This series of free lectures begins at 7pm and takes place in the Monona Terrace Lecture Hall.  Featured are a variety of local, regional and international guest speakers discussing topics that range from popular Wright-built designs, to current trends and issues in architecture.  The lectures are supported in part by Monona Terrace, the Southwest Chapter of AIA Wisconsin, and Frank Lloyd Wright© Wisconsin. 

Here's what some past participants had to say:

Winter 2010 Schedule

Thursday, September 16
Lecture: "Design and Construction: Hand and Mind, The Work of Rockhill and Associates and Studio 804"
Presented by Dan Rockhill, JL Constant Distinguished Professor of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning

The work of the firm, Rockhill and Associates, is tightly bound to the natural milieu and culture of the Kansas region. In the spirit of regionalism, the areas archetypal forms, Spartan aesthetics, frugal methods, and relationship to nature permeate the results. They are the recipients of numerous awards, most recently; Residential Architect magazine’s Firm of the Year, one of Natural Home magazine’s Top Ten Green Architecture Firms, and Architecture magazine’s “Home of the Year.” The work has appeared in nearly two hundred international books and journals and has recently been recognized for the 2006 Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award.

Dan Rockhill is the J L Constant Distinguished Professor of Architecture at the University of Kansas and Executive Director of Studio 804. He and his students have recently completed the first LEED Platinum building in Kansas, a sustainable prototype for tornado ravaged Greensburg, KS. Their other awards include three American Institute of Architect’s Honor Awards, two Wood Design Awards, along with Steel Design, Global Housing, Sustainable Design, National Affordable Housing, the NCARB Prize, two time winner of Architecture Magazine’s  “Home of the Year” and Residential Architect’s “Project of the Year” award for their modular houses in Kansas City. Their recent Greensburg project appeared in the Venice Architecture Biennale, commissioned by the U.S. State Department for inclusion.

Respective websites are: www.rockhillandassociates.com and www.studio804.com.

Thursday, October 7
Lecture: "Buildings We Love to Hate"
Presented by Robert Bruegmann, University Distinguished Professor of Art History, Architecture, Urban Planning, University of Illinois at Chicago

The University of Wisconsin wants to tear down the Humanities Building. Built in the 1960s it is routinely described in the press as a big, hulking structure in the Brutalist style, dysfunctional and out of keeping with the rest of the campus. However, the building was designed by Harry Weese of Chicago, one of the country’s most successful and sensitive architects in the postwar years. And exactly the same characterizations are heard about many other buildings of this same era by some of America’s best architects-- Boston City Hall, for example, or the Art and Architecture Building at Yale or the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago. Is it possible that it’s the era of the building and not its design that is the problem and that as tastes change we will look at this building quite differently? In fact something similar has happened with some of the most thoroughly disliked buildings of previous eras from the work of Frank Furness in Philadelphia in the late 19^th century to National Gallery of Washington in the 1940s. In this lecture, Bruegmann will offer some thoughts on why in every generation certain buildings are reviled and why, one generation later these aesthetic opinions are so often reversed and the once-rejected buildings come to be perceived as good designs and as historic landmarks. 

 

Thursday, November 4
Lecture: "Frank Lloyd Wright's Non-Architectural Sources"
Presented by Sidney Robinson is a member of the American Institute of Architects, Emeritus Associate Professor of Art History at the University of Illinois-Chicago, and is presently on the faculty of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture.

The power of Frank Lloyd Wright's creativity is demonstrated by the wide range of sources on which he based his architecture. He exercised his remarkable interpretive ability on Louis Sullivan's ornament, Japanese prints, music, and his own ornament. Wright's interpretation of non-architectural sources is the clearest evidence of his goal to make architecture integral and inclusive, not a commodity driven by fashion.  Dr. Sidney K. Robinson will address what sources Wright used and how he used them to make architecture.


Thursday, November 18
Lecture: "10-20-20 Problem Solving: PechaKucha

Perhaps one of the most memorable ways to enjoy Monona Terrace is by taking a guided tour of this architectural masterpiece. Trained guides will reveal how Wright´s organic architecture is expressed in dramatic open spaces, circular forms and breathtaking lake views. Monona Terrace is accessible to visitors with disabilities. 

 

Daily Public Tours
Individuals and groups of less than ten are invited to join us on our daily public tour at 1:00 p.m. Admission is $3.00 per adult and $2.00 per student. Tickets may be purchased in the Gift Shop. Parties of fewer than 10 do not require reservations.

 

Group Tours
Groups of 10 or more should schedule their tour three weeks in advance. Call the Tourism Coordinator at 608.261.4015. Group fees are $3.00 per adult and $2.00 per student. Bus parking passes are available for a $5.00 fee. Inquire about our additional services, including introductory slide presentations and video loans. Please report delays or cancellation as soon as possible. Without notification, our guides can wait only 20 minutes for your arrival.

 

 

Student Tours
Students will explore how the building is inspired by its environment and simple geometry. Your visit complements curricula in Wisconsin history, art, design and community planning. Student admission is $2.00 per student; Dane County student admission is $1.00 per student. Teachers and chaperones receive complementary admission. There must be at least one adult chaperone for every 10 students on the tour. Please call the Tourism Coordinator at 608.261.4015 to make a reservation. There are no indoor lunch facilities at Monona Terrace. Our rooftop and nearby Olin Park are available for picnics. Bus parking and passenger drop-off is accessible from the Wilson Street entrance to Monona Terrace. Click here to view the Monona Terrace parking map.  To learn more, go here.