Today's Architecture Moment: Frank Lloyd Wright & the GOP Convention

The L.A. Times examines the stage design at the Republican Convention, which is influenced by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. The stage "will be crowded with large video screens framed in wood. [...] The inspiration for the set, said Jim Fenhagen, lead production designer for the convention, is Wright's residential architecture, which often featured long horizontal bands of wood-framed windows."

According to the paper, the concept is not without risks, "For this particular ticket, the most obvious risk is the Ayn Rand connection. Wright was the chief inspiration for the headstrong architect Howard Roark, hero of Rand's 1943 novel 'The Fountainhead.'"  And then, there's this: "As for Wright, let's put it this way: He was no standard-bearer for conservative values. He grew his hair long and liked to wear a cape. His political views were far from consistent, but he leaned left and was accused of distrusting capitalism and even, on occasion, of having Communist ties."

Steve Clowney