Believed to be one of the greatest American architects of all time, Frank Lloyd Wright was a pioneer in our profession on many levels. He designed more than 1,000 structures and 500 projects over his career, which included original and innovative offices, churches, schools, museums and, what has inspired our firm in particular, residences. He was a leader of the Prairie School movement of architecture and developed the concept of the Usonian home, a distinctly national style of homes meant to be affordable and practical for middle-class clients. Wright even designed many of the interior elements of his projects, including furniture and stained glass.
After growing up in a farming town in Wisconsin and receiving a partial education from both Madison High School and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wright worked in Chicago for the architectural firms of Joseph Lyman Silsbee, Beers, Clay & Dutton and finally Adler & Sullivan under the direction of Louis Sullivan, before opening up his own firm in 1893. Some of the major influences of his designs included...
The design of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City took Wright 16 years
Wright's home and studio in Oak Park, IL which showcased his developing aesthetics
A design concept for Kentwood Public Library
- Louis Sullivan: Wright considered him to be his "Lieber Meister" (dear master), although they parted ways on sour terms after Sullivan discovered that Wright had been designing homes on the side during his apprenticeship at Adler & Sullivan, a breach of his employment contract
- Nature: relating to the shapes, forms, colors and patterns of plant life with a desire for his structures to be in harmony with their environment
- Music: Wright's father was a music teacher and shared his love of music with his children, especially that of his favorite composer, Johann Sebastian Bach.
- Japanese art, prints and buildings
Here are a few of Wrights innovative works:
Image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NYC_-_Guggenheim_Museum.jpg
Image source: http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/il/il0300/il0317/photos/061747pv.jpg
Image source: (top) http://www.thefranklloydwrighttour.com/wrightoakparktour.htm, (bottom) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Unity_Temple_Interior.jpg
Designed when Wright was 38 years old, Unity Temple was his first major public building and is considered one of the most significant projects of his career. Wright himself said, "that was my first expression of this eternal idea which is at the center and core of all true modern architecture. A sense of space, a new sense of space."
Image Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Robie_House.jpg
The Frederick C. Robie House in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, IL - considered to be the greatest example of the Prairie style, of which Wright was one of the leaders of the movement. The Prairie style was the first distinctly American architectural style. Wright designed all aspects of this home, including the interiors, windows, lighting, rugs and furniture.
Fallingwater was one of the most famous homes designed by Wright for the Kaufmann family. In 1991, members of the AIA named it the best all-time work of American architecture. The house stretches out over a 30' waterfall and captured everyone's imagination immediately. Fallingwater appeared on the cover of Time Magazine in January of '38.
Here are a few Visbeen Associates' projects inspired by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright...
Mason
Spyglass
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Lloyd_Wright
http://architecture.about.com/od/franklloydwright/g/usonian.htm
http://www.unitytemple-utrf.org/building.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robie_House
