Frank Lloyd Wright House in Ebsworth Park
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
Philadelphia, PA
Landscape Architecture
Site & Land Use Analysis
Park Design
Green Roof Design
The Krauss House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1951, is a well-preserved architecturally gem that is managed by the Frank Lloyd Wright House in Ebsworth Park (FLWHEP) non-profit. The home is notable for its complex geometry and strong relationship to the surrounding picturesque landscape of Ebsworth Park (formerly part of the home’s estate).
Tucked into the hillside beyond the Krauss House, the new Visitor Center sits in quiet dialogue with the Krauss home and landscape. The elegant pavilion-like Visitor Center includes: a flexible-use and rearrangeable reception, classroom, gallery and gift shop space; an administrative area; and library and archive space.
The circulation into and through the landscape was carefully studied. Proposed site improvements include: New entryway and driveway plantings that create multi-seasonal visual interest along the approach up to the home; a successional plan for the iconic Persimmon Grove though which the Krauss House is first seen; replanting key historical landscape elements; tucking the Visitor Center and parking area into the hillside (screened from initial view); rain garden to capture parking lot and roadway run-off; Visitor Center green roof; outdoor patio space and hillside amphitheater for larger events; pathway leading to the Krauss House; lawn area conversion to meadow; and new pathways leading through the meadow and forest areas of Ebsworth Park.