Introduction Futurist Architecture International Style F.L. Wright City Planning

William Martin House
A "Prarie House" - William Martin House, Oak Park, IL
Frank Lloyd Wright, 1903
    While Frank Llyod Wright did not connect himself with a particular style of architecture many of the themes that he used were quite influential and can still be found having an influence today. Wright was born on June 8, 1867. He started his formal education in 1885 at the University of Wisconsin School for Engineering. In 1887 he stopped his education without taking a degree and moved to Chicago, where he was consecutively a part of two architectural firms. In 1893 he started his own architectural practice, completing about fifty projects by 1901.

    His architectural style has had great influence in America and abroad. He blended ancient architectural elements, such as columns, with new construction technologies, such as reinforced concrete, to create his buildings. Between 1901 and 1911 he worked on a series of suburban houses called "Prairie Houses". These houses were low buildings with shallow roofs and often with an open interior plan. Many of the design elements found in these structures can be seen in modern suburban houses.

Fallingwater
Fallingwater (Edgar Kaufmann House), Bear Run, PA
Frank Lloyd Wright, 1934-37
    What can be considered Wright's most famous building, Fallingwater, was constructed from 1935 to 1939. In this house he took advantage of reinforced concrete to create a flowing, cantilevered design. His goal with the design was to put the inhabitants of the house in as close contact with nature as possible. A stream flows right through the structure and is accessible from within the house. Other houses have been built alongside nature, but this one is truly built into nature.


Johnson Wax Headquarters
Johnson Wax Headquarters, Racine, WI
Frank Lloyd Wright, 1936
    Another prominent building of Wright's is the Johnson Wax Headquarters. This building started construction in 1936 and was designed at the same time as Fallingwater. Much like Fallingwater the structure took heavy advantage of the strength and versatility of reinforced concrete. The interior columns were a unique reverse of what is typically seen with a wide, lily-pad top that narrows as it approaches the base. In a fairly radical move the building had very few exterior windows, instead relying on plastic tubing to bring in and diffuse outside light. The overall result was a style that had never before been seen.

    Given his propensity for radical new ideas Wright had his own ideas as to what the city of the future would look like. In his first book on city planning, The Disappearing City, he said that the city of the future would be everywhere and nowhere. In keeping with his science fiction slant he wanted a city that would be so greatly different from the cities of the past that we would not recognize it as a city at all. Many of his views were quite utopian and ignored the economics and power struggles that would otherwise impede his visions.


Resources
Frampton, Kenneth. Modern Architecture - A Critical History. pp 186-191. New York: Thames and Hudson Inc, 1985.

Delmar, JH. Wright on the Web. 10 Feb 2003. 8 Dec 2004. http://www.delmars.com/wright/flwright.htm

Howe, Jeffery. "Frank Lloyd Wright". A Digital Archive of American Architecture. 1998. Boston College. 8 Dec 2004. http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/fa267/FLW.html

"Frank Lloyd Wright". Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2004. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 8 Dec 2004. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Lloyd_Wright