I will be very surprised if these buildings do not make it onto the World Heritage List as they are exceptional testaments to one of the most important architects of the 20th century.

A few years back I was lucky enough to have a week or so in Chicago and was able to tour the Architectural delights of the city. The buildings of Frank Lloyd Wright were certainly one of the highlights. The western suburb of Oak Park is littered with buildings he designed though only Unity Temple is nominated this is a great place to start getting an understanding of the architects’ work especially if you visit his house and studio.

The effect of the Prairie school that he pioneered can be seen in houses across the wealthier outskirts of the city; however the finest building of his that I saw, the Robie House, is located in the less salubrious South side of Chicago. It is next to the leafy Chicago University campus (worth a visit for the excellent Oriental Institute Museum) and it is an exceptional feat of domestic architecture. The use of space and horizontal lines is incredible and I was surprised by how impressed I was by the building as I had not guessed it would be so good from the pictures I had seen.

A few years later I was able to visit one of his most renowned works, the Guggenheim Museum in New York. This again was a highly impressive and unique building made all the better by the long stroll across Central Park that led to it. There are additions to the Museum to Wright’s original plans that make it look strangely like a toilet, however the aesthetic joy of the spiralling gallery is great both internally and externally. Though it has to be said it is not really that great a space for displaying works of art.

I hope to continue viewing more of Wrights work as I travel around with Fallingwater and the Johnson Factory topping my wish-list.

These buildings would be an excellent addition to the World Heritage List and it would also signify a slight shift in the focus of the US’s approach to it, hopefully for the better as there are so many modern architectural marvels that could be added in the future.