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Visitors View Spectacular Island House
on “Walking Wright” Fundraiser
October 10, 2005, Mahopac, New York: More than 120 architects, architectural students and Frank Lloyd Wright scholars and aficionados recently took the ten-minute boat trip to Petra Island to tour progress on a home based on a Wright design from 1950. The 5,000 square foot house on an uninhabited island north of New York City is believed to be the first since his death built on the precise site which inspired Wright. Petra Productions, Ltd. and the Westchester/Mid-Hudson AIA Chapter co-sponsored the event.
Petra Productions, an independent educational film company, is producing a PBS documentary on the project. The three “Walking Wright” tours raised funds for production of the documentary. Each tour featured discussions with owner Joe Massaro, architect Thomas A. Heinz, AIA and Lidia Wusatowska, the builder. Then, guests were free to roam the house built on a triangular grid pattern. The exterior and interior structures are complete. Work finishing the interior begins soon.
Graphisoft ®, a tour sponsor, demonstrated ArchiCAD, running on an Apple workstation, the system Thomas A. Heinz used to design the home. “We had absolutely gorgeous weather,” says Jim Libby Executive Director of Petra Productions. “It was great to watch people enthusiastically explore the house and see how Wright made the most of the island location with panoramic vistas.”
Evening tour guests were treated to wine, cheese and chamber music. The event was captured on video and will be edited into a fifteen minute program for those unable to attend.
Organic Architecture at Work
Wright’s design incorporates a huge island boulder, approximately 12-feet high, 60-feet long and 10-foot wide as the living room’s focal point and anchor for the entryway.
A spectacular 78-foot long cantilever suspended above the lake offers breathtaking views of Lake Mahopac. The design also features a huge hexagon skylight. The skylights outer frame is concrete; extruded Plexiglas windows were custom made to fit the dimensions of inner triangles.
The Petra Productions documentary will feature construction footage shot over two years beginning with the ferrying of materials over the frozen lake. “More importantly, our documentary will address controversy surrounding construction of Wright designs long after his death,” says Libby. Varying viewpoints will be expressed through interviews with Wright scholars.
The Westchester/Mid-Hudson AIA Chapter awarded 3 Learning Units to each architect attending the fundraising event.
Petra Productions, Ltd.
Contact: James G. Libby
(845) 628-4411
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