Book Talk - Frank Lloyd Wright and the Path to Beauty

Architecture today often swings between two extremes: imitating the past or chasing novelty for its own sake. What if there’s a better route? In this illustrated talk at Villa Terrace Museum & Gardens, architect and author Kenneth Dahlin (PhD, AIA) presents ideas from his book, Frank Lloyd Wright and the Path to Beauty (Routledge), arguing that Wright’s organic architecture offers a “middle way” grounded in harmony and the experience of space. With images of Wright’s work—and select contemporary parallels—Dahlin considers what the recovery of beauty could mean for the buildings and places we inhabit now. Q&A and book signing to follow.

About the Author

Kenneth Dahlin is a nationally award-winning architect, scholar, and author based in Racine, Wisconsin, specializing in organic architecture. He earned his PhD at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee School of Architecture in 2018, defending his dissertation, The Aesthetics of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Organic Architecture: Hegel, Japanese Art, and Modernism. Dahlin is the owner of Genesis Architecture, and his work has been featured in OA+D Journal, Better Homes & Gardens (three-time Home of the Year), Fine Homebuilding, the Chicago Tribune, HGTV, and several books. His most recent book, Frank Lloyd Wright and the Path to Beauty (Routledge), connects Wright’s organic theory to the idea of beauty and explores a path toward recovering beauty in architecture today.

*This event is in collaboration with our friends at Boswell Book Company (2559 N Downer Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53211)