Unity Temple
Unity Temple | |
---|---|
Location | 875 Lake Street Oak Park, Illinois |
Coordinates | 41°53′18″N 87°47′48″W / 41.88833°N 87.79667°W |
Area | 0.5 acres (0.20 ha) |
Built | 1905–1908 |
Architect | Frank Lloyd Wright |
Architectural style(s) | Modern |
Governing body | Private |
Criteria | Cultural: (ii) |
Designated | 2019 (43rd session) |
Part of | The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright |
Reference no. | 1496-001 |
Region | Europe and North America |
Designated | April 17, 1970[1] |
Reference no. | 70000240[1] |
Designated | December 30, 1970[2] |
Unity Temple is a Unitarian Universalist church in Oak Park, Illinois, and the home of the Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation. It was designed by the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and built between 1905 and 1908. Unity Temple is considered to be one of Wright's most important structures dating from the first decade of the twentieth century.[3] Because of its consolidation of aesthetic intent and structure through use of a single material, reinforced concrete, Unity Temple is considered by many architects to be the first modern building in the world. This idea became of central importance to the modern architects who followed Wright, such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and even the post-modernists, such as Frank Gehry. In 2019, along with seven other buildings designed by Wright in the 20th century, Unity Temple was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The Unitarian Universalist congregation that worships in Unity Temple was formed in 1871, and has no connection with Unity Church, a religious organization founded in 1889.
Background
In 1905, a lightning strike started a fire which destroyed the wood-framed Oak Park Unity Church, architect
Design and construction
To meet the congregation's needs, Wright divided the community space from the temple space with a low, central loggia accessible from either side. This layout efficiently utilized space and minimized noise between the two primary gathering areas: attendees of religious services were separated by the loggia from those attending community events. Wright's design plan harkens back to the bipartite design of his own studio, constructed several blocks away in 1898, featuring two sections of the building with similar compositions separated by a lower passageway, with one section larger than the other (similar to the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, another bipartite design). Additionally, for the Temple's architecture, Wright incorporated several elements from his previous creation, the Larkin Administration Building. Key features included the use of stained glass windows and geometric figures. However, unlike the Larkin Building, the Temple's plan resulted in a perfect square rather than the double-square rectangle of the Larkin.
To minimize noise from the street, Wright omitted street-level windows in the temple. Instead, natural light filters in through stained glass windows in the roof and
in his design.The design of Unity Temple represents a leap forward in design for Wright. In recounting his experiences with Unity Temple, he stated that this design was the first time he ever realized that the real heart of a building is its space, not its walls. Indeed, architectural historians have commented on Wright's genius in creating and manipulating space in his designs; in his book The Master Builders, Peter Blake entitled the section on Wright "The Mastery of Space."
In addition to being very accomplished with making the most out of the space he had, Wright also found the concept of "Unity" was very prominent mainly because of how he managed to fuse together space, experience and the material world. This was key to Unity Temple which has both a common meeting area and the congregation of church-goers. The sanctuary space gives the best example of this according to practicing architect Robert McCarter.
The building was completed in 1908 and officially dedicated on September 26, 1909.
Significance
The building has been a United States National Historic Landmark since December 30, 1970 and was chosen in a 1991 poll in the magazine, Architectural Record as one of the 100 most significant buildings in the United States of the previous 100 years (Unity Temple was #14). Additionally, Unity Temple was chosen by the American Institute of Architects as one of 17 buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright [5] that should be retained as his architectural contribution to American culture.
In 2008, the
Restoration
A drawback to the modern design of the Unity Temple is structural problems that have emerged over time. Through the years of its existence, the Unity Temple's concrete structure has suffered extensive water damage. Pieces of the roof fell inside the structure, and water eroded other parts of the exterior, as well.
The original Universalist (now Unitarian Universalist) congregation[9] still uses Unity Temple, although a separate and secular organization, the Unity Temple Restoration Foundation[10] is in charge of the building's multimillion-dollar restoration effort. The foundation and church developed a restoration plan over many years, beginning in 2000. In April 2009, Unity Temple, due to water seepage, was added to the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 11 most endangered historic places.[11][12]
Chicago restoration architect Gunny Harboe was in charge of the restoration with CTLGroup providing the engineering and materials technology expertise. In April 2015, a $25 million interior and exterior restoration began. The restoration focused on structural improvements such as replacing the majority of the building's 16 separate flat roofs. The restoration also addressed decorative and environmental improvements to the building. Unity Temple closed to the public in June 2015.
Restoration work was completed in June 2017 and the building reopened for tours as of July 1, 2017.[13] The building is closed to tours on Sundays, when the Unitarian Universalist church that calls the building home has its day of worship, but offers tours on other days of the week. The Unity Temple Restoration Foundation offers a full calendar of artistic and educational programming.
In 2018, the restoration of the temple received an award for excellence by the American Institute of Architects, Chicago chapter, and in 2019 was awarded the Urban Land Institute - Chicago Vision Award for historic restoration.[14]
See also
- Unitarian Universalist Association
- List of Frank Lloyd Wright works
- Unitarian Meeting House, Shorewood Hills, Wisconsin
References
- Peter Blake, The Master Builders: Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright. New York: Norton, 1960. Reprint, 1976.
- Neil Levine, The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993.
- William Allin Storrer. The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion. University of Chicago Press, 2006, ISBN 0-226-77621-2(S.096)
Notes
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "Unity Temple". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved July 22, 2008.
- ^ Board of Directors, American Institute of Architecture. "Seventeen Buildings Worthy of Preservation" (PDF). American Institute of Architects. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
- ISBN 978-0764932434.
- ^ "Seventeen Buildings Honored by the American Institute of Architects". Wright on the Web. February 22, 2017.
- ^ "DOI Secretary Kempthorne Selects New U.S. World Heritage Tentative List" (Press release). National Park Service. January 28, 2008. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
- ^ "Eight Buildings Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright Nominated to the UNESCO World Heritage List". Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. December 20, 2018.
- ^ "The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
- ^ "Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation Oak Park". Unity Temple.
- ^ "Unity Temple Restoration Foundation". June 1, 2015.
- ^ "Endangered Historic U.S. Places 2009". ArchitectureWeek. May 20, 2009. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
- ^ Pogrebin, Robin (April 27, 2009). "Preservation Group Lists Most Endangered Places". The New York Times. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
- ^ Koziarz, Jay (June 7, 2017). "Restoration done Wright: A look inside Unity Temple". Curbed Chicago. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
- ^ Kamin, Blair (October 26, 2018). "Restored Unity Temple, Loop CTA station highlight winners of architecture awards". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
External links
- Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation is the congregation that still owns and uses the building.
- Unity Temple Restoration Foundation collaborated with the Unity Temple Unitarian Congregation to restore Unity Temple. The foundation, along with the church itself, has a role in the management of the building. (The building is closed to the public on Sundays, as the structure is in use by the church on that day.)
- Wright on the Web: A Virtual Look at the Works of Frank Lloyd Wright is an independent website dedicated to the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, and has a page highlighting the seventeen buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright that were chosen by the American Institute of Architects as examples of his contribution to American culture.
- Historic American Buildings Survey gallery of photos and drawings
- Great building online: Unity Temple
- High-resolution 360° Panoramas and Images of Unity Temple | Art Atlas