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Unity Temple

Unity Temple

Frank Lloyd Wright

Photo: IvoShandor · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

Location
Oak Park, IL
Client / Owner
Unitarian Universalist congregation of Oak Park
Year
Completed 1908
Typology
Spiritual

Completed in 1908 for a Unitarian congregation in Oak Park, this church by Frank Lloyd Wright is cited as an early example of modern architecture. It replaced the congregation's Gothic Revival church, which burned down in 1905.

Wright built it of reinforced concrete, washing away the surface of the cement to expose the gravel beneath. There is no steeple. Instead, flat concrete slabs overhang the walls, and light enters through high clerestory windows and skylights. The worship space is shaped like a Greek cross, with two levels of seating gathered close around the pulpit and abstract ornament in place of religious imagery.

The church was fully restored between 2015 and 2017. It still serves its congregation and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing for Wright's 20th-century architecture.

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