You don’t have to travel to a bustling metropolis to find excellent architecture. In fact, the work of world-renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright can be found in the most surprising of places: a small college in Central Florida.
Consistently ranked as one of the country’s most beautiful college campuses, Florida Southern College (FSC) has continued to gain notoriety as the world’s largest concentration of structures designed by the famous architect.
The history
Florida Southern College was originally founded in Orlando in 1883, and it relocated to a former citrus grove in Lakeland in 1921. Soon, the school began to experience a steady decrease in enrollment.
President Dr. Ludd Spivey developed a plan to attract students while increasing the college’s national recognition, resolving that architectural development was the key to revolutionizing FSC’s campus. He reached out to Wright by telegram, and the two soon began designing “a great educat[ion] temple in Florida.”
Wright’s style of “organic architecture” naturally weaves the buildings he designed into FSC’s landscape. Out of the 18 designs drafted by Wright for the school over 20 years, 13 of them were built.
Wright’s commission with the college is the longest and largest in his career, and these are the only buildings he designed for a college campus. Florida Southern was awarded National Historic Landmark status in 2012.
Check out these notable structures across the campus the next time you’re in Mocs Country.
Annie Pfeiffer Chapel has become the most iconic of Wright’s designs at FSC.
Photo by @sacred_architecture + @fdphotonyc
Annie Pfeiffer Chapel
Almost immediately after his visit, Wright began drafting his designs for the first building. This was the first college chapel in the nation crafted in a modern design, and it’s fitted with vaulted ceilings, textile blocks, and a 65-ft bell tower.
The chapel isn’t just a showpiece. It also hosts regular worship services + masses for students, and can even be rented as a wedding venue.
Head inside the Buckner Building to see its unique curved design.
Photo by @junetaylorshop
Buckner Building
The first E.T. Roux Library was Wright’s second building to be completed and was built during the height of World War II. Due to labor and material shortages, the construction crew was composed mostly of female students.
When the student body began to grow, a new E.T. Roux building was constructed in 1968, and the original structure became known as the Thaddeus G. Buckner Building.
Water Dome
The Water Dome is the world’s largest water structure designed by Wright, featuring a 45-ft spouted dome. The dome was only partially completed as a reflecting pool in 1948 due to the “technological limitations” of the time, but it was later fully developed via a restoration project.
The Water Dome is off limits to all but a select few each year — FSC grads get exclusive access during the Senior Splash to celebrate the spring commencement ceremony.
Lucius Pond Ordway Building
This structure was created by Wright as an industrial arts building to house the home economics department, but it’s grown to serve students in the political science, history, and psychology departments. The Fletcher Theater is centrally located in the Ordway building, and it’s the only theatre-in-the-round ever designed by Wright.
Usonian House tours start at $15, including a 20-30 minute tour and a film showing.
Photo by @wright_fsc
Usonian House
The Usonian House is a lesson in patience, taking 74 years to complete. The house was originally designed in 1939 to be a part of the faculty housing system, but it wasn’t built until 2013 using Wright’s designs.
Now, the house functions as a part of the Sharp Family Tourism and Education Center. Carefully aligned shapes contrast with its stained glass pieces, giving the building a unique, yet cohesive aesthetic that connects it to Wright’s other campus structures.
These buildings look even better in real life. Book a campus tour with an expert, and head to the Usonian House to start diving into the “Child of the Sun” campus.
