What Makes It Great? A Look at Frank Lloyd Wright's Architecture Then and Now
Much of our appreciation of Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture focuses on the physical structures and, of course, "the space within to be lived in." Join Pittsburgh architect and Taliesin Fellow, Gerald Morosco and Fallingwater Director Justin Gunther for an illuminating discussion of how Wright's incorporation of functional and beautiful furnishings, accessories, and objects d'art elevates and distinguishes his spaces. Program in partnership with the Hagen History Center.
Location: Jefferson Educational Society - 3207 State Street, Erie, PA 16508
Date/Time: Wednesday, July 24, 7-8:30PM
Admission: FREE
Parking: lot behind building, State Street, 33rd Street, 32nd Street, French Street
Gerald Lee Morosco, AIA, is an architect, author, and lecturer of national reputation. A Pennsylvanian by birth, Morosco was reared in Ashtabula, Ohio. A graduate of Washington & Jefferson College, he pursued architecture by way of traditional apprenticeship in the Taliesin Fellowship from 1981-86. He established his eponymous architectural practice in Pittsburgh in 1989. Broadly recognized for his historic preservation work, in 1997, Morosco became the youngest individual nominated for Pennsylvania’s F. Otto Haas Award. In 1999, he created a full-scale model of an apartment from Frank Lloyd Wright’s unrealized 1953 Point View Towers for the Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show, which stirred international attention and began a series of exhibitions and events related to Wright’s Taliesin legacy, for which he recognized by the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation “for raising awareness of Pittsburgh’s architectural heritage through ‘Living Architecture… Alive in Pittsburgh’.”
Morosco’s award-winning custom residential work has been widely published, and he was nominated by Preservation Pennsylvania to This Old House magazine’s inaugural list of America’s top-twenty residential architects. His book: “How to Work with an Architect” was named to Library Journals’ list of BEST BOOKS 2006. Morosco has served as a director of Preservation Pennsylvania, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Taliesin Fellows, and Taliesin Preservation Inc. In Pittsburgh, he serves as a founding member of the East Carson Street Historic District Local Review Committee and as Membership Chair of the Jack Heinz Advisory Board of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
Morosco makes his home in a restored rowhouse of his design in Pittsburgh’s Historic South Side with his two-rescued Border Collies, Luca, and Cleo.
Justin Gunther, M.F.A., is Vice President of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and Director of Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece of organic architecture, which exemplifies the harmonious relationship between people and nature through design. Prior to this role, Justin served in preservation roles at other historic sites, including architectural historian and curator for Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia State Capitol, manager of restoration for George Washington’s Mount Vernon, and curator for Fallingwater. For almost a decade, he also taught historic preservation at the Savannah College of Art and Design, where he focused on economic redevelopment, recent past preservation, and the creative interpretation of heritage sites.
A Richmond native, Justin has an undergraduate degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. His master of fine art’s degree was completed at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Justin actively contributes to the field of preservation through conference presentations, journal articles and publications on a range of topics. In addition to professional pursuits, he takes great interest in community-based initiatives through positions on boards and special committees. He is currently chair of the Frank Lloyd Wright World Heritage Council and serves on the board of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, the Iconic Houses International Advisory Committee, and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s Jack Heinz Advisory Board.
