Corbin Education Center at Wichita State University Preview

The structure consists of two L-shaped buildings held together by the esplanade. There are two distinct functional areas: administration to the north and curriculum to the south. The building is 40,000 sq. ft, including sheltered outdoor balconies and terraces. The belvedere roof is 28 feet from the ground and two 60-foot-tall light needles stand in the center section of the two buildings. The building rests on 200 concrete bell columns and grade beams with a reinforced concrete slab covering the beams. Steel encased fireproof columns and brick walls support the steel framed, reinforced concrete roof and balconies. Wright’s intentional design of “intersecting planes” is evident here. When asked about the great size of the glass (more than 16 feet tall in most areas), Wright said, “Great size is a characteristic of Modern Glass, and windows as we used to see them as holes in the walls, will be seen no more.”

For Wright, the primary purpose of the exterior space is to “propel one’s spirit into the landscape.” At Corbin, the courtyard serves to create an entire indoor and outdoor composition while connecting it to the earth, the sky, and the landscape. The water feature is placed in the center of the composition. At 60 feet above the floor, the spires serve to join the building with the earth and the sky. The ornamental steelwork of the spires becomes like a flower, illustrating a key point in Wright’s architecture: “His buildings are like the plants that grow from within and come up from the ground and into the light.”

The fountain was originally designed and built into the east end of the pool but because of wind and other weather-related issues, it was relocated to the west end where it is more protected. The pool has been used for many years for the Wichita State University Battle of the Colleges rubber duck races.

Entry door handles’ repeat the curve detail found in the glass “walls”.

This space was meant to be open and encourage collaboration with built-in furniture and clock.

Materials include brick and red oak woodwork. The red tile floors are reproductions of the original red tile that Wright selected (the original contained asbestos and was replaced). An informational panel (reprint of the Corbin Education Center building brochure) and a dedication to President Corbin hang on the walls.

Frank Lloyd Wright considered his architecture as “Frozen Music,” and every element associated with the building was considered a “note” in the entire composition, including the furniture. Frank Lloyd Wright’s firm, Taliesin Associated Architects, designed most of the original furnishings for Corbin, and Mrs. Wright selected and oversaw the interior finishes.

From the “compression” of the Lobby, visitors are “released” to high ceilings and natural light from floor to ceiling windows, providing the sense of bringing “outside in”. Exterior plantings enhance the integration of nature. Screens on windows allow for light while shading sun. There were many free-standing pieces of furniture designed by Taliesin apprentices along with the built-in desks and shelves designed by Wright. Most office spaces have curved, built-in typing desks. The evolution of office machinery and technology has caused challenges in these spaces.

The corner window was indicative of an idea Wright had early in his career early in his career that ”light came in where it never came in before, vision went out, and you had screens instead of walls here the walls vanished as walls and the box vanished as a box “ The architecture of Corbin is a mature manifestation of this innovation, with mitered corner glass, and walls that are reduced to their simplest element-light screens.

Another connection to Frank Lloyd Wright in Wichita is the Ablah Library on the Wichita State University campus. It was designed by John Hickman, who was a student of Frank Lloyd Wright and provided oversight of the Corbin building construction.

Frank Lloyd Wright designed a home for Wichita Beacon publisher and Kansas Governor Henry Allen in 1916. The home, located at 255 N. Roosevelt, is now a museum and open for public tours. www.flwrightwichita.org

John Hickman, student of Frank Lloyd Wright, also designed the Century II Performing Arts Center.