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
| May 18, 2011
Carnegie Hall vaults into the 21st century with a $200 million renovation
Historic Carnegie Hall in New York City is in the midst of a major $200 million renovation that will bring the building up to contemporary standards, increase educational and backstage space, and target LEED Silver.
| May 17, 2011
Redesigning, redefining the grocery shopping experience
The traditional 40,000- to 60,000-sf grocery store is disappearing and much of the change is happening in the city. Urban infill sites and mixed-use projects offer grocers a rare opportunity to repackage themselves into smaller, more efficient, and more convenient retail outlets. And the AEC community will have a hand in developing how these facilities will look and operate.
| May 17, 2011
Architecture billings index fell in April, hurt by tight financing for projects
The architecture billings index, a leading indicator of U.S. construction activity, fell in April, hurt by tight financing for projects. The architecture billings index fell 2.9 points last month to 47.6, a level that indicates declining demand for architecture services, according to the American Institute of Architects.
| May 17, 2011
Sustainability tops the syllabus at net-zero energy school in Texas
Texas-based firm Corgan designed the 152,200-sf Lady Bird Johnson Middle School in Irving, Texas, with the goal of creating the largest net-zero educational facility in the nation, and the first in the state. The facility is expected to use 50% less energy than a standard school.
| May 17, 2011
Gilbane partners with Steel Orca on ultra-green data center
Gilbane, along with Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates, has been selected to partner with Steel Orca to design and build a 300,000-sf data center in Bucks County, Pa., that will be powered entirely through renewable energy sources--gas, solar, fuel cells, wind and geo-thermal. Completion is scheduled for 2013.
| May 17, 2011
Should Washington, D.C., allow taller buildings?
Suggestions are being made that Washington revise its restrictions on building heights. Architect Roger Lewis, who raised the topic in the Washington Post a few weeks ago, argues for a modest relaxation of the height limits, and thinks that concerns about ruining the city’s aesthetics are unfounded.
| May 17, 2011
The New Orleans master plan
At an afternoon panel during last week's AIA National Conference in New Orleans, Goody Clancy Principal David Dixon and Manning Principal W. Raymond Manning shared their experiences creating the New Orleans Master Plan, a document that sets a new course for the city, from land use and transportation planning to environmental protection.
| May 17, 2011
Do these buildings look like buffalo to you?
It’s hard to contemplate winter now that we’re mid-spring, but when the seasons change, ice skaters in Winnipeg will be able to keep warm in plywood shelters designed by Patkau Architects. The designers created temporary shelters inspired by animal behavior—specifically, buffalo bracing against the wind. Check them out.
| May 16, 2011
USGBC and AIA unveil report for greening K-12 schools
The U.S. Green Building Council and the American Institute of Architects unveiled "Local Leaders in Sustainability: A Special Report from Sundance," which outlines a five-point national action plan that mayors and local leaders can use as a framework to develop and implement green schools initiatives.
