Changes and the Future
After Wright's death in 1959, there were existing plans for several other buildings. However, the college decided to go in a different direction and Nils Scheizer, a former Taliesin apprentice, was hired to design a number of additional buildings.
In addition to the new construction, many changes occurred to the Wright buildings after his death in 1959. Much of the original furniture disappeared. Wood trim around doors and windows was replaced with metal. All the buildings were renovated to include air-conditioning; at times this was done with very obtrusive A/C equipment. Additionally, almost all of the foliage that surrounded the buildings back in 1940 is gone. There are a few citrus trees remaining, but the groves that once filled the empty spaces between buildings are gone. And the lush semi-circle of greenery that ran along the north edge of the Water Dome was removed when the new library was built.
The concrete blocks that Wright claimed would "be standing a thousand years into the future" failed to live up to that prediction. Many of the blocks are cracking or disintegrating. The reasons are varied, but include the inexperience of the student workers who mixed the materials for the blocks, the block's composition, the stresses placed on them in some of the buildings, and the very design of Wright's textile block system. Over the years water has seeped into the wall cavities and caused the steel bars to rust, which in turn loosens the steel from the concrete block. As a result, the blocks have cracked. The same problems have beset owners of Wright's California concrete block houses of the early 1920s.
The individual seminar buildings were combined into one building, eliminating the courtyards in between. The old E. T. Roux library is now the Thad Buckner building and is no longer used as a library. In the industrial arts building, both the refectory and the central pavilion have been altered. And the open breezeway that once ran through the Polk county science building was enclosed with glass doors and windows at each end. The building has been sealed to allow for the installation of air conditioning.
In recent years the college has been able to raise money to restore several of the structures. The Water Dome was made operable for the first time in its history. In 2007, following a grant from the State of Florida, the esplanades were restored. The college also received money from the Save America's Treasures program to restore Pfeiffer chapel. Fund raising continues for other restoration projects.
Wright also designed faculty housing. One of these designs is (as of this writing) under construction and will serve as a new visitors center, scheduled for completion in Spring 2012. See the links page for additional information on this.