Frank Lloyd wright once said that it is “just as desirable to build a chicken house as to build a cathedral.” Filmmaker Michael Miner took that to heart but, instead, built an unrealized doghouse of Wright’s design. Miner now wants to rebuild another forgotten FLW work—this time, a pavilion in Banff, Alberta. The building, a low-slung rustic timber structure with a cantilevered roof and art glass windows, was completed in 1914 and served as a gathering point for tourists visiting the national park. Due to extreme winters and flooding, the building deteriorated and was demolished 25 years after it opened. A sports field now occupies the site. Miner hopes, through grassroots fundraising by his nonprofit, the Frank Lloyd Wright Revival Initiative, to give the reconstructed pavilion back to the town. The reconstruction, which Miner estimates will cost $2.2 million Canadian dollars, has won preliminary support from the town council and is the subject of a feasibility study. RECORD spoke with Miner about the project.

Architectural Record: How did you first fall in love with FLW’s work?