The University of Wisconsin-Madison has appointed architectural historian Anna Andrzejewski as the inaugural recipient of the Frank Lloyd Wright Endowed Professorship, marking a significant milestone in architectural education. The position was created through a partnership with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and funded by university alumnus Dan Erdman, whose father Marshall Erdman was a frequent collaborator of the legendary architect.
Andrzejewski, who has been teaching architectural history at UW-Madison since 2000, has already established herself as a popular instructor with her Frank Lloyd Wright course. "Every time I teach it, it fills to its enrollment cap of thirty, and then I usually have a waiting list of undergraduate students that long, and then auditors who are clamoring to get into the course," she explains. The class attracts a diverse group of students, from art history majors to engineers, historians, and those seeking an architecture certificate.
The connection between Wright and the university runs deep. In 1886, a then-unknown Frank Lloyd Wright enrolled at UW-Madison to study civil engineering but dropped out after barely a year, moving to Chicago to work as a draftsman. Decades later, after becoming one of America's most famous architects, Wright made a posthumous return to the university when coursework on his ideas was introduced in the 1970s.
Andrzejewski's new position will allow her to significantly expand architectural education at the university. "The new position will allow me to focus on my research interests in 20th-century American architecture and develop curriculum that supports the study of architectural history at UW-Madison," she states. "It frees me up from teaching the wide variety of art history classes to exclusively hone in on architecture."
The partnership with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation promises exciting opportunities for students. Andrzejewski expresses her enthusiasm about working closely with the foundation and particularly the Taliesin Institute, which was created to bring universities and the foundation together for educational programming. "We're hoping to connect students with not only Taliesin in Spring Green, but also out in Arizona, at Taliesin West," she explains.
The timing of this professorship is particularly significant given the recent closure of the architecture school at Taliesin. "With the closing of the architecture school at Taliesin, there is a void. By experiencing the buildings, by studying his philosophy, we can continue to impart some of Wright's lessons onto the next generation," Andrzejewski notes.
Andrzejewski emphasizes the contemporary relevance of Wright's design principles. She highlights organic architecture – thinking about a building as an organism that responds to its immediate environment and context – as particularly important for modern architects. Environmental design, focusing on sustainability and how buildings can shape everyday living, represents another crucial aspect of Wright's legacy that remains relevant in the 21st century.
The professor's own connection to Wright's work was sparked by one of the architect's final projects: a prefab house designed in 1959 in Madison with Marshall Erdman, known as the Walter and Mary Ellen Rudin House. "That house was a trigger for me," she recalls. "I saw that he was connected with all the themes that 20th-century architecture was wrestling with, and yet he was also staying true to his philosophy."
The new professorship will complement the university's growing architecture certificate program in the College of Engineering, which enrolled nearly 100 students in its first semester when announced two years ago. Students pursuing the certificate are required to take a course in the history of architecture to prepare for architecture school, and Andrzejewski's expanded curriculum will help meet this demand.
UW-Madison joins other institutions incorporating Wright's teachings into their curriculum, including Duke University and West Virginia University. Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida, which houses 13 Wright-designed buildings, recently launched an architecture school that includes courses in Wright's design principles.
Andrzejewski's approach to teaching emphasizes hands-on experience. "All of my architectural history classes look at the built environment around us," she explains. "I take students out into the community. We go out and look at buildings, because it's the best way that students can actually learn. To understand architecture is to engage with architecture."
Looking forward, Andrzejewski envisions the professorship will cement American architectural history courses as a regular offering at the university. The Frank Lloyd Wright course will be taught at least once a year and potentially every semester, significantly expanding the university's architectural history offerings and ensuring Wright's legacy continues to inspire future architects.
