The Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture at Taliesin announced today that it had reached almost 50% of the $1 million fundraising goal it needs to reach by the end of August on its way to independent status. The remaining $500,000 of these funds must be promised to the school by August 25 for the school’s Campaign for Independence to move forward.
In December of 2014, after an agreement between the Board of The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and The Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, the School agreed to raise $2 million, with $1 million of it by the end of this month, in order to achieve the financial autonomy necessary to become an independent organization.
Accreditation for the school has been threatened because the Higher Learning Commission changed its by-laws and would no longer accredit schools that are operating divisions of larger institutions with multi-faceted missions.
The School’s professional M.Arch degree program offers graduate students design-intensive studio experiences at campuses in Taliesin West (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Taliesin (Spring Green, Wis.). Over the last year, the school has revamped its curriculum to provide a better experimental graduate program in architecture. It focuses on learning how to make the human-made environment more sustainable and open. Students work with local communities to both design and build projects, and they make shelters that each student lives in for his or her final semester.
Accreditation for the school has been threatened because the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) changed its by-laws and would no longer accredit schools that are operating divisions of larger institutions with multi-faceted missions. Facing the possibility of the Frank Lloyd Wright School losing accreditation and potentially closing, longtime supporters suggested the possibility of raising funds to create and support an independently-incorporated school.
The Foundation Board agreed that, if the school's community could raise funds sufficient to demonstrate that the new organization would have “its own financial resources” (as explicitly required by the HLC’s by-laws), then spinning off the school would not present the same obstacles. The new, independent school organization would take ultimate fiduciary responsibility for itself.
As part of the new structure, the Foundation would donate over $1 million in facilities-related cash expenses every year, related to the school's use of Taliesin West and Taliesin as its campuses (at no cost to the school). The Foundation would also contribute an additional subsidy of $580,000 to the school in 2015, with decreasing levels of such additional transitional support over the next five years (but always continuing to cover 100% of annual facility-related expenses which total more than $1 million annually).
In order to achieve the desired independence and continue as a stand-alone School of Architecture, gifts and pledges for an initial $1 million in contributions must be received by August 25, 2015 – and gifts and pledges for a second million must be received by December 31, 2015.
Related Stories
| Jun 17, 2013
First look: Austin to get first high-rise since 2003
Developer Cousins Properties broke ground on the 29-story Colorado Tower in downtown Austin, Texas, the city's first high-rise building since Cousins' completed the Frost Bank Tower a decade ago.
| Jun 17, 2013
DOE launches database on energy performance of 60,000 buildings
The Energy Department today launched a new Buildings Performance Database, the largest free, publicly available database of residential and commercial building energy performance information.
| Jun 14, 2013
First look: Callebaut's eye-popping Möbius building for Taichung arts center
French design firm Vincent Callebaut Architectures has released renderings of "Swallow's Nest," an entry in a design competition for a new cultural center, fine arts museum, and public library in Taichung City, Taiwan. The building, based on a Möbius ring, swirls around a central "Endless Patio."
| Jun 14, 2013
Purdue, industry partners test light steel framing for seismic safety
A partnership of leading earthquake engineering researchers from top U.S. and Canadian universities and design professionals from the steel industry have begun the final phase of a three-year project to increase the seismic safety of buildings that use lightweight cold-formed steel for their primary beams and columns.
| Jun 13, 2013
7 great places that represent excellence in environmental design
An adaptive reuse to create LEED Platinum offices, a park that honors veterans, and a grand national plaza are among the seven projects named winners of the 2013 Great Places Awards. The Environmental Design and Research Association recognize professional and scholarly excellence in environmental design, with special attention paid to the relationship between physical form and human activity or experience.
| Jun 13, 2013
Richard Smith joins Cannon Design Science + Technology practice
Cannon Design, an internationally ranked architectural, engineering and planning firm, is pleased to announce Richard Smith has joined the firm as a Principal. Smith joins the leadership team for Cannon Design’s Science + Technology (S&T) practice and will focus on developing strategies for immediate and long-term growth.
| Jun 13, 2013
Winfrey hired as Health and S&T studio head for SmithGroupJJR Dallas
SmithGroupJJR, one of the nation’s largest architecture, engineering and planning firms, has hired David Winfrey, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, as leader of its Health and Science & Technology Studio at its Dallas, Texas office.
| Jun 13, 2013
WorkingBuildings acquires Specialty Operations Solutions
The WorkingBuildings Companies, a leading provider of comprehensive Owner-based solutions for the built environment, announces the acquisition of Specialty Operations Solutions (SOS), a national provider of research and laboratory services.
| Jun 13, 2013
Health Product Declaration Collaborative names Knott as Executive Director
John L. Knott Jr. has been named as the Health Product Declaration Collaborative’s (www.hpdcollaborative.org) first Executive Director following a national search. The Health Product Declaration Collaborative (HPDC) is a customer-led standards-setting organization committed to the continuous improvement of the building industry’s environmental and health performance, through transparency and innovation in the building product supply chain.
| Jun 13, 2013
AIA partners with industry groups to launch $30,000 'Designing Recovery' design competition
The program will award a total of $30,000 to three winning designs, divided equally between three locations: Joplin, Mo., New Orleans, and New York.
