Monday, November 10, 2008

It Was an Architectural Adventure Too!


My herbal husband being an architect and Frank Lloyd Wright lover wanted me to see these architectural wonders while we were in Arizona. The Gammage Memorial Auditorium of the Arizona State University at Tempe has a circular arcade of 50 tall concrete columns supporting the outer roof. The exterior walls are made of brick and a marble-like composition called marblecrete. It was Wright's last non-residential design to be built. It is also known as the wedding cake!

The First Christian Church was designed in 1950 and built after his death. It was the last project of Mr. Wright to be built in Arizona. Wright first produced plans of a university campus for the Southwest Christian Seminary in 1951 When the university failed to proceed, the First Christian Church decided to go ahead with the chapel, starting work on it in 1971, 12 years after his death in Phoenix.





It has a beautiful reflective area with fountains also. It is an amazing structure. My information about the Wright buildings is from a book called Frank Lloyd Wright, A Visual Encyclopedia by Iain Thomson. More of our adventures tomorrow!

No comments: