MARTIN HOUSE RESTORATION CORPORATION ANNOUNCES COMPLETION OF THE ELEANOR AND WILSON GREATBATCH PAVILION (3/09) FOR RELEASE ON: March 12, 2009 Contact: Mary F. Roberts Executive Director Martin House Restoration Corporation 716-856-3858 (office) 716-440-6250 (cell) MARTIN HOUSE RESTORATION CORPORATION ANNOUNCES COMPLETION OF THE "ELEANOR AND WILSON GREATBATCH PAVILION" Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural principles are renewed in the 21st century visitor center pavilion design by Toshiko Mori Architect BUFFALO, NEW YORK – The Martin House Restoration Corporation (MHRC) announced that the Eleanor and Wilson Greatbatch Pavilion will open to the public on March 18, 2009. Designed by architect Toshiko Mori, of New York, the Eleanor and Wilson Greatbatch Pavilion will join the historic and reconstructed buildings on the campus of Frank Lloyd Wright's Darwin D. Martin House complex. The 7,775 square foot pavilion is designed as a visitor center and interpretive gallery that will provide an appropriate welcome to guests touring the Martin House historic site. The building construction cost was approximately $5 million. When restoration of the National Historic Landmark is complete, the campus will offer the world a signature Frank Lloyd Wright destination. The Martin House Complex will attract millions of visitors and has been widely acclaimed by leading architecture and preservation experts for its significance and inspiring restoration story. MHRC president, John N. Walsh, III said, "Toshiko Mori Architect has designed a remarkable building that we are proud to present to our community and to our visitors. This matchless structure is a tribute to everyone involved who maintained a vision for distinction and excellence throughout the design process. Mori's pavilion extends the legacy of great architecture in Buffalo. This compelling 21st century design is a worthy companion to the Wright masterpiece. We look forward to warmly welcoming our guests within this beautiful enhancement to our campus." The building's name has been conferred by the directors of the East Hill Foundation in tribute to Eleanor and Wilson Greatbatch. Their gift honors the spirit of ingenuity and perseverance demonstrated by the invention by Wilson Greatbatch in 1958 of the implantable pacemaker, which has saved millions of lives worldwide. "Warren Greatbatch, president of the East Hill Foundation and eldest son of Eleanor and Wilson Greatbatch, said, "The Greatbatch family is extremely pleased to be playing a role in connecting our area's most valuable assets—science, innovation and architecture—and opening the door to economic development programs that can draw tourists from across the country and abroad to Western New York." Major donors who have also made significant contributions are the John R. Oishei Foundation, the Empire State Development Corporation, and the County of Erie. Robert D. Gioia, president of the John R. Oishei Foundation said, "The Oishei Foundation's trustees have recognized the potential the Martin House has to draw visitors from every corner of the globe. This new welcome center elevates the project and Buffalo as well. It is a critical lynchpin to the importance of cultural tourism as economic development, and is a tribute to the architectural significance of Wright's work, and the Martin House in particular." Beginning March 18th, tours of the historic Martin House will begin at the Greatbatch Pavilion and conclude in the highly acclaimed Wisteria Shop which will continue to operate within the carriage house during tour hours. All purchases support the restoration and education programs at the site. ABOUT THE BUILDING Mori's highly inventive design renews Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural philosophies in a 21st-century version of his "organic principles." The building is conceived as a transparent, glass-walled pavilion that integrates with its landscape and provides a dramatic view of the Martin House campus. The design seeks to enhance the public's appreciation of the Martin House through the element of contrast rather than through imitation. For example, proportions, structural relationships and geometries that Wright used in the Martin House are echoed in the pavilion design, such as in the dramatically cantilevered roof and pier system. But the inverted hip roof, which references the Martin House roof in scale and form, contrasts the historic building by turning the protective, sheltering element upward in a gesture of welcome to the public. As well, the pavilion extends Wright's lifelong interest in innovation through the exploration of new materials, technologies and techniques. Mark Mendell, FAIA, MRAIC, MHRC vice president, who has chaired the committee overseeing the design of the pavilion and has guided the project from its inception, said "the building is a robust, 21st century achievement of exceptional quality. The building's elegance, sophistication and graceful simplicity belie the refinement of its innovative architectural and engineering systems design, which make it, in addition to an important contribution to the legacy of outstanding Buffalo architecture, a true technical tour de force. " Exhibits within the pavilion, designed by the graphic design firm, 2x4, in coordination with TMA, will feature interpretive displays as well as digital programs designed to enhance the story of how great architecture by Frank Lloyd Wright intersected with Darwin D. Martin's enlightened patronage, and will explore the context of their times. The landscape design by Quennell Rothschild and Partners, which will be planted later this spring, integrates the elegant modern vocabulary of TMA's glass-walled pavilion with the yet-to-be-restored gardens of the Martin House complex. The paved exterior courtyard, canopied by a grid of Honey Locust trees, serves as a gathering space where visitors may contemplate and enjoy the Martin House property. "Our goal is to restate the significance of Wright's contributions to the legacy of modern architecture and to express a ‘higher ideal of unity'," Mori stated. "Current ecological concerns are focusing us once again to reconsider the spirit of his principle of Organic Architecture; that is architecture that is integral and intrinsic, that embraces technological advances that will work with natural forces and that has poetic intentions to lift the human spirit." ABOUT TOSHIKO MORI Toshiko Mori, FAIA, who is principal of Toshiko Mori Architect in New York City since 1981, is the Robert P. Hubbard Professor in the Practice of Architecture in the Department of Architecture, Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Mori's specific area of interest is in materials and fabrication methods for architecture, using both new and traditional materials and techniques to integrate architecture with light and landscape. Mori's research-based approach to design has been commended in invitations to lectures and exhibitions around the world and in awards such as the 2008 American Institute of Architects (AIA), New York Chapter, Project Honor Award for the Syracuse Center of Excellence, the 2007 New York City Art Commission, Design Award for Poe Park Visitor Center, and the 2005 AIA, New York Chapter Medal of Honor, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In the fall of 2004, Mori's competition-winning design for the Martin House visitor pavilion was exhibited at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in the "Mori on Wright" exhibition, and in 2005 at the Heinz Architecture Center of the Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh in the "Renewing Wright" exhibition. ABOUT THE MARTIN HOUSE COMPLEX The Martin House complex, designed and built from 1903-05, is being restored to its 1907 condition. Wright scholars consider the Martin House a significant turning point in his Prairie House concept. Wright himself referred to the Martin House as his "opus," and kept its site plan pinned above his drafting board for decades. The complex consists of the main Martin House, a pergola, conservatory and carriage house, the Barton House and a gardener's cottage (added in 1909). The Martin House complex is the largest of Wright Prairie Houses in existence; its six buildings total nearly 32,000 sq. feet. Wright designed 394 art glass windows for the complex, more than for any other work in his career. Restoration of the Martin House complex is a multi-phased project, during which the MHRC has already reconstructed the previously-demolished pergola, conservatory and carriage house, and fully restored the Martin House exterior. Now entering Phase V, the MHRC is looking toward the final major phase of historic restoration by refurbishing the interior of the Martin House. This work includes updating all mechanical, electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems. On a parallel track, Frank Lloyd Wright designed furnishings and art glass will be restored or replicated, and the grounds will be returned to the historic landscape. The Martin House Restoration Corporation is a New York not-for-profit corporation founded in 1992. It has a 25-member board of directors and nearly 400 active volunteers. The historic Martin House site is open for tours on a year round basis. More information about this National Historic Landmark, including a style guide and tour schedule can be found at www.darwinmartinhouse.org . A tour schedule accompanies this media kit.