Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy announces 2024 conference in Detroit
Tours & talks, Sep. 25-29, will explore the relevance of Wright’s legacy to issues facing American cities
The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, the only organization dedicated to preserving Frank Lloyd Wright’s remaining built works, announces that its 35th annual conference will take place in Detroit, Michigan, September 25-29, 2024. Around 200 attendees from across the country will include Wright homeowners & building stewards, preservation advocates, scholars, and design enthusiasts.
Tours will showcase at least six Wright-designed houses, taking us across southeast Michigan and spanning sixteen years of the architect’s career: Affleck House (Bloomfield Hills, 1940), Goetsch-Winckler House (Okemos, 1939), Palmer House (Ann Arbor, 1950), Smith House (Bloomfield Hills, 1946), Turkel House (Detroit, 1955), and Schaberg House (Okemos, 1950). We will also visit landmarks of the Detroit metro area designed by notable architects including Eliel and Eero Saarinen, Paul Rudolph, William Kessler and more. Many of these are private homes not regularly open to tours.
Talks will focus on the conference theme, Frank Lloyd Wright & the American City Today. Speakers from a variety of disciplines and perspectives will examine the relationships of Wright’s work and legacy to historical and contemporary issues of American landscapes, cities and suburbs through a critical lens.
Celebrations build community and strengthen support for the preservation of Wright’s work. Festivities begin Wednesday night with a reception at the Book Tower, and culminate in a Saturday night gala at the Westin Book Cadillac, allowing us to toast two major historic preservation success stories in downtown Detroit. The gala, which features an online silent auction, honors the recipients of the Conservancy’s annual Wright Spirit Awards, which are given to individuals and organizations who have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to preserving Wright’s legacy.
The complete program will be announced in late May when registration opens at savewright.org/conference. Our conference committee includes Lisa DiChiera (Detroit Historic Designation Advisory Board), Audra Dye (City of Detroit), Tanya Gazdik (journalist & native Detroiter), Tim Quigley (Quigley Architects), Norm Silk & Dale Morgan (owners of the Turkel House & Blossoms), Ilene Tyler (architect, author, preservationist), and Greg Wittkopp (Cranbrook).
About The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy
The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy is a nonprofit organization founded in 1989 to facilitate the preservation and stewardship of the remaining structures designed by Frank Lloyd Wright through advocacy, education and technical services. The staff and a corps of dedicated and knowledgeable board members and volunteers accomplish the Conservancy’s mission through strategic initiatives that include advocating against demolition and neglect of Wright structures, holding preservation easements, providing access to expert technical conservation and restoration resources, connecting preservation-minded buyers and sellers of Wright properties, advancing original Wright scholarship through SaveWright magazine, and honoring those who demonstrate extraordinary efforts in stewardship of Wright’s legacy through the Wright Spirit Awards.
