Solving Problems #2

This weekend has been very productive so far, and I've made a lot of progress on the South Arcade as you can see from the picture. I'm very pleased with how it is coming along. The side facing out is almost finished (at least three bays worth) and I'm hard at work on the side facing the Summer Garden. I've even begun a little work on the terraces of the Summer Garden itself. I'll post some of that when I've finished the second floor railing, which should be soon.



One of the problems I had to solve for this view was what to do with the small decorative concrete panels that cover the upper part of the Belvedere. The Wendingen drawings show them coming down the side Belvedere, but it also shows that the wall with the big arch (just visible between the first pair of pillars on the second level) is supposed to be stucco. I don't have any good drawings or photos for this detail, so I had to make something up. I decided to return one concrete panel onto the stucco surface. It may not be accurate, but I think it's clean at least.

Something that is going to solve several problems (and maybe make some new ones as well) is a new book that I just bought: Frank Lloyd Wright The Lost Years, 1910-1922: A Study of Influence by Anthony Alofsin. If you click on the cover below, you'll be sent to Amazon where you can purchase a copy if you wish.



This book has several drawings and photos of Midway Gardens that weren't included in Kruty's book. I'm especially excited about a drawing of the decorated top of one of the towers. It shows the design that is printed in the Wendingen, but is a bit different from what's been built. It's also different from some sketches included elsewhere. They contradict each other, which doesn't make my life any easier, but its fun to have the options and get to see all that detail spelled out for me.

Lastly, it took me a while to figure out what the 'capitals' of the pillars on the second level should look like. In my web searches for this project I came across a wonderful page with all sorts of images I'd never seen before on Steinrag's webpage http://www.steinerag.com/flw/Artifact%20Pages/PhRtS180mb.htm. One of the pictures shows this colonnade close up. You should really check it out-the page is fantastic.