Florida Southern College
"Out of the ground and into the light, a child of the sun."
In 1938, Florida Southern College approached Frank Lloyd Wright about designing a "great education temple in Florida". Wright visited the campus and inspected the site: a 30 acre citrus grove filled with more than 1,000 trees. The site sloped gently down to Lake Hollingsworth, dropping about 80 feet in one third of a mile.
Wright first conceived a master plan for the entire campus; this allowed for a feeling of unity in the various buildings of the campus. Various design elements recurred in different places throughout the campus and the same basic materials — concrete, cast concrete blocks (many with colored glass inserts), red Tidewater cypress, and copper trim — were used throughout.
The realization of this master plan took the next 20 years. Twelve structures were eventually built, with six remaining on the drawing board. Florida Southern College, the "Child of the Sun", is the largest one site collection of Wright's buildings in the world.
This web site presents information on and photos of Wright's work on this campus. But a viewing a web site cannot compare to the experience of walking among these buildings and viewing and feeling these spaces yourself. If you are in (or will be visiting) the central Florida region I encourage you to visit the campus. Lakeland is a short drive from either Tampa or Orlando. See the links page for the college's web site with information on visiting the campus.
Below are a few general pictures of the campus; building specific photos can be accessed via the menu at right.
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