In 2013, The Graycliff Conservancy, Inc. is offering a series of three lectures on Opening the Envelope: Porches, Porticos and Terraces, each taking place at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center at 1300 Elmwood Ave in Buffalo, NY. The first illustrated talk, on Wednesday, May 1st was by Scott Perkins, the newly appointed Director of Preservation at Fallingwater. Perkins is one of the most dynamic experts on the subject of Frank Lloyd Wright and his architecture.
The second illustrated talk, on Wednesday, October 2nd, at 7:00 pm, will be given by Dale Gyure, Ph.D. A noted Frank Lloyd Wright scholar, Gyure will speak on Nature, Landscape, and Architecture in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Organic Design. In this talk, Gyure will discuss Frank Lloyd Wright’s unique approach to architectural design derived from his complex understanding of nature. This lecture will explain how Wright’s theory of nature was manifested in actual landscapes and buildings through architectural elements such as porches, porticoes, terraces, windows, materials, and plantings, focusing on numerous examples from his long career, including Graycliff, Taliesin, and Florida Southern College.
The third and final illustrated lecture will take place on Wednesday, October 9th, at 7:00 pm, and given by Kieran Murphy, Principal Historic Researcher for Taliesin Preservation. Murphy will address Taliesin’s Loggia Terrace: Experimentation and Preservation, and discuss the history of Taliesin (which Wright designed as his own residence,) the Loggia Terrace, and its relationship to terraces in other Wright designs, including that of Graycliff.
Dale Gyure, Ph.D., is the author of the books Frank Lloyd Wright’s Florida Southern College and A History of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Affleck House. He is the author of numerous articles and chapters relating to Frank Lloyd Wright and other architects, and has lectured widely on these topics. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, the Michigan Modern Advisory Board, the Minoru Yamasaki Advisory Board and a consultant to the City of Birmingham, MI. Dr. Gyure is an Associate Professor of Architecture at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, MI, while also serving as an Adjunct Associate Professor and Thesis Director at Goucher College in Towson, MD, as well as Adjunct Associate Professor of Architecture at Wayne State University in Detroit. He received his Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Virginia in American and Modern architecture; his J.D. from Indiana University; and his B.A. from Ball State University.