The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy has awarded a $5,000 Roland Reisley Grant to Kathryn Feldt, Executive Director of the Frank Lloyd Wright House in Ebsworth Park, to support Architecture as Sanctuary: Cultivating Compassion within Frank Lloyd Wright’s Spaces.

This innovative initiative explores how Wright’s designs can foster emotional connection, empathy, and well-being. Inspired by Roland Reisley’s belief in the healing power of Wright’s architecture, the project will examine how visitors naturally experience moments of compassion in Wright spaces and develop a site-specific interpretive model that can be adapted by other public Wright sites.

In collaboration with a certified practitioner from Stanford’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE), the project will include observation and data collection, the creation of a compassion-centered interpretive framework, and publication of findings for the broader Wright community.

The goals include deepening the emotional impact of site visits, supporting staff training rooted in compassion, and reframing preservation as a human-centered practice. Ultimately, the project seeks to position Wright’s architecture as a source of reflection and connection in a fragmented world.

The Roland Reisley Grant supports initiatives that enhance the sensory and experiential understanding of Frank Lloyd Wright’s work. This is the first grant made under this pilot program.