Frank Lloyd Wright - The View From Here

Last weekend I again had the opportunity to spend a little time on the Florida Southern College campus in Lakeland.  The reason being, that the original campus was designed and built by the great architect, Frank Lloyd Wright.

I can't claim to be any kind of authority on architecture or even very knowleable about architects and architecture in general, but I have always had an appreciation for it and am usually impressed when I enter a building designed by an architect.  You can tell when you have because architects almost always bring with them a sense of light and space and details that engineers and contractors lack.

Of course Frank Lloyd Wright is a giant among giants but I had never visited one of his buildings until a year ago and my first visit to Florida Southern.  Oh,  I knew about Fallingwater and Taliesin and had seen the photo books and slide shows, but nothing could prepare me for seeing the real thing and no photograph can capture it.  It's one of those things you have to experience to really understand.

Here is a little photo tour and I will try to let them speak for themselves and keep comments to a minimum.

Walking among the buildings and covered walkways is a visual symphony of light and shadows.  Everywhere you look, in any direction, you are met with a beauty that wants to draw you into it.

   

The campus and buildings are undergoing a complete refurbishing but it's an obviously huge and expensive task.  The buildings were built immediately following WWII and the workers were returning GI's who, for the most part, knew nothing about construction so as a result, the concrete and mortor is sub-standard and beginning to show serious deterioration.   Here, he has managed to take the hot afternoon sun and turn it into a warm glow.

 

The covered walkways that bisect the campus are truly interesting.  For one thing, they are only about 7 feet high so you can feel like you are in a tunnel but they have the very practical effect of protecting you from the afternoon Florida thunderstorms.  Also note the perfect alignment of overhang shadow to the sidewalk.  There is a lot more going on here than meets the eye.

I hope you enjoyed this little tour.  If you ever have a chance to visit one of his creations... do it!