Paste your essay in here…Frank Lloyd Wright Outline
Frank Lloyd Wright’s innovative designs transformed him into arguably one of the best American architects that ever lived. His architectural style primarily consisted of creating buildings that blended with the environment and enhanced the surrounding environment. This architectural style is known as organic architecture. Every building Wright created “belonged” exactly where it was, because Wright catered each building to the surrounding environment. Wright used materials from locations near make his buildings more in tune with nature and the surrounding environment. These subtle and important approaches provided a new approach for architectural design. The purpose of this paper is to examine some of the works of Frank Lloyd Wright across settings to identify his unique ideas and contributions to each building and location to enhance the beauty and fit of each.
Body 1: Prairie architecture
Prairie style architecture was the first architectural style that Wright independently designed. Major characteristics on the exteriors of prairie houses include an emphasis on horizontal lines, overhanging eaves, and consistent windows. The horizontal lines create an effect that that allows the exterior to blend with the ground below. A skyscraper, for example, would not feel very in tune with nature. That is why prairie houses must not be too extravagant. His style of overhanging eaves gives both practical and cosmetic appeal. The practical appeal is that it can shield the windows and the houses from sun in the hot summers. This consideration of temperature in the building was particularly important before the use of large central Air Conditioning units in the early 1900’s. The consistent windows on the interior give the effect of being outside because there is a consistent view of the outside. On the interior, open floor plans are very prevalent, and all rooms connect together to create a space that flows. Open floor plans are still very prevalent in homes today, and Wright was one of the pioneers of the open floor plan.
One of Wrights first independent notable works was a house made for William Winslow in River Forest, Illinois. Looking at the exterior of the front of the house, one can see that this is typical prairie style architecture. The exterior is dominated by horizontal lining, symmetry and geometrical simplicity. There is a large overhanging eave over the consistent horizontal roof. For this house, the overhanging eave partially shields the second story windows, which helps to combat the sun in the summertime and creates a bond between the house and the ground. On the backside of the house, the house is a complete contrast to the front. The backside is inconsistent, and Wright introduces arches and circular shapes as well as horizontals. In the interior, the fireplace is located centrally, and the open floor plan allows the rooms to flow with the fireplace. DO WE KNOW WHAT THE OWNER THOUGHT ABOUT THE HOUSE? DID HE LIKE IT?
Later in Wrights career, Wright designed a house for Frederick C. Robie. Robie’s plan for the house was to allow privacy from the Chicago streets and room for his kids to play. This long, horizontal lot played right into Wright’s strengths. Wright created another house with a focus around horizontals and overhanging eaves. The roof on the second floor is among Wright’s boldest and longest horizontally yet. He had to create steel beams to make the exaggerated overhanging roof possible. The first level of the house contained the playroom and the garage. The playroom for the kids was very private and you could not see into the house from the street. The second floor consists of the kitchen, dining room, and living room. This floor plan created the perfect solution so the kids could play in backyard with privacy and safety of walls and parents could get a break by going to second floor inside. The bedrooms were put on the third floor to give the focus of the house to the first and second floors. SAME: DID THE OWNER LOVE IT?
Body 2: Taliesin, Ennis house, falling water
Wright had built many clients houses, and finally wanted to work on a house of his own. The plot of land he decided to build on was previously owned by his family. It is built on top of a small mountain overlooking the vast, grassy terrain below. This project meant a great deal to Wright, because of the land’s ties to his family. Wright created a house that beautifully bonds together with the mountain it sits upon. For this project, the whole bond is truly greater than the sum of its parts. The bond between the surrounding area and the house is comparable to the bond Wright wanted to create with his family. In order to create this piece, Wright used as many materials as possibly from the surrounding area. Stone and timber was used from nearby so walking through the house felt more authentic. Entering the house was not exiting nature, but it was entering a new experience of nature through Wright’s lens. When entering the house, one will find that the windows are linear and low, and this creates a continuous view of the outside. This makes one feel as they are still in touch with nature inside the comfort of a home. Additionally, the elevated view from the top of the mountain allows for an amazing view of the grasslands below. NEED MORE HERE
The house was built so servants could live together with the family. Wright let his servants stay on the same floor as he did. The primary theme with this house is bonding, and it was Wrights goal to create a bond with the servants. Unfortunately, one servant with an obsession with knives plotted to kill the residents of Taliesin. Wright was away at the time, but the servant managed to kill Wright’s mistress and many children, before setting the whole building on fire. This represents a significant turning point in Wright’s life, and Wright decided to move to Los Angeles, California.
In California, Frank Lloyd Wright created a Mayan Revival style house. The house is made of 27,000 patterned and carved concrete blocks. The blocks were made of granite and sand from nearby areas, which Wright was consistent about his whole career. The house is 6,200 square feet and features 3 bedrooms and baths. The main focus of the interior is unpredictability and lack of lots of open space. The house has been described as “feeling like a cave system”. The house has been used in many films as a place for low light, tense situations. There’s a sense of unknown that the house emits that makes it so interesting and is a major reason why the house is timeless.
A few years later, the end of the 1920’s came. The Stock Market crash of 1929 took a large toll on Wright and business for him. For three whole years he was out of work. No one had the money to buy extravagant housing. Wright decided to create cash flow by training new architects. A connection through a trainee was the precursor to Wright’s most famous projects ever, Fallingwater.
Edgar Kaufman had a piece of land overlooking a small waterfall that he wanted a house built on. Wright had a much different idea for the house. Wright decided to build the house on top of the waterfall. This had never been done before in architecture. Conventionally, architects would create a house or building that overlooks a natural wonder like an ocean, lake, or stream. Wright knew he could blend both the waterfall and the house together to create something much greater. Inside the house, an open floor plan is present, and smooth stone flooring reminds one of the flowing waters below the house. The long, consistent windows immerse you in the environment around you. The windows are similar to Taliesin, but functionally offer a slightly more immersive experience in the forest. The interior is quite colorful and contrast nicely with the gray stone floor in the home. Additionally, the colors match well in the summertime with the vibrant and green forest in the surrounding area. Wright’s philosophy of organic architecture was perfectly calculated with this project, and his big risks of attacking conventional thought paid off with Fallingwater.
After Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright shifted his focus toward much larger projects such as office buildings and museums. His most famous office building was the Johnson Wax Building. Wright usual move is to work with the environment surrounding the land to create an immersive building. In this particular case, the surrounding area was dull and stumped Wright. Wright decided to create his own world inside the office building to give the employees an immersive work environment. The main feature of the Johnson Wax Headquarters is the large, circular overhanging tops held up by a column. Wright wanted to bring nature in this building and the large columns could represent large trees or mushrooms. This gives an employee more stimulation than a traditional, crammed cubicle would. These columns were such an architectural wonder that the city did not trust that they were safe. The columns were proven to be safe after the required amount of weight was put on the columns. Frank Lloyd Wright was extremely angry about the tests, so Wright kept putting on more and more weight and the columns continued to hold up.
Wright’s last work was the Solomon R Guggenheim museum in Manhattan, New York City. The design of the museum similar to a cone with the bottom half cut off. This is extremely bold for an art museum and any building for that matter. It looks like no other building in Manhattan and puts the skyscrapers to shame. Not only is it bold for Manhattan but also for an art museum. Most art museums are disorganized, and very hard to navigate. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, in Manhattan, has so many rooms it is impossible to find your way. Wright takes removes all of these problems for tourists. The cone shape of the building brings an element of functionality with it. It allows for the viewer to start at the bottom of the ramp and go all the way to the top of the museum. Some people complain that the architectural wonder of the building is so impressive that it takes away some of the most famous artwork in history!