The Noble Room

The Inspired Conception and Tumultuous Creation of Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple

"When I finished Unity Temple, I had it. I knew I had the beginning of a great thing, a great truth in architecture." —Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright's design for Unity Temple was radical in its simplicity—a monolithic concrete exterior—yet sublime in its detail and revolutionary in its use of interior space. His approach would never again be the same, and his influence would extend around the world, forever changing the face of architecture and design.

But it might never have happened if not for a devoted Unitarian congregation who embraced Wright's ideas and remained faithful to the architect and his vision through the trials and calamities of construction.

Unity Temple, when completed in 1909, was—and still is—considered one of the landmarks of modern architecture. David M. Sokol uncovers a dramatic story in The Noble Room, much of which is at odds with the accepted story of how Wright himself described the process.

Anyone with an interest in architecture and Frank Lloyd Wright will be fascinated by the story of the tumultuous, chaotic creation of a modern masterpiece that comes to life in The Noble Room.