Unity Temple
Frank Lloyd Wright · Oak Park, United States · 1908
Unity Temple is a landmark in the early architectural use of exposed reinforced concrete. Wright organizes the Unitarian meeting house as a compact inward-looking volume centered on a luminous cubic sanctuary, with balconies wrapping the congregation on several levels. The austere exterior contrasts with an intricately proportioned interior shaped by skylight, color and integrated furnishings. Completed in 1908, the project is a pivotal work between nineteenth-century church conventions and the abstract spatial language of modern architecture.