Short history paper about modern architecture ( 1 Page )
Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) --recognized in 1991 by the American Institute of Architects as "the greatest American architect of all time."
Architect
Interior Designer
Self-promoter
Experimentalist; designs often ahead of construction methods and materials;
Educator (Taliesen and Taliesen West still operate as architecture school)
Designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works
Leader of the Prairie School movement of architecture and developed the concept of the Usonian home, his unique vision for urban planning in the United States.
Organic Architecture
"So here I stand before you preaching organic architecture: declaring organic architecture to be the modern ideal and the teaching so much needed if we are to see the whole of life, and to now serve the whole of life, holding no traditions essential to the great TRADITION. Nor cherishing any preconceived form fixing upon us either past, present or future, but instead exalting the simple laws of common sense or of super-sense if you prefer determining form by way of the nature of materials..." Frank Lloyd Wright, written in 1954
Materials, motifs, and basic ordering principles continue to repeat themselves throughout the building as a whole. The idea of organic architecture refers not only to the buildings' literal relationship to the natural surroundings, but how the buildings' design is carefully thought about as if it were a unified organism. Geometries throughout Wright’s buildings build a central mood and theme. Essentially organic architecture is also the literal design of every element of a building: From the windows, to the floors, to the individual chairs intended to fill the space. Everything relates to one another, reflecting the symbiotic ordering systems of nature.
Product of a broken home.
Playing with blocks as a child said to be significant.
Went to high school in Madison, WI, then to UW, dropped out without graduating. Received an honorary doctorate in 1955.
Migrated to Chicago in 1887.
Apprentice at Adler and Sullivan, 1889-1893.
Taliesen: family land, then home, then school; Spring Green, WI
Taliesen: family land, then home, then school; Spring Green, WI
SC Johnson World Headquarters in 1937:
FLW and Mr. Johnson during construction and
Testing the loads the columns could carry
Windgspread: Johnson family home in Racine, WI
Wingspread, completed in 1939; largest Prairie Style home built; 14,000 square feet
Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1938 as a cultural, governmental and recreational building, he reworked the design several times between 1938 and 1958 before signing off on the final plans seven weeks before his death in 1959. His last project. After nearly 60 years of debate Monona Terrace opened in Madison, on Lake Monona, on July 18, 1997.
Monona Terrace
“Since opening its doors on October 21, 1959, the architectural icon has inspired countless visitors and is widely seen as Wright’s masterpiece. Throughout the anniversary year, we invite you to visit and celebrate with us.
The Guggenheim’s spiral ramp, rising to a domed skylight, provides a unique space for contemporary art. With his radical, open design, Wright created a true “temple of spirit” where art and architecture meet.”
Mature Organic: Fallingwater
Built from 1934 to 1937 for Mr. and Mrs. Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr., at Mill Run, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. Designed to place the occupants close to the natural surroundings, with a stream and waterfall running under part of the building. A series of cantilevered balconies and terraces, using limestone for all verticals and concrete for the horizontals. The house cost $155,000, including the architect's fee of $8,000. Kaufmann's own engineers argued that the design was not sound, Wright overruled them but the contractor secretly added extra steel to the horizontal concrete elements. In 1994, Robert Silman developed a plan to restore the structure. In March 2002, post-tensioning of the lowest terrace was completed
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