On view through Monday, March 17, 2025 at the National Building Museum in Washington D.C.
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Southwestern Pennsylvania presents both realized and unrealized projects Frank Lloyd Wright designed for the region from the 1930s through the 1950s. The exhibition examines how his vision of the future might have impacted urban, suburban, and rural landscapes.
Realistic animated films, created by Skyline Ink Animators + Illustrators, provide, for the first time, a virtual exploration of five unrealized Wright projects for Southwestern Pennsylvania. These include a monumental reimagining of the Point (1947), a self-service garage for Kaufmann’s Department Store (1949), the Point View Residences designed for the Edgar J. Kaufmann Charitable Trust (1952), the Rhododendron Chapel (1952), and a gate lodge for the Fallingwater grounds (1941). Using three-dimensional rendering technology to choreograph camera paths and to shape lighting to produce the same type of visual effects used in the film industry, Skyline Ink’s resulting animations will be presented throughout the exhibition to provide a multimedia experience. A viewing theater will envelop visitors to show an expanded film of the three unrealized Pittsburgh designs. To further engage the senses, the film will feature an accompanying musical score by Daniel May with Marty Ashby and produced by MCG Jazz. Viewers will take a journey into Wright’s creative mind, exploring architecture from an artistic perspective, with emphasis on his intended materials, textures, light and shadow.
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Southwestern Pennsylvania is co-organized by The Westmoreland Museum of American Art and Fallingwater, a property entrusted to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. The exhibition is curated by Scott W. Perkins, Sr. Director of Preservation and Collections, Fallingwater; and Jeremiah William McCarthy, Chief Curator, The Westmoreland Museum of American Art.
