Virtual reconstructions of lost Frank Lloyd Wright buildings
December 22, 2016 8:33 AM   Subscribe

Spanish architect David Romero is rebuilding lost Frank Lloyd Wright masterworks in new color visualizations, created using 3D rendering software and Photoshop. So far he has posted highly realistic color pictures of Wright's Larkin Administration Building in Buffalo, and the Rose and Gertrude Pauson House in Phoenix.

The Larkin Building was designed in 1903 and built 1904-06 as the headquarters of the Larkin Soap Company. After the demise of the company, the building was demolished in 1950 to make way for a truck stop, which was never completed. The Pauson house was designed in 1939, built 1940-42, and destroyed in a fire in 1943. Both buildings have been known until now largely through black and white photographs and hand-drawn renderings.

More links for Wright fans on this virtual reconstruction project:
Romero's blog, Hooked on the Past
— His "work in progress" posts on the Larkin (and more Larkin) and Pauson projects, with more descriptive text by him than the "finished" posts linked above. Bonus: some vertical views of the Larkin building.
— Romero's complete, hi-res image files for these projects on Flickr (all images have Creative Commons licenses)
Photos of the Pauson House as built (plus long multi-page Pauson house discussion), and photos of its ruins

Rabbit holes for true devotees:
— Ongoing discussion at SaveWright.org on the Larkin project — 10 pages worth at this moment, sometimes quite nitpicky (right down to questions of mortar color and tobacco smoke staining) but with many more great images, plus insights into Romero's process.
— Similar thread at SaveWright on the Romero's work on the Pauson house, starting here (click on Next at bottom of that page to continue through several more pages of discussion on Romero's work).
Larkin building memorabilia and ephemera including many photos of the original building and furnishings.

This summer, the Museum of Modern Art will host a major retrospective of Wright's work in honor of his 150th birthday. (MoMA's page on this exhibit)

(Via Dezeen)
posted by beagle (5 comments total) 33 users marked this as a favorite
 
At some point, I had a interactive CD-ROM from Microsoft that had walkthroughs of FLW buildings including the Larkin.
posted by octothorpe at 8:36 AM on December 22, 2016 [1 favorite]


I think that would be The Ultimate Frank Lloyd Wright (Amazon, Get More Creative's write-up of the CD-ROM, and a screenshot in this Dec. 1994 edition of Popular Mechanics on Google books).

But if you're really serious about the complete mid-1990s CD-ROM FLW experience, PC Magazine has a review (Google books) of the still stupid-expensive Frank Lloyd Wright: Presentation and Conceptual Drawings CD-ROM (Amazon).
posted by filthy light thief at 9:42 AM on December 22, 2016


I know that Wright houses were often a nightmare to live in, but man, Shiprock was hella beautiful. So perfectly integrated with the landscape.
posted by tavella at 11:20 AM on December 22, 2016


These are all magnificent but also damn, every custom chair looks incredibly uncomfortable.
posted by mathowie at 11:26 AM on December 22, 2016 [1 favorite]


Obligatory: Falling Water
posted by jim in austin at 12:13 PM on December 22, 2016 [2 favorites]


« Older And auld acquaintance not forgot   |   "Christmas is a Time for Joy" Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments