School officials for Florida Southern College have decided to restore the historic Frank Lloyd Wright collection on its campus using new technology.
They plant to start with the Annie Pfeiffer Chapel on campus.
“Annie Pfeiffer Chapel is one of our key pieces," said Florida Southern College Finance VP, Terry Dennis. "It was completed in 1941.”
Pieces of the building have fallen off over time and school leaders say it’s expensive to fix.
“Water has gotten in and rusted the rebar," said Dennis. "It’s expanded and then blown out part of the block so we’ve got sections of block that just the whole front facade is completely blown out.”
Architect Jeff Baker, who is working with the college, said he’s going to use 3D printers to repair the building.
“We’re able to create these patterns that are made essentially out of plastic," Baker said. "We’re able to put those in the molds, form the cement around them and create blocks.”
He said the 73-year-old building was made for this type of technology.
“What’s really amazing to me to a certain extent is Wright’s buildings almost foresaw the use of these types of machines,” said Baker.
The school received a $50,000 grant from the Florida division of Historical Resources to fund this project. Work is set to be completed by October.