Il Florida Southern College di Frank Lloyd Wright, progetto di un organismo aperto

Conceived more than 80 years ago, the innovative character of the architecture, urban planning, and landscape design of Florida Southern College in Lakeland remains intact. Built over the course of many years, between 1937 and 1957, the campus is the largest concentration of Wright’s work with its 12 buildings lining the shores of Lake Hollingsworth. A system of canopies – supported by columns as interesting as they are unique – creates an esplanade that snakes irregularly across the campus, integrating it within its natural setting. The site plan, which has been compared to Hadrian’s Villa at Tivoli, explored the theme of the city and its territory decades in advance. At Lakeland Wright offers an anti-rhetorical, functional, and yet symbolic response to the growing demand for an architecture of its era. The Annie Pfeiffer Chapel is emblematic in this regard. The originality of the concrete block is also interesting: a textile-block designed in over forty different types contributes to the unity and character of the campus design. As part of the analysis of the College, the essay also presents passages from the tough and visionary speech given by Wright here in 1951.