Rare designation honors work of American architect and its ?outstanding universal value? to all humanity Frank Lloyd Wright helped define modern architecture in the United States. Now, after eight of his most famous buildings have just been named UNESCO World Heritage Sites, he?ll help define architecture for the world.
Wright?s work was honored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, on Sunday, becoming some of the only examples of 20th-century architecture to gain such recognition. Prior to the ongoing meeting of the World Heritage Committee in Baku, Azerbaijan, there were 1,092 UNESCO Heritage Sites around the globe, just 23 of which are located in the United States.
?These sites are the best of the best, and who wouldn?t want to part of that club"? says Lynda Waggoner, former director Fallingwater, who spearheaded the collaboration between Wright supporters and scholars to submit the buildings for review. ?They hold what is called by UNESCO ?outstanding universal value??value that transcends national borders and is important to all of humanity.? The slate of eight Wright buildings joins a rare class of modern architecture thus honored, which also includes select works by Le Corbusier. No other modern American architecture holds this distinction.

Joshua White
Hollyhock House in Los Angeles. Originally meant to be a large complex for owner Aline Barnsdall, the main home has become a Wright ...