2026 Modernist Society

• March 15th - SPIRIT SOIRÉE - exclusive M|S Cocktail Party
• May 9th - PARK AND PLAY IN ARGAY (TERRACE) - Modern Home Tour
• August 1st - NATURE AND LIGHT IN ARCHITECTURE - an Exploration of The Gordon House and The Mount Angel Library
• TBD - Modernism Lecture

In August, we will shine a spotlight on The Gordon House, by Frank Lloyd Wright, and The Mount Angel Library, by Alvar Aalto. Two internationally-renowned architects, each with just one project designed and built in Oregon. Regionalism has held a strong presence within Oregon Modernism through the selection of local, natural materials, bringing natural light in, and blurring the boundary between inside and outside. Although Frank Lloyd Wright and Alvar Aalto were from Wisconsin and Finland, respectively, they were drawn to the regional characteristics and environment special to Oregon.

   Event Details:

• Date: Saturday, August 1, 2026

• Time: 10 am - 12 pm and  1:30 pm - 3:30 pm

• Location: Silverton, Oregon, and St. Benedict, Oregon

Please Note: This Architect Spotlight Tour is ONLY included in a Modernist Society Membership.

“The mission of an architect is to help people understand how to make life beautiful, the world a better one for living in, and to give reason, rhyme, and meaning to life.” - Frank Lloyd Wright

Born in Wisconsin, Frank Lloyd Wright has been considered the ‘greatest American architect of all time,’ by the American Institute of Architects. He designed over 1,000 architectural works over a seven-decade career, including homes, skyscrapers, schools, and museums.

Wright’s residential projects were known for blending into the surrounding landscape, using architectural features such as expansive rooflines, floor-to-ceiling windows and doors, and natural building materials, including wood and stone. In line with Modernism, Wright sought to integrate form and function in his projects, aiming to create the stage for a better way of living.

Completed in 1964, twenty-six years after he introduced his Usonian House style, The Gordon House by Frank Lloyd Wright illustrates many of the same characteristics. 

Alvar Aalto was a Finnish architect known for treating each of his built projects as Gesamtkunstwerk - a total work of art. Together with his wife, Aino Marsio, also an architect, Aalto custom-designed many architectural details, including the furniture, light fixtures, and hardware for his projects. His expansive use of glass brought in abundant natural light and created opportunities for innovation. Similar to other modern architects, Aalto valued functional design and worked to develop forms that not only looked like art but also served a purpose. Aalto also contributed through his use of technology. Not only did he use wood for its simplicity, but he also developed fabrication methods to bend it for use in his designs.

Oregon is very lucky to have one of only two buildings designed by Alvar Aalto in the United States. He had a penchant for libraries, and when he learned about the site at Mount Angel, he agreed to the commission. The result is a visually stunning depiction of how Aalto created a work of art that becomes a stage for its own art, the library collection.