2007, the first wright design to be built for an original client at the original site since 1966.

the water dome

annie pfeiffer chapel, 1941 all images © robin hill

the highlight of the campus is the annie pfeiffer chapel from 1941, the first building of the lot to be completed. light pours into the chapel through colored glass inlays in the hand-cast, textured bricks, while a tower looking like a stack of wright’s famous bow ties rises from the roof.

annie pfeiffer chapel, 1941 annie pfeiffer chapel, 1941 all images © robin hill