Designing Buildings - User contributions [en]

Frank Lloyd Wright

2016-08-11T17:47:10Z

Stuart Harris:

= Early life and career =

Frank Lloyd Wright was one of the most influential architects of his time. He modernised American architecture and brought to America a unique style, far different from the housing which could be seen in Europe in the 20th century.

He was born in 1867 in Wisconsin and from an early age developed a great love for the outdoors and nature, which is reflected in his work.

He originally studied civil engineering, but he desperately wanted to become an architect, so he left university and began an apprenticeship with a local firm.

His talent was soon recognised and before long he was designing buildings whilst working for Chicago architects, Adler and Sullivan. Louis Sullivan who designed one of the world’s first skyscrapers, the Wainwright Building had visions of modern design in an American style and this greatly influenced Frank Lloyd Wright.

Frank opened up his own office in 1893 and he said he wanted his buildings to become part of the environment, so they looked as if they should be there, not as if they had been put there. He said “The good building is not one that hurts the landscape, but one which makes the landscape more beautiful than it was before the building was built.”

It is said he spent a long time studying the landscape before he came up with a design, so that he could get to know how nature could integrate with the building he was designing.

He eventually developed what is known as his prairie style. These were homes built to a modern design with plenty of windows to let in natural light. They had overhanging eaves and pitched roofs. The interiors were open plan and often had a central chimney. He used glass or different levels to partition living spaces.

= The Robie House =

One of the best examples of Frank Wright’s Prairie style house is the Robie House. The influence was said to be America’s Mid-West with its flat grasslands and wide open spaces. It was designed for Frederick C. Robie, who specifically stated he wanted to be able to see out, without his neighbours being able to see in.

Frank Wright gave Robie what he wanted by building a large cantilever over the porch, which stretched out away from the building’s structure. He brought light into the house with the use of hundreds of pieces of coloured and clear glass, held in place by metal joints. This gave Robie the privacy he wanted.

He also designed a floating balcony and this together with the overhangs are the only parts of the house to have the structural support of steel beams. It’s horizontal brick and limestone exterior and the use of overhanging eaves give the building tranquillity and simplicity, in a very modern setting that harmonises perfectly with the outdoors.

= Falling Water =

Another of Frank Wright’s famous designs is Falling Water. The architect was in his 60s when he was asked to design a home on a piece of land in the countryside of Pittsburgh. One of the features of the land was a waterfall and Edgar J. Kaufman, who owned the land and had asked Frank to design a holiday home for him and his wife, overlooking this waterfall.

Frank decided otherwise and designed the house on top of the waterfall, so that it cascaded underneath it. It was built using reinforced steel and stone and was at the time, a feat of engineering. Frank Wright used cantilevered terraces and upside down T shaped beams.

He created the building with stairs leading down to a small deck where you could actually stand in the middle of the stream. It’s now one of the most famous houses in America and thousands of tourists visit the area every year. It really does show how Frank Lloyd Wright was able to design buildings that blended in beautifully with nature.

Unfortunately Falling Waters has been beset with problems over the years, mainly due to the fact that his cantilevered beams weren’t reinforced enough and cables are to be installed beneath the concrete beams which will be tightened to straighten them and stop any sagging. Extra steel was used at the time of the building’s construction, but obviously not enough.

= The Guggenheim =

Falling Water wasn’t Frank’s retirement project, he carried on working and his last design was both loved and hated by critics throughout America. The building was New York’s Guggenheim Museum.

It was built using 7,000 tons of concrete and 700 tons of structural steel. The concrete was applied as a spray, rather than being poured and Frank insisted that the building’s outside walls were “smoothed to a sand-finished surface.”

The building itself is a pyramid type curved design finished off with a glass dome. It rises to six storeys and visitors walk a continuous ramp overlooking an open atrium.

Unfortunately, neither Guggenheim or Frank Lloyd Wright lived to see what is now one of the world’s most famous buildings, which today looks just as modern as it did when it opened in 1959.

--[[User:Stuart Harris|Stuart Harris]] 18:47, 11 Aug 2016 (BST)

[[Category:History]]

Frank Lloyd Wright

2016-08-11T17:44:48Z

Stuart Harris: Removed protection from "Steel and Concrete – Frank Lloyd Wright and 3 of his Iconic Buildings"

Frank Lloyd Wright

2016-08-11T17:42:50Z

Stuart Harris: Protected "Steel and Concrete – Frank Lloyd Wright and 3 of his Iconic Buildings" ([edit=author] (indefinite) [move=author] (indefinite))

Frank Lloyd Wright

2016-08-11T17:41:44Z

Stuart Harris: Created page with "= Early life and career = Frank Lloyd Wright was one of the most influential architects of his time. He modernised American architecture and brought to America a unique style, f..."