World Heritage List

World Heritage List of 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright

The collection of buildings, formally known as The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, span 50 years of Wright’s influential career and marks the first modern architecture designation in the United States on the World Heritage List. Of the 1,199* World Heritage sites around the world, the group of eight Wright locations makes up one of 25* sites in the United States.

Eight Frank Lloyd Wright-designed buildings marks the first modern architecture designation on the
World Heritage List in the United States.
Unity Temple,
Oak Park, IL
Built 1906-1908		Frederick C. Robie House,
Chicago, IL
Built 1906
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Unity Temple is the primary illustration in the series of the use of dynamic forms that employ innovative use of materials.The Robie House is the primary illustration in the series of spatial continuity expressed through the open floor plan.
Taliesin,
Spring Green, WI
Built 1911, rebuilt 1914 and 1925 		Hollyhock House,
Los Angeles, CA
Built 1917
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Taliesin is the primary illustration in the series of an architectural form that has an integral relationship with its natural setting.Hollyhock House is the primary illustration in the series of the transformation of inspirations from other places and cultures.
Fallingwater,
Mill Run, PA
Built 1935		Herbert and Katherine Jacobs House,
Madison, WI
Built 1936
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Fallingwater is the primary illustration in the series of unity of design, expressed in the integration of the parts with the whole.The Jacobs House is the primary illustration in the series of how this architecture addressed changing modes of domestic living in the 20th century.
Taliesin West,
Scottsdale, AZ
Started 1937		Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum,
New York, NY
Built 1956
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Taliesin West is the primary illustration in the series of contrast and carefully composed paths of movement creating richness of experience.The Guggenheim Museum is the primary illustration in the series of how architecture addressed changing modes of public living in the 20th century.
  1. Unity Temple. Oak Park, Illinois. Photo by Tom Rossiter courtesy of Harboe Architects. 2. Frederick C. Robie House. Chicago, Illinois. Photo by Nick Abele courtesy of Frank Lloyd Wright Trust. 3. Taliesin. Spring Green, Wisconsin. Photo by Andrew Pielage. 4. Hollyhock House. Los Angeles, California. Photo by Joshua White. 5. Fallingwater. Mill Run, Pennsylvania. Photo courtesy of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. 6. Herbert and Katherine Jacobs House. Madison, Wisconsin. Photo by David Heald courtesy of James Dennis. 7. Taliesin West. Scottsdale, Arizona. Photo by Andrew Pielage. 8. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. New York, New York. Photo courtesy of Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation.

The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright
World Heritage List Inscription by the Numbers

  • 8: The number of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage List

  • 15: The number years it took to complete the nomination

  • 50: The number of years the sites inscribed span of Wright’s influential career

  • *1199: The number of World Heritage List properties around the world

  • *25: The total number of sites in US, only 12 of which are cultural sites

  • 10: The amount of selection criteria reviewed when a site is submitted to the World Heritage List, sites must meet at least one

  • 449: Number of realized Wright-designed structures

  • 67: Demolished Wright-designed structures

  • 380: Extant Wright-designed structures

  • 12: The number of Wright’s buildings Architectural Record selected for its list of the 100 most important buildings of the 20th century. The 12 include the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Taliesin, Taliesin West, and Fallingwater.

  • 74: Public Wright sites, while the rest of sites are private

  • 36: The number of states Frank Lloyd Wright built in

The Whirling Arrow

News and updates from the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation

A composite image showing four different architectural drawings and blueprints of varying styles and complexity.

Frank Lloyd Wright + Arizona

Frank Lloyd Wright’s connection to Arizona, the location of his personal winter home Taliesin West, runs deep, with his architectural influence seen all over the Valley. Here, PhD student David R. Richardson gives a brief overview of several of Wright’s most notable projects in the Grand Canyon state.
[Cohen House Tropical Foliage (Abstract Pattern Study), Eugene Masselink, ca. 1957, graphite, ink, and paint on plywood, Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Collection, 1910.223.2.]

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