Customer Reviews

Unity Temple: Frank Lloyd Wright; Architecture in Detail

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Frank Lloyd Wright was mostly a home designer. One of his most important public commissions was for Unity Temple in his then home town of Oak Park, Illinois. The Unitarian-Universalist congregation there had just had its church burn down. As a result, the budget was right. Yet the site was right in the middle of several other large, impressive churchs Mr. Wright had also observed this faith. What could be done?

Mr. Wright first thought that the steeple could be eliminated. Those of the Unitarian-Universalist faith believe that works on earth are important, so this could fit doctrinally. Also, it would save a lot of money. Instead, the church has a large skylight covering art glass that gives a feeling of looking up into the vault of heaven.

Second, he realized that concrete was a really cheap material. So he made the church from concrete, and chose a design that would make good use of the material.

Third, he made the design so that the church would appear as massive as possible while keeping it small. Today, the church is complemented by a similar design of the U.S. Post Office on the adjacent southwest corner done by one of Mr. Wright's students.

Fourth, he made the inside of the church very intimate, with all pews quite close to the dais, with great sight lines. This also permits a secondary use of the sanctuary for theatrical and musical performances.

Extensive art glass also gives the inside a soft glow from external light while keeping attention focused internally. You have a quiet, meditative sense inside the church, which I visited yesterday.

Although the book claims that Unity Temple is in terrific shape, and the photographs reveal that, my experience was different. It is undergoing major rehabilitation to fix chunks of concrete having fallen off, leaks, and areas that need repainting. If you like Mr. Wright's work, I hope you will consider contributing to the congregation's efforts.

Many of the plans of Unity Temple disappeared when Mr. Wright moved to Taliesin. He did have a chapter in his autobiography about designing the church, so we have much material from that source. The book has many nice photographs (mostly in black and white) of the overall design, the lighting elements, and the window treatments. The appendix has extensive architectural drawings which allow you to see the scale and interplay of elements.

Although you can take photographs in Unity Temple, I think the ones in this book will be more rewarding than those that most people could take for themselves.

After you finish enjoying this fine example of Mr. Wright's Prairie style, I suggest that you think about the elements you prefer in a place of worship. What's essential and what's not? What examples of houses of worship do you find most spiritual? Why?

Find God wherever you are!