Photo : A photo of the living room prior to Reed ’ s ownership and renovations , courtesy of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy .
“ A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE ASKED ‘ ARE YOU GOING TO RESTORE THE FLOORS , FIX THE CRACKS ?’ AND THE ANSWER IS NO . BECAUSE I WANT STUDENTS OF ARCHITECTURE , INTERIOR DESIGN , DESIGN AND ENGINEERING TO UNDERSTAND THE FAULTS .”
-MIA REED
“ When I was 10 years old I wrote my fifth grade essay , entitled ‘ Frank Lloyd Wright : Rebel in Concrete ,’” Reed says .
Still , even with her unique background and avid interest in Wright , with a project as big and historically important as this , Reed is glad she isn ’ t working alone .
“ The entire architectural department from [ RDG Planning and Design from Des Moines ] is coming here . Two honors students from the graduate program from Iowa State University , two department heads from ISU , Siobhan Spain from Mainframe Studios – everyone is coming here . We ’ re all going to do a big pow-wow on architecture and what can we do here ,” Reed says .
That sort of collaboration between students and professionals alike is one of Reed ’ s main goals in working to restore the house and open it to the public . She wants people to be able to visit the house and to learn from it .
Reed ’ s immediate next step moving forward is to continue her work to restore the floor to its original state . In the long run , after the existing house is restored , Reed plans to go a step further and add on the terrace that was designed for the house by Wright , but that was never built .
When Reed opens the house to the public this September , it will serve as the Alsop Art Gallery and will feature the architectural archives of Frank Lloyd Wright and Charles C . Reed , Jr . Reed ’ s father . The gallery will also house well-known , one person art exhibits .
Above all , Reed says that she ’ s grateful for the process , in awe of the house , and eager to continue her work of recreating one of Wright ’ s famous American family homes .
“ I ’ m thankful ,” Reed says . “ I feel blessed , and it ’ s cool , and I can ’ t wait to see what happens next .”
8 Now & Then