Challenges

Midway Gardens is one of the most complex buildings Frank Lloyd Wright ever designed. In many respects, having this be my first serious reconstruction was a folly, biting off more than I can realistically chew. But I actually didn't start with Midway Gardens, I started with the Darwin Martin house. I was online and found the HABS drawings for it, printed them out, and started scaling things. It was fun at first, but I never got further than most of the basement plan. There were a few reasons for this. First, the Darwin Martin house is still standing, and its magnificent, comprehensive restoration is nearly complete. This made a virtual reconstruction less interesting and less important. The sense of discovery wasn't there. Second, even with the HABS drawings, there was a huge amount of information about the house I didn't have. The house is famous for the number and variety of designs of the windows, and I simply didn't have those. I also didn't have photos of most of the smaller rooms. Who knew if what I was doing would be 'right' or not?

Midway Gardens is different in that the need for absolute accuracy isn't as essential. Even with all the information at my disposal, who knows if this is the way it actually was? This makes me more willing to be bold and use my own judgment. After all, at this point, is mine any better or worse than anyone else's? Besides, if I find other drawings or photos, I can always modify the model to make it more accurate. I've said before, I want this to be as accurate as I can make it, but no matter how perfect it is, it will only be an approximation of reality.

This project is more exciting than the Darwin Martin house because it is a building that is long gone. It appears to me before my eyes as something totally new, something that I have the privilege of seeing before anyone else in over 80 years. That alone is enough to keep me coming back every day to do more work on this project. Also, I feel that I do have enough information to make the exterior and major spaces of the interior. Once my model is done, you won't be able to peek into the kitchens or bathrooms, but you should be able to walk from Cottage Grove Avenue through any of the major spaces and end up in the Summer Garden. That's my goal at least.

I knew starting this that there would be challenges, and there are various elements that scare me. These are as follows: the decorative concrete panels on the exterior, the Sprites, the stained glass windows, the four statues in the Winter Garden (especially the woman holding the sphere), and, maybe more than anything else, the pilaster capitals in the Winter Garden.

I am happy to say that the first item on this list, the decorative concrete panels, have been completed. The smaller ones have been done for some time and are visible in some of the renderings I've posted, but the larger ones I just finished. I'd say I spent between 3 and 4 hours on them, but I personally think they look great and are pretty accuarate as well. Hope you enjoy them.