Bartlesville, Okla.
Wendy Evans Joseph Architecture / Ambler Architects

Photography © Korab Photo

New life emerges for a long-forgotten landmark

Program: In 1956, Frank Lloyd Wright designed his only skyscraper, a mixed-use, 19-story tower in the heart of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. By 1981, years of lackluster performance and low occupancy had taken its toll. Given the looming prospect of having to raze the tower, company executives agreed to repair, refurbish, and donate the building to a nonprofit arts center.

Solution: The new owners wished to create a hotel and restaurant as part of a conference facility to ensure the financial stability and future of this important landmark building. The architect converted the top eight floors into a 21-room hotel, utilizing innovative techniques to minimize disturbances to the original fabric of the building. The color scheme, materials, and furniture, mostly locally crafted, defer to Wright's aesthetic but have a contemporary vitality. Generating a huge interest from the press, the hotel is serving as a magnet for new life to the area, expecting to be profitable in two to three years.

For more images please see the November 2003 issue or Architectural Record.

The Winners: Orange Innovations | Hotel Habita | Sekii Ladies Clinic | Start-Up Offices | Inn at Price Tower | Darwin Centre | Apple SoHo | Stealth/Ogilvy | Gannett/USA Today Corporate Headquarters | ImageNet

The Finalists: Automated Trading Desk Technology Campus | Jackson-Triggs Niagara Estate Winery | University of Washington | Herman Miller MarketPlace | Beacon Communications Office | New Academic Complex, Baruch College, CUNY | Mott Children's Center

ADVERTISEMENT