Frank Lloyd Wright

Fallingwater, Ohiopyle, PA

To many, Frank Lloyd Wright is the greatest American architect. And while some may debate this, he is definitely one of the most well-known American architects. There can be very few people who do not recognize the image above, of Fallingwater. This home is the epitome of his architectural style -- incorporating the outside (nature) to the inside (the building and its interior).

Wright, born June 8, 1867, in Richland Center, WI, spent most of his 92 years creating buildings that were unlike anything anyone else had done before. From an early age, Wright was fascinated by nature and the ways in which all creatures interact with it. This influence would be the basis of his architectural style.

In the late 1880s, Wright moved to Chicago and eventually began working at the firm of Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan. Sullivan would end up being one of the biggest influences on Wright's career. (Sadly, the relationship did not end well, after Sullivan found out that Wright was designing houses on his own.)

Home and Office, Oak Park, IL

After the split with Sullivan, Wright opened his own firm in 1893 in Oak Park, IL. By this point, he had married Catherine Lee Tobin; they would have six children together. During this time, Wright designed and built their home and an office space for himself. The twenty years that he lived and worked in this space saw the beginnings of a new architectural style known as the Prairie Style.

This style would soon be seen in many homes throughout the Chicago area, before moving on to other major cities around the country. One of the finest examples of this style is the Robie House in Chicago.

Since I am not an expert in the field of architecture I will not try to explain the details of Wright's Prairie Style. I will let his own words do that:

The prairie has a beauty of its own, and we should recognize and accentuate this natural beauty, its quiet level. Hence, gently sloping roofs, low proportions, quiet sky lines, suppressed heavy-set chimneys and sheltering overhangs, low terraces and out-reaching walls sequestering private gardens.

Frederick C. Robie House, Chicago, IL

With the success of this new style, Wright would continue to mold and shape it into hundreds of different buildings, residential as well as commercial.

Taliesin, Spring Green, Wisconsin

He established the Taliesin Fellowship in 1932. Named after his home -- Taliesin, in Wisconsin -- Wright wanted to establish a form of apprenticeship for aspiring architects. When Wright moved west to Arizona (and Taliesin West), the fellowship moved with him. After his death in 1959, he left all of his personal and professional property to the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, which, in turn, established the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture. The program is still flourishing to this day.

Taliesin West, Scottsdale, Arizona

I've been lucky enough to visit several of Frank Lloyd Wright's creations, although there are plenty more that are still on my wish list! The list below is a sample of houses and buildings that are open for tours:

-- Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio, Oak Park, Illinois

-- Fallingwater, Mill Run, PA

-- Kentuck Knob, Dunbar, PA

-- Frederick C. Robie House, Chicago, IL

-- Taliesin, Spring Green, WI

-- Taliesin West, Scottsdale, AZ

-- Darwin D. Martin Home, Buffalo, NY

-- SC Johnson Headquarters, Racine, WI 



And for further reading, check out these titles:

-- An Autobiography by Frank Lloyd Wright
Wright takes a look at his life and how it influenced his work. First published in 1932.

-- The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright by William Allin Storrer
A chronological listing (including photos) of all of Wright's projects.

-- The Fellowship : The Untold Story of Frank Lloyd Wright & The Taliesin Fellowship by Roger Friedland and Harold Zellman
The authors take a look at some of the unique stories and scandals of Wright's life, including the creation of the Taliesin Fellowship.

-- Death In a Prairie House : Frank Lloyd Wright and The Taliesin Murders by William R. Drennan
Tragedy and scandal were a part of Wright's life. This book takes a look at the tragic death of his mistress and several other people at his newly-built home in Wisconsin.



-- Post by Tracy