Thursday, June 03, 2010

You can make APTWGLC tour of Wright's S C Johnson campus happen

. . . or not. Apparently, there's a lack of waxy build-up, visitor-style, in Racine. The Western Great Lakes chapter of the Association for Preservation Technology sent out an email saying they weren't getting much of a response for their scheduled Wednesday, June 9th, 2010 tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's S.C. Johnson & Son campus in Racine, Wisconsin, which will include a film at 12:45 p.m, a presentation on recent restoration projects by Brett E. Laureys of Wiss, Janney, Elstner at 2:00, followed by tours of the buildings.

It's $15.00 for members; and $25.00 for non-members, with 4 CEU Learning Units offered. They're looking for 10 confirmed participants by tomorrow, Friday, or the tour will be cancelled. You have to get up to Racine on your own but, still, this looks like a great event, so if you can make it, RSVP via email by Friday. The tour you save may be your own. More info here. (photograph of S C Johnson administration building © by Jeff Dean, courtesy Wikipedia.)
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5 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:04 AM

    While I have seen it, and I do think it worth the drive from Chicago, they might have had more success if they hadn't scheduled a tour on a Wedensday. Evidently, ladies-who-lunch don't care to travel to Racine.

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  2. Unknown11:56 PM

    The interior of the "Great Workroom" reminds me of Henri Labrouste's Bibliothèque Nationale de France: Reading Room.

    http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/arthist3/labroustenational.jpg

    Only it looks like FLW focused more on geometry and used artificial lighting instead of oculi in the ceiling. I wonder if FLW was influenced at all by either the building or Labrouste. I haven't read anything that he was, but it looks like he could have been.

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  3. Anonymous2:48 PM

    Interesting point, Catherine. I've seen photos of that space. I hadn't made the connection but I think you may have something there...

    BTW, most of the overhead lighting in the Great Workroom *had* been natural but was converted to artificial when the skylights began leaking. There is a project going on right now to remedy that!

    BTW, another instance of Wright *inspiration* can be seen by compaing the Vatican Museum skylight (circa 30's) with the spiral ramp below it to the Guggenheim. The resemblance between the two skylights is striking!

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  4. Lynn Becker8:48 PM

    Genius is the ability to forget all the people you stole from.

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  5. Anonymous2:18 PM

    OK. Sign me up!

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