09/24/2026
🎉Samara presents its 1st Annual Speaker Series event: Rethinking Nature and Landscape in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonia
Join us for a special program at Lafayette’s Duncan Hall on Wednesday, October 14th featuring guest speaker Anna Andrzejewski, professor of architectural history at University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Anna Andrzejewski, professor of architectural history at University of Wisconsin–Madison, presents an exploration of Frank Lloyd Wright’s professed deep reverence for nature and his practice of reshaping—and sometimes dramatically altering—the natural world to meet his architectural vision.
While inspired by transcendentalist thinkers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Wright often introduced non-native trees, shrubs, and other plantings, especially evident in the landscapes of his Usonian houses, that seem at odds with contemporary ideas on ecological restoration. In her talk, Andrzejewski suggests Wright’s approach is best understood through the lens of early and mid-twentieth century conservation, an ethos that emphasized the active management and improvement of the environment. Learning to understand Wright within this historical context can not only provide deeper insight into the architect’s work but can better inform restoration and preservation at Wright sites today.
➡️Advanced registration is required. Purchase tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rethinking-nature-and-landscape-in-frank-lloyd-wrights-usonia-tickets-1999411928902?aff=oddtdtcreator
📸Image Credits
Slide 1: Samara Archive, 1960s
Slide 2: Alexander Vertikoff, 2006
Slide 3: Jonathan Adams, 2026
Slide 4: Alexander Vertikoff, 2006
