Unitarian Meeting House
From Archiplanet
 | Unitarian Meeting House |
| Designer | Frank Lloyd Wright |
| Location | Madison, Wisconsin, USA |
| Date | 1947 to 1951 |
| Building Type | church |
| Climate | temperate |
| Context | suburban |
| Architectural Style | Modern |
| Builder | Marshall Erdman, Madison, Wisconsin, USA |
| Street Address | 900 University Bay Dr Walk Score |
| Notes | S.291. Triangular planning grid. Inclined ridge of main gable creates spiritual uplift and the setting for the sculptural great window. Also known as First Unitarian Society Meeting House. William Wesley Peters served as project manager and structural engineer for the original project and may have been involved in the 1962 to 1964 addition. |
| At Great Buildings | http://www.GreatBuildings.com/buildings/Unitarian_Meeting_House.html |
Contents |
[edit] Images
[edit] Discussion
| Building Details | |
| Client | First Unitarian Society Meeting House |
| Cost | $213,487.61 (1950s US Dollars), compared with Wright's first estimate of $60,000.00. |
| Area | 11,650 square feet: 10,073, upper level; 1577, lower level |
| Stories | 2 (one above, one below ground) |
| Site | 4.4 acres |
Commentary
"The structure is unitarian in character, trusting to a sense of the altogether as more beautiful than the aggregation of the steeple, meeting house and parsonage could ever be. In this design, the social activities of the members of the congregation are served by the Church Auditorium itself."
"...It is the mass of the structure that is depended upon to give the impression of aspiration usually left to the steeple."
— Frank Lloyd Wright. "Frank Lloyd Wright", The Architectural Forum, January, 1948, Vol 88 Number 1. p119.
Details
Address:
900 University Bay Drive
Madison, Wisconsin
—Thomas A. Heinz. Architectural Monographs No. 18: Frank Lloyd Wright. p141.
[edit] 1960 Addition (B Wing)
| Building Modification (1962-1964) | |
| First Unitarian Society Meeting House | |
| Designer | Taliesin Associated Architects, Spring Green, Wisconsin, USA |
| Date | 1962 to 1964 |
| Modification Type | addition |
| Construction System | stone, steel, wood, concrete |
| Building Details | |
| Client | First Unitarian Society Meeting House |
| Area | 6,393 square feet: 1,648, upper level; 4,745, lower level |
| Stories | 2 (one above, one below ground) |
[edit] 1990 Addition (C Wing)
| Building Modification (1989-1990) | |
| First Unitarian Society Meeting House | |
| Designer | Taliesin Associated Architects, Spring Green, Wisconsin, USA |
| Date | 1989 to 1990 |
| Modification Type | addition |
| Building Type | Church |
| Notes | The size of this addition was significantly reduced during the 2008 addition and remodel. |
| Building Details | |
| Client | First Unitarian Society Meeting House |
| Area | 4,810 square feet, originally; reduced to 1,926 square feet after 2008 addition |
| Stories | 1 (below ground) |
[edit] 2008 Addition (D Wing)
See: First Unitarian Society Meeting House, Madison, Wisconsin.
[edit] Maps
[edit] References
- "An Excellent Addition" by Michael J. Crosbie, ArchitectureWeek No. 519, 2011.0525, pD1.1
- Roger H. Clark and Michael Pause. Precedents in Architecture. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1985. grid geometry diagram, p195.— Updated edition available at Amazon.com
- Muriel Emanuel, ed. Contemporary Architects. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1980. ISBN 0-312-16635-4. listed, p902.
- Yukio Futagawa, ed. Frank Lloyd Wright Monograph 1942-1950. Tokyo: A.D.A. Edita Tokyo, 1988. NA737.W7A408 1988. plan drawing, p172. section drawing, p173. south elevation, p173. east elevation, p173.
- Thomas A. Heinz. Architectural Monographs No.18: Frank Lloyd Wright. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. ISBN 0-312-07243-0. NA737.W7H4 1992. address p141.
- Johnson Architectural Images. Copyrighted slides in the Artifice Collection.
- Patricia Coyle Nicholson. Architecture, Man in Possession of His Earth, Frank Lloyd Wright. New York: Doubleday and Company, 1962. LC 62-15928. NA737.W7N5. exterior color photo of prow of building, p45.
- William Allin Storrer. The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1993. ISBN 0-226-77624-7. LC 93-30127. NA737.W7A4 1993. plan drawing. Available at Amazon.com
- AIA Top Green Buildings 2011, by ArchitectureWeek, ArchitectureWeek No. 515, 2011.0420, pN1.1.
- Anne E. Biebel, Architectural Historian; Mary Jane Hamilton, Consulting Architectural Historian; Abigail Markwyn, Jonathan Kasparek, Melinda Osman, Research/Editorial Assistants; Isthmus Architecture, Inc. First Unitarian Society Meeting House. National Historic Landmark Nomination form. December 6, 2002.
