Florida Southern College is getting a school of architecture.
FSC President Anne Kerr announced Thursday evening that, thanks to a generous anonymous donation, the college is creating the new school on a campus noted for having the largest collection of architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s buildings in one place anywhere in the world.
What’s happening: The Florida Southern College School of Architecture is scheduled to open to undergraduates in the fall of 2025, with a master’s program expected to begin in 2028.
The four-year Bachelor of Architecture program will be housed in the college’s Ordway Industrial Arts Building, one of 15 structures Wright designed from the 1930s through the 1950s. The college will start searching for a dean to lead the new school next month.
A mystery: The benefactor and the amount of the gift were not disclosed Thursday evening during a dinner for major donors, architects, engineers, local dignitaries and college officials.
Program details
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Tracey Tedder said the program will combine academic rigor with practical experiences, emphasizing historic preservation and sustainability. Students will get to:
- Use state-of-the-art facilities, including design studios, fabrication labs, and a research center.
- Design and build shelter projects.
- Intern with leading architectural firms.
- Work side-by-side with industry professionals as early as their freshman year.
- Study abroad in Florence, Italy, and Tokyo, Japan.
Tedder said the School of Architecture will be guided by an internationally acclaimed advisory board.
The context
Currently, there are only six universities in Florida that offer degrees recognized by the National Architectural Accrediting Board:
- Bachelor of Architecture: Florida Agriculture & Mechanical University, Florida Atlantic University and the University of Miami.
- Master of Architecture: Florida Agriculture & Mechanical University, Florida International University, the University of Florida and the University of South Florida.
Several other institutions offer pre-architecture programs or design-related degrees, including the University of Central Florida, but those do not lead directly to professional certification.
Slideshow: Click through to see photos of the campus
Photos by Kimberly C. Moore, LkldNow | Kimberly C. Moore, LkldNow 
Inside the Ordway | Kimberly C. Moore, LkldNow 
| Kimberly C. Moore, LkldNow 
The Esplanade | Kimberly C. Moore, LkldNow 
| Kimberly C. Moore, LkldNow 
Covered walkways, called the Esplanade, are meant to evoke the orange trees that once filled the campus grounds. | Kimberly C. Moore, LkldNow 
| Kimberly C. Moore, LkldNow 
The back wall of a classroom shows some of the custom blocks Frank Lloyd Wright used in his buildings. | Kimberly C. Moore, LkldNow 
Frank Lloyd Wright called his buildings at Florida Southern College the “Children of the Sun” campus. | Kimberly C. Moore, LkldNow 
The dome of the planetarium is seen behind the Annie Pfeiffer Chapel and Danforth Chapel. | Kimberly C. Moore, LkldNow 
Colored blocks inside the Annie Pfeiffer Chapel. | Kimberly C. Moore, LkldNow 
Another view of the Annie Pfeiffer Chapel. | Kimberly C. Moore, LkldNow 
The Annie Pfeiffer Chapel has a 65-foot bell tower and massive vaulted skylights. | Kimberly C. Moore, LkldNow 
The Annie Pfeiffer Chapel is shown behind the Esplanade walkway. | Kimberly C. Moore, LkldNow 
Inside the newly restored Planetarium at Florida Southern College.
Deeper dive
Florida Southern College was founded as a Methodist seminary in 1852. It moved to its current location on the north shore of Lake Hollingsworth in 1921. It is the oldest private college in Florida.
The college’s then-president, Ludd Spivey wanted the little-known, small college to be transformed through modern architecture and so he reached out to Wright, who invited Spivey to his Wisconsin home.
Wright is known for pioneering an architectural style that “connects buildings harmoniously with the natural landscape around them,” according to FSC’s website. In fact, 28 of Wright’s buildings are National Historic Landmarks, including those on the campus of Florida Southern College.
Wright first visited the Lakeland campus on May 8, 1938, and created 18 building designs over two decades, with at least 15 structures funded and built, one posthumously. They are:
- The Annie Pfeiffer Chapel, with a 65-foot bell tower and vaulted skylights.
- Three identical seminar buildings.
- The E.T. Roux Library, which was repurposed as Thad Buckner Administration Building in 1970 when the college’s book collection became too large.
- The Emile E. Watson Administration Building.
- The Benjamin Fine Administration Building.
- The Water Dome, which was started in 1948 and completed in 2007.
- The Lucius Pond Ordway Industrial Arts Building.
- The Fletcher Theatre, the only theater-in-the-round of Wright’s design ever constructed.
- The Polk County Science Building.
- The Planetarium, Wright’s only constructed planetarium. Locals know the planetarium’s round dome as the base for the beloved Dean Holiday snowman during December.
- The William H. Danforth Chapel, which contains Wright’s last executed stained-glass window designs.
- The Esplanade, a series of covered walkways across campus.
- And the Usonian Faculty House, completed in 2013.
Modern additions
Kerr is retiring this year after 20 years at the helm. During her term as president, three distinct buildings were designed by architect Jeff Baker, engineered by the Lunz Group and built by Rodda Construction.
They now stand alongside, but apart from, Wright’s work. All are situated along Lake Hollingsworth Drive and feature Baker’s signature red beams, red balls and large picture windows. They include the France Admissions Center and the Carole and Marcus Weinstein Computer Sciences Center.
A logical fit
FSC is a mecca for architecture aficionados, many of whom travel to Lakeland just to see it. It has appeared on The Princeton Review’s top 20 “Most Beautiful Campus” national listing for 13 consecutive years. And is frequently named one of the best colleges in the Southeast by U.S. News and World Report.
Baker, the college’s historic preservation artist-in-residence, spoke Thursday evening.
“I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would ever see this day,” Baker said, to the chuckles of the audience. “It’s not every day that we’re able to make history. Indeed it is not every life that is able to make history. Tonight, history is being made. The creation of this new School of Architecture is a wonderful thing. I’ve heard it said that it may be the most significant thing Florida Southern has done in the past 50 years.”
Bob Fryer, chairman of the FSC board for 20 years, was elated Thursday evening as he drove a reporter to the campus’ planetarium.
“I think it’s amazing,” he said. “It’s been a dream for a long, long time and, thanks to financial help, the dream has come true.”
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