Unity Temple, built for the Unitarian Universalist congregation of Oak Park after fire destroyed its previous building, was Frank Lloyd Wright's first significant public commission and, by his own account, the building where he first proved that architecture could be built as sculpted space rather than as applied ornament on a box. Poured in raw, unadorned reinforced concrete with a low budget that ruled out stone or brick veneer, its T-shaped plan separates a windowless, top-lit worship auditorium from a more sociable church house, joined by a shared low entrance that forces visitors to turn before they see the sanctuary itself. The building underwent a complete restoration from 2015 to 2017 after decades of concrete deterioration and failing mechanical systems.
Facts
Location875 Lake Street, Oak Park, Illinois, United States 1 Architectural StylePrairie style civic and religious architecture, and among the earliest major public buildings anywhere built as an unornamented block of poured concrete. 1 Structural SystemReinforced concrete poured in place using four different aggregate mixes, with embedded steel rods, arranged as a T-shaped plan joining an auditorium and a church house around a shared entrance pavilion. 1 Primary Material Building TypeReligious building (Unitarian Universalist congregation) 1 Commissioned ByUnity Church of Oak Park, a Unitarian Universalist congregation, after its previous wood-frame building burned down 1 ConstructionGroundbreaking May 15, 1906; the auditorium opened October 25, 1908, and the building was dedicated September 26, 1909. UNESCO Inscription YearOne of eight Wright buildings inscribed together as The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright; also a US National Historic Landmark since 1970. Current UseActive Unitarian Universalist congregation, also open for public tours, concerts and community events 1 Visitor AccessOpen for guided tours and public events 1 Architectural Style Connections
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Source Wikipedia
Additional Source Unity Temple (Wikipedia)Unity Temple
In Form
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
In Genre
In Movement
Source Wikipedia
Additional Source Unity Temple (Wikipedia)Unity Temple
In the Other Atlases
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Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationGenre referenceQuote, Genre reference
Unity Temple, built for the Unitarian Universalist congregation of Oak Park after fire destroyed its previous building, was Frank Lloyd Wright's first significant public commission and, by his own account, the building where he first proved that architecture could be built as sculpted space rather than as applied ornament on a box.
2. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: World Heritage List: The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright
UNESCO World Heritage Centredate_inscribedQuote, date_inscribed
date_inscribed: 2019
3. Unity Temple (Wikipedia)
Article text, sections
designed by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright in the Prairie style
- Unity Temple
In Group: Cathedrals, Churches and Abbeys, Article body
Unity Temple is a Unitarian Universalist church building that houses the Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation at 875 Lake Street in Oak Park, Illinois, United States.
View the SourceUNESCO World Heritage Centre
UNESCOThe 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, inscribed 2019View the Source Gardner's Art Through the Ages
Fred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner), Cengage LearningIn Form: Architecture, chapters on architectural history across periods
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