Unity Temple UNESCO World Heritage | Unity Temple Restoration Foundation

On July 10, UTRF celebrated the third anniversary of Unity Temple’s inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage, along with the other seven sites that are part of The 20th Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. In addition to Unity Temple (Oak Park, IL), the sister sites in this designation are the Robie House (Chicago, IL), Taliesin (Spring Green, WI), Hollyhock House (Los Angeles, CA), Fallingwater (Mill Run, PA), Jacobs I House (Madison, WI), Taliesin West (Scottsdale, AZ), and the Guggenheim Museum (New York, NY).

On July 14, in recognition of the anniversary the Wright Virtual Visits team hosted a special edition featuring representatives from all eight sites and incorporated a video featuring each site’s Outstanding Universal Value (scroll down for links).

What is Outstanding Universal Value?

Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) means cultural and/or natural significance which is so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and to be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity.

The OUV of The 20th Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright series, in short, is manifested in three attributes:

creation of an architecture responsive to functional and emotional needs through geometric abstraction and spatial manipulation;
design inspired by nature’s forms and principles;
architecture is responsive to an evolving American experience.

What is Wright Virtual Visits?

Begun in April 2020 as a social media initiative highlighting Frank Lloyd Wright-designed public sites that were closed due to the pandemic, Wright Virtual Visits is in its third iteration in 2022. Each month, two (or more) Frank Lloyd Wright-designed sites are paired up to go live on Facebook, focusing on a particular theme with interactive Q&A with viewers.