Monthly Update
Explore The OA+D Online Collections Catalog
Since being launched in June 2021, the OA+D Archives online catalog has continued to evolve with the addition of new collection information and facsimile images of historical records. Initially using the A. Louis Wiehle Papers as a case study to explore functional design customization of the underlying Collective Access software, the website has developed to support a powerful but simple-to-use indexing strategy to facilitate researcher access to OA+D Archives collections.
Most recently, data entry of the Taliesin Architects commission list and related name indexing was completed. The accomplishment has provided an opportunity to start adding images from the Taliesin Architects Slide Collection. This group of 12,500 35mm slides documents design drawings, site conditions, construction, and exterior, interior and detail views of Taliesin Architects buildings from the late 1950s to the early 2000s.
Among the Taliesin Architects projects that now have substantial representation are the Pearl Palace for Shams Pahlavi, built in Iran during the 1960s, the Design Guidelines for Great Western Cities, Inc., a masterplan by Charles Montooth and Vernon D. Swaback for Cochiti Lake, New Mexico (1976), and the Park Fletcher Industrial Park and Research Center project of 1961 designed by William Wesley Peters.
Documentation for the Snow Flake Motel designed by Wes Peters in 1960 demonstrates the integration of different types of photographs from three different OA+D Archives collections. The original image formats include 35mm slides, 4” x 5” transparencies, and stereographic slides.
The recent completion of the initial survey of the Taliesin Architects collection drawings and the installation of a file server to work with the large format scanner, acquired through generous donation by architect David Milstead, will enable the addition of further project documentation as work continues.
The online catalog is not only a portal for researchers to examine OA+D Archives holdings, but is also the main tool by which the collections are being inventoried. By using the Collective Access software in this way, catalog information is provided immediately for public access. But we need YOUR help to continue this exciting work!
Your tax-deductible donations to OA+D help fund the ongoing effort to process, digitize, and make these remarkable materials accessible to the public. If you'd like to become part of this exciting archival adventure, please consider making a donation HERE.
From The Archives
2023 marks the 100th anniversary of Frank Lloyd Wright's lost masterpiece, the Imperial Hotel. Throughout the year we'll be featuring some of the hundreds of items OA+D is fortunate enough to have in its collections that are connected to the building.
This month we feature a block of specially designed postage stamps promoting the imminent opening of the Imperial Hotel. Known as "poster stamps," this type of collectible originated in the mid-19th century and were used as specially designed advertising labels, a little larger than most postage stamps. They often featured poster-like artwork (hence the term "poster stamp") and quickly became a collecting craze. This example features stylized typography and geometric motifs, along with Wright's signature red color block. It's the only known example of this type of Imperial Hotel ephemera and the OA+D Archives is thrilled to have it as part of its collections.
Rare and unique items like this have been gathered over the years in order to aid in long-term study, appreciation, and understanding of this lost architectural masterpiece. We are planning other special ways to mark the centennial of the Hotel — more to be announced soon!
If you have other materials related to the Imperial Hotel (or any other organic architectural or design items) that you're interested in donating to join other items like these, please let us know by contacting us at info@oadarchives.org.
OA+D NEWS & EVENTS
Spring 2023 OA+D Journal Now Available!
The spring issue (Volume 11 :: Number 1) of our flagship publication, The Journal of Organic Architecture + Design is arriving in subscribers' mailboxes and ready for order. This double-sized issue is a long-overdue monograph on the life and creative work of architect and Taliesin Fellow, Charles Robert Schiffner.
Joining Taliesin in 1968, Schiffner proceeded to contribute to the work underway by the Taliesin Associated Architects on projects throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. This included his celebrated work on "The House of the Future" in Ahwatukee near Chandler, AZ, as well as dozens of other residences and public projects. After leaving Taliesin in 1982, Charles went on to form his own architecture firm, Charles Schiffner & Associates, which produced hundreds of residential, commercial, government, religious, and major transportation projects. The impact of his creative work on Phoenix and the surrounding valley is indelible and now finally illuminated in this publication.
This 100 page journal features an introductory essay by Charles as well as scores of never-before-published photos, drawings, and artwork that feature Charles's firsthand insights into their creation.
Subscribers should automatically receive their copies, but if you need to renew your subscription so as not to miss this issue, do so HERE.
Otherwise, you can order the individual issue HERE.
Exhibition: John Lautner: Pearlman Cabin and Walstrom House
Learning Through Exhibitions — WHAT WAS IT ALL ABOUT?
Priceless moments with historic 3D models, hand-drafted drawings, plans, and photos that captured two unique buildings, a legendary architect created form and space — timeless environments in nature, that became rich and personal learning experiences. Two important, though lesser known, residences of John Lautner’s came alive for many students, educators, scholars, and the general public.
Rather than placing two large 1”= 1’-0” scale models into storage, the OA+D Archives and The John Lautner Foundation, along with The School of Architecture (formally The Frank Lloyd School of Architecture) now residing at Arcosanti — went to work for 6 months on creating an exhibition that traveled to two venues. A fantastic project for bringing together the keepers of history and organic design with students at a school undergoing its rebirth.
TSOA's new campus, filled with the energy of Paolo Soleri's experimental buildings and community, where the exhibition would have its first opening, inspired all to fill the two gallery spaces in the five-level Crafts Building at Arcosanti Visitors Center. The projects' exhibit design layout and the narrative presented with archival materials and historic information about the Pearlman Cabin in Idyllwild, California and the Walstrom House in the Santa Monica mountains of Los Angeles — the exhibition unfolded as if the two galley spaces had been waiting for Lautner's exhibition to arrive. After a month and a half, the show relocated to the Phoenix area to the second venue at the architectural firm of Architekton in Tempe.
There is so much more about these two exhibitions that can be shared: how the design, model delivery, and mounting of the exhibition took place, how the students' involvement generated three gallery events—including a closing panel discussion at the studio of Architekton where accomplished members of the architectural community shared their thoughts on organic design. And now the making of a film is underway to tell the whole story in the words of those involved.
To learn more, Email us at info@oadarchives.org with the subject line “Exhibit Keep Me Learning" and we’ll keep you informed of the progress and how you can help support these exciting educational efforts!