nestled in the quiet city of san rafael, california, is frank lloyd wright‘s final commission and largest public project: marin county civic center. wright was selected in 1957 to design the massive building. then following the architect’s death two years later, the project was completed by wright’s protégé, aaron green. distinguished by its bright blue roof, the main structure of the civic center is composed of an 80 ft (24m) wide rotunda that joins an administration building and hall of justice, which measure 580 ft (180 m) and 880 ft (270 m) long respectively. 

frank lloyd wright's marin county civic center shot on film by skyler dahan designboom

courtyard of the civic center

images by skyler dahan

 

 

LA-based photographer, skyler dahan, first came across the civic center on a hiking trip in northern california. having done a little research on the building beforehand, he stopped and captured some photos of the mid-century architecture using a voightlander bessa III film camera and kodak portra film. ‘the moment I stepped foot inside I instantly felt transported back to the 60s. all the details echoed throughout every inch of the building. from the buttons on the elevators, to the phone booths, to the long hallways covered with arcs, to the calm courtyards, it felt less like a civic center and more like a museum. surprisingly enough the building still serves as an active civic center with a justice hall and other legal entities but as mentioned before, that all fades away the moment you walk in,’  comments dahan.

frank lloyd wright's marin county civic center shot on film by skyler dahan designboom

entrance

 

 

the photographer continues, ‘shooting in film was a bit limiting but overall I was happy with the outcome of the images. the authentic look of film (in my opinion) pays homage to a time in which the building was conceived and felt more natural to me.’

frank lloyd wright's marin county civic center shot on film by skyler dahan designboom

small atrium and seating area

frank lloyd wright's marin county civic center shot on film by skyler dahan designboom

phonebooth

frank lloyd wright's marin county civic center shot on film by skyler dahan designboom

hallways and atriums

frank lloyd wright's marin county civic center shot on film by skyler dahan designboom

offices

frank lloyd wright's marin county civic center shot on film by skyler dahan designboom

curved rooflights bring natural light inside

 

 

project info:

 

project name: marin county civic center

location: san rafael, california, the US

architect: frank lloyd wright

photography: skyler dahan

 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: lynne myers | designboom