Ten buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright have been been named eligible to be nominated for inclusion on the United Nation’s list of World Heritage Sites over the next ten years, a determination made by the US Department of the Interior.
Fallingwater and both Taliesins have been working towards the designation for nearly two decades.
[Lynda] Waggoner said the groundwork for applying for the honor began in the 1980s when two other homes constructed by Wright applied. “It is a very complicated processes,” Waggoner said. “We were part of a group that applied for recognition. In the 1980s … homes in Wisconsin and Arizona applied and they were told that the U.N. (United Nations) would rather see a serial nomination that represented the best of his work. That is how we became involved.”
A nation can only nominate two sites each year, and each must have been on that nation’s list of potential nominees for at least one year. There are currently 20 US locations designated as World Heritage Sites, including the Grand Canyon and Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
Ms. Waggoner, director of Fallingwater, has told a Pittsburgh newspaper that there are indications that a Wright property may be nominated as soon as 2009. UNESCO, aware of a lack of Modern icons in the World Heritage program, asked that some of Wright’s works be considered for nomination.
The other Wright buildings added to the US list are:- Taliesin
- Taliesin West
- Hollyhock House
- Marin County Civic Center
- Robie House
- Unity Temple
- Guggenheim Museum
- Price Tower
- S.C. Johnson Admnistration Building and Research Tower
The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy assisted in the compilation of the Wright selections.
2 Comments
Thanks for posting that.
That would be pretty cool.
Actually, I’m devastated: I thought that the current administration would go eight years without doing a single thing that I agreed with. Now they go and do ten things, all at once. Damn.