nestled in the quiet city of san rafael, california, is frank lloyd wright‘s final commission and largest public project: marin county civic center. wright was selected in 1957 to design the massive building. then following the architect’s death two years later, the project was completed by wright’s protégé, aaron green. distinguished by its bright blue roof, the main structure of the civic center is composed of an 80 ft (24m) wide rotunda that joins an administration building and hall of justice, which measure 580 ft (180 m) and 880 ft (270 m) long respectively.
courtyard of the civic center
images by skyler dahan
LA-based photographer, skyler dahan, first came across the civic center on a hiking trip in northern california. having done a little research on the building beforehand, he stopped and captured some photos of the mid-century architecture using a voightlander bessa III film camera and kodak portra film. ‘the moment I stepped foot inside I instantly felt transported back to the 60s. all the details echoed throughout every inch of the building. from the buttons on the elevators, to the phone booths, to the long hallways covered with arcs, to the calm courtyards, it felt less like a civic center and more like a museum. surprisingly enough the building still serves as an active civic center with a justice hall and other legal entities but as mentioned before, that all fades away the moment you walk in,’ comments dahan.
entrance
the photographer continues, ‘shooting in film was a bit limiting but overall I was happy with the outcome of the images. the authentic look of film (in my opinion) pays homage to a time in which the building was conceived and felt more natural to me.’
small atrium and seating area
phonebooth
hallways and atriums
offices
curved rooflights bring natural light inside
project info:
project name: marin county civic center
location: san rafael, california, the US
architect: frank lloyd wright
photography: skyler dahan
designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.
edited by: lynne myers | designboom
