Revisiting the legacy of architect Kaneji Domoto in Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonia — exhibition opens June 22

The upcoming exhibition, “Kaneji Domoto at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonia”, looks back on the legacy of Taliesin fellow Kaneji Domoto, who worked as an independent architect in midcentury America. Opening at the Center for Architecture in New York on June 22, the exhibition spans Domoto's time studying at Taliesin, his experiences in a Japanese internment camp during WWII, and spotlights the Usonian residential houses he designed in Pleasantville, New York, and more. 

Read on for more about the exhibition.

Curated by Lynnette Widder, Lecturer in Discipline, Sustainability Management at Columbia University, and designed by Studio Joseph, the exhibition explores Domoto's styles in architecture and landscape architecture, including his references to Japanese design.

Sourced from the private archives of the Domoto family, never-before-seen original drawings, models, letters, photos, and artifacts show how Domoto applied Wrightian idioms into his work — plus, it offers another glimpse into Frank Lloyd Wright's inner circles.

Established 1944 in Pleasantville, 35 miles north of New York City, the Usonia community is “the only fully realized example of Wright’s vision for an exurban United States and a unique example of what it meant to design — and live — within Wright’s millieu.” 

Frank Lloyd Wright designed the site plan and served on the building committee, defined its architectural style, and he eventually built three of the cooperative’s 47 homes. Kaneji Domoto designed five of the remaining Usonian houses, on which he translated Wright's idiom into low-cost construction.

With Domoto's Lurie House, exhibition curator Lynnette Widder delves deep into its history, from its construction, through the lives of its original residents, and up to Widder's subsequent renovation and restoration.

In addition to archival materials, the exhibition will also feature a site model of the Usonia community custom-built by students at the Rhode Island School of Design, as well as furniture by Smilow Design, a company who has roots in Usonia.

The exhibition will be on display until August 26, 2017. Find more details in the link below.

All photos courtesy of the AIANY Center for Architecture.