Unity Temple, (Oak Park, Illinois);1908-09; Mid-Century Modernism 2

The Unity Temple in Oak Park Illinois is one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s early masterpieces built in 1908-09. It is among the first to use poured in place concrete for a non-industrial building. The concrete is augmented by pre-cast ornament as it’s primary building material. The Unity Temple also features an undersized drainage system inside the building. This design decision was made because Wright did not want to use exterior gutters as it would be detrimental to the look of the building. These drainage systems however did take a toll on the building inside and out. During the construction of this temple there were four types of concrete used; conventional, cinder concrete, light weight cinder concrete, and Portland. Conventional concrete that is found in structural columns, cinder block was used for the floor and roof slabs. Light weight cinder concrete was mostly used for roof toping, and Portland cement facing mortar. Over the years the concrete began disintegrating allowing to enter the building. The corroding and compromising the rebar structure inside. In 1973 an attempted renovation was set forth to remedy the cracked concrete; they used quickrete but the problems still persisted. It wasn’t until a large piece of the roof fell that the city decided to do something long term to restore and protect the Unity Temple. The project was allocated $25 million dollars was to be primarily financed by private donors. To ensure that there would be no future compromises, maintenance and repair protocols have been developed to prevent water penetration.    

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