Technology and Space:Frank Lloyd Wright’s Martin House

Justine Andrus#0330770

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Martin House

Body I - Darwin D. Martin as House First and Second Floors

Mind Spine LungsCirculatory RectumMouthMuscles HeartFaceBone Marrow

Form I - Frank Lloyd Wright’s Grids

tarten grid

4 x 4 grid

Floor Plan

Like many of his prairie houses, Frank Lloyd Wrights Martin House was conceived as both an expression of his client and his ideals about moving away from the standard box. Compared to other large-scale houses, or complexes, designed by Wright, the Martin House was unique because of the close relationship between Darwin D. Martin and his architect. Although a tentative beginning, Martin and Wright established an almost continuous letter writing exchange throughout their friendship that lasted about three decades. From the start, Martin and his older brother William discovered Wright’s work just outside Chicago and quickly became enamored with the beauty of his homes. What is intriguing about Wright’s design for Martin is that the creation was formulated over years, not months. The more Wright knew of his client, the more detail he felt needed to be inscribed into the home itself. His idea of each house being a portrait of those living in it meant many things for American Architecture. There was a strong belief by Wright that every house should be different because every person was diverse and the home should reference the people living inside. This was more possible in the vastness of the new world than in Europe which had a limited landscape and had already established styles of it’s own. Unfortunately, this home was only characterized by one of the members residing in the home, Mr. Martin, at the exclusion of all others, especially Mrs. Martin. As the Mrs. Lived with deficient sight, and had since childhood, it seems in-ordinately cruel that Wright created such a dark and potentially dangerous interior for her home that also included many sharp angles. Another problem was the massive up-keep required over the years after construction to keep the house in working order, which ultimately resulted in the necessity of a possible rental or sale as discussed in one of the later years letters to Wright.

Martin and his wife Isabelle, as Wright, were diminutive. Both bodies informed the height of the house, along with the general desire Martin had for privacy. Few gatherings occurred at the home, most of which only included close family, therefore a feeling of coziness, and closeness was achieved, despite the rather large footprint of the house and size of the rooms. Martin’s personality was inscribed in the house too. His attention for detail and hard working attitude showed Wright that a house for such a man must be highly specific and ornate to express and compliment his client. Unlike many houses of the time,

this house had few walls; Wright instead used clusters of pilasters to create the openness, partly to allow for a squat proportion, once again referencing Martin, but also himself. On a cross-shaped plan, the body is also thought about 2-dimentionally. As the connection to nature was of paramount importance the Wright in his designs it only makes sense that the long axis of the house be from the veranda as the head, to the fireplace as heart and the office as the organ of masculinity. Even between floors there is a bodily components, foundation or basement as feet, main floor as torso and second floor as head. The arrangements of the house are for the man, hiding away the woman in the kitchen in the back of the house, children sheltered off in the basement playroom while the library, veranda and office become hands that draw people inwards, all of these spaces which could be deemed as sanctuaries for man; a place to work, study and relax.With form, Wright had limits, as his client already pronounced his desire to have a house similar to one featured in the Ladies Home Journal magazine. Within the complex there are three other main structures, all attached together by walkways, the Barton House, created for Martin’s sister and here husband was also built off of another design Wright previously had built. The form came from a few key points. Firstly, the tartan grid that informed the pillar groups while also playing a role in determining the pergolas placement and axis. Secondly the 4’ x 4’ grid which was superimposed on the whole house including the gardens and other buildings of the larger complex, gave a way to organize the rooms or spaces so that they would be of a consistent proportion. Height was important to Wright’s formal analysis as well. It was extremely important to have large windows to allow light into the basement; therefore the first floor was raised to allow for more window space. Also, the house remains long and short, an expression of the landscape itself. With many entrances and stairways the house touches the ground in every direction, rooting itself as Wright preferred. The long hallway or pergola that connects the main house to the conservatory beyond had a dull purpose. Additionally to the main effect, one of bridging between Martin and his deceased mother, represented by Nike, in an axial line that was meant to be the connecting feature of many familiar houses within the hoped complex, it also was used as a bowling alley and transitional space between the garage and the

Full boxes

Half Boxes

Vertical Axis

Overlay - Zones of the House, Three Floors and Section

Male Zone Female ZoneFamily Zones

last innovation was to decorate the homes himself, going so far as to design the coloured glass window and each furniture piece that would inhabit the houses along with the owner. Not many other Architects would be willing to take on an extra commitment in the same way as Wright did. He envisioned the whole home, therefore never allowing another item to obscure his intentions.

Technology was Wright’s friend, aiding in the design that accommodated straight lines and right-angels to allow machines to be involved. Overhanging eaves and low hip roofs were employed to accommodate the desire for a horizontal appearance while maintaining the necessary interior proportions. This Latin cross house, like many other homes designed by Wright established the connection to the outside world by using window in strips and roofs that overhung large verandas. Specifically in this home older technologies were also used including the orientation of the house, allowing for confusion when approaching and finding the front entrance.

Although most of the techniques used by Wright on the Martin house were the same employed in other prairie homes, the uniqueness of scale in particular and in spaces of the home were great achievements. One of the largest homes he ever designed, Wright made certain that each space was accommodating to his client. Although not outgoing, the Martin Family made sure their home could accommodate many visitors in grand style. What Wright really considered in space was the height of the rooms and the furniture placements. Each space needed to be used in the way prescribed by the architect. This was best achieved by having a complete plan. In the case of the Martin house, details such as the colour of the flowers allowed in planters outside of the home were as considered as building materials and other design elements to make the complex as well as the single entity of the Martin home complete. Space was very important to Wright and Martin to some extent. Martin wanted a large home to parade his wealth to his neighbours, it is also one of the reasons Wright was hired, for the construction of a home unlike others in his neighbourhood, one that stood alone, differentiated in almost every way to the standard Victorian homes of the time.

main house.

Among all the houses designed by Wright the Martin house remained one of his favorites, second only to Robbie House which he believed was his masterpiece. For years after it’s completion it remained hung in his office as a reminder and example of what could be achieved by making a house into the portrait of a man.

Advances in architectural thought were employed in the design and construction of all the wright prairie homes. There are unique characteristics that all the wright houses of this era share that were both appropriate to their sites and the clients. One of the techniques he used included reducing the necessary parts and number of spaces in the home to allow for unification of light and view. Another, previously mentioned, was to have a better connection with the site of the project. Part of that use was spreading across the horizontal plane, but without disturbing the best parts of the site with flooring. Other considerations in the prairie style homes were the separation from the box in relation to the rooms within. These rooms became rounded or triangularly shaped at one end in some of his other architectural projects but were pushed out rectangles in regards to the Martin house. Still Wright attempted to open up spaces by eliminating walls; in the case of the Martin house he installed columns, often in groups of four to allow for the weight of the floors and roof above without interrupting the spaces with vertical surfaces. Human proportions were key, and although not a new idea, was appropriated to include structure and floor plan as well as use of materials that would best suit the construction, without elimination due to unconventionalities. Wright also established an idea to remove the basement from it’s completely sunk level to one that was at grade, using the visible foundation as a pedestal to the rest of the house which also allowed natural light and gave the unwholesome basement a chance at real life. Fifth was to allow the openings to the outside or inside to occur naturally, not to punch holes violently, but to place doorways as screens instead of walls, as is the case with the veranda connection to the house on the east side of the Martin building. Next on his list was to incorporate heating lighting and plumbing into the design of the space making them important, more than as just those functions they were meant to provide. His

Paths of egress Corners and intersecting space Entrances and intersecting space Walls and columns

Useability of the space

Fast Slow Stationary:barely moving

Morning EveningAfternoon

10% 40% 80%

Organic:multi-directional

Mechanical:uni-directional

Movement through space

The spaces within the Martin house include standard rooms, dining, living kitchen, but also included servant’s areas an office and a large reception room and library. Although not uncommon, it seems as if the orientation of Wright’s project was somewhat different that what would be expected. The library for example seems to be a logical extension of the office, almost as a transitional space from work to home. Instead, the library is placed where a usual parlor would be situated, at the front on the right of the main entrance. Although the office is provided with direct access to the carriage area and porch, the only other entrance on that side excluding the pergola to the conservatory is to the kitchen. The use of space here seems awkward at best because visitors would be forced to be dropped of at the front of the house, due to an acceptable entrance. As to the orientation of the front door away from the main street of the site, Wright appears to want the element of domination over visitors, creating confusion to those who are either unwelcomed or simply keeping visitors off-balance, not knowing what to expect of the master due to the perplexing home.

As in all Wright homes all of the focus is on the hearths at the center of the home. In this case, the hearth was intricately decorated with hand painted tiles, also a focal point. The areas around the fireplace are oriented clockwise through the space from bedrooms on the floor above to the dinning room, living room and library. This prescribes to some degree how Martin and his family used the home. Rooms were laid out so the spaces could ultimately interconnect with each other, being part of the others, in some cases it is almost impossible to tell where one room ends and another begins except for the furniture placement. Space, therefore was at a premium and it was also Wrights desire and responsibility to see that all the space was used efficiently despite the largeness of the rooms. In the end, the spaces created and the techniques and technologies employed make the Martin house a treasure.

Sources:

Jack Quinan, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Martin House: Architecture as Portraiture, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, 2004

The Library of Congress Historic American Buildings Survey Darwin D. Martin House (accessed Dec 2 2012) http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ny0203/

Images:

http://www.artinstituteshop.org/item.aspx?productID=4834

http://arkistudentscorner.blogspot.ca/2011/05/flwrights-buildings-darwin-martin-house.html

http://www.susancohangardens.com/blog/to-buffa10-with-love-part-2

http://www.etsy.com/listing/75814055/darwin-d-martin-house-architectural

http://buildingsandbeers.tumblr.com/post/24665152990/monument-darwin-martin-house-complex-location

http://www.e-architect.co.uk/america/martin_house_complex_buffalo.htm

http://www.darwinmartinhouse.org

http://wright-up.blogspot.ca/2012/09/darwin-martins-mustache_28.html

http://dd20century.tumblr.com/post/832072640/darwin-d-martin-influential-client-and-loyal-friend

http://digital.lib.buffalo.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/LIB-UA001

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60974-d207879-r140914427-Frank_Lloyd_Wright_s_Darwin_D_Martin_House_Complex-Buffalo_New_York.html

http://www.buffaloah.com/a/jewett/125/hp.html

Technique: Learning about the site

main street

church corner

main house

Barton house

carriage/ garage

conservatory

gardner’s cottage

main entrance

garden

secondary street

direction of old Martin house

Technique: Learning about his client

wife and childrenlarkin soap company

readingeducation

friends

parents and siblings

public figure