Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church

Frank Lloyd Wright designed several churches over the course of his lifetime. While still in his teens, he supervised the construction of the Lloyd Jones family chapel designed by a Chicago architect of some renown - J. L. Silsbee. Wright would go on to apprentice in Silsbee's office for a year before landing a job with Adler and Sullivan.

Mr. Wright would often tout is credentials for designing churches as 'not belonging to any of them.' When asked about his religion, he explained "I put a capital "N" on Nature and I call that my religion."

Fast forward to the mid 1950's and here you have his Greek Orthodox Church in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin - a suburb of Milwaukee.

I stopped by to take some photos on my last trip to Milwaukee. More photos tomorrow. Holds up pretty well, I'd say. What do you think?

Solar Powered Bike Trail

Madison, Wisconsin has long been ahead of the curve when it comes to implementing new ideas.

Recently, I noticed that solar powered night lights have been installed along some of the bike trails flanking University Avenue. This is a double-green solution in that solar power is used to light an environmentally-friendly mode of transportation - biking and walking.

I suspect these fixtures are a little more expensive than conventional fixtures accounting for the panels, batteries, and possibly some specialized low-voltage lamps. Purveyors of fossil-fuel-based energies always like to point out that solar power is more expensive, and in terms of "installation costs" they're usually right.

But here's the powerful part of the equation: the cost of the energy source (that would be the sun) is zero from here on out. No monthly electric bills. No unanticipated market-based price hikes. Expect some maintenance costs on the hardware over the life of the system, but the energy used is free - forever. When you think "life-cycle costs," solar energy is, even today, a great value.

As costs for solar panels and equipment comes down, petroleum and gas prices keep going up making solar more attractive as time goes by.

Do you have any examples of every-day applications for solar energy?

Romeo and Juliet, Act 2

...a couple of additional pictures of Romeo and Juliet.

This early Frank Lloyd Wright work almost didn't get built. Wright's aunts lobbied for it as his uncles incessantly threw out reasons why this particular design should not be erected.

The aunts stuck to their guns. In his autobiography, Wright recalls a letter written to him by the aunts relating the uncles' fears of the tower's inherent instability which would surely,they thought, soon lead to its demise.

Wright wrote back assuring them of the structure's integrity and instructed them to tell the uncles to "use more nails." He ended the letter by insisting that of course they would build it, and he would come (from to Chicago) to see it.

They did, and the young Frank Lloyd Wright did too - with cape, hat, and cane.

Organic Architecture in Wisconsin

Wow. Just back from a whirlwind trip to Wisconsin where I visited (and revisited) some of Frank Lloyd Wright's buildings including this Madison gem - the First Unitarian Society Meeting House.

Constructed for $75,000 in the early 50's, the Meeting House became the iconic model for modern church architecture. Notice the extended brow. How many churches over the past 50 years have co-opted that dynamic architectural element? Unfortunately, the knock-offs usually have no understanding of "philosophy"; only a crude attempt to copy the "style," albeit in a stripped-down fashion. And, in a bit of humorous irony, many extended-brow churches sport a steeple on top - the opposite of the concept for the original building. I call those parodies "Frankenstein Buildings."

Frank Lloyd Wright made use of natural geometries - he urged designers to draw from Nature and not copy other buildings - and the Meeting House is a fine example. Notice the 30-60 degree triangles that show up in the composition, even in the shadows. Nature is full of 30-60-120 degree geometries. Look closely at the structure of stems and flowers next time you take a walk in the woods.

Church members pitched in to pull stone out of a local quarry to meet the budget. Using local materials is a basic tenant of sustainable architecture. Mr. Wright called it "organic architecture."

Find out more about the Meeting House at:

http://www.fusmadison.org/mh/mhistory.shtml