Frank Lloyd Wright Images

For Educational Purposes Only Revised 09/12

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Frank Lloyd Wright The Presentation

1. Photo of Frank Lloyd Wright1958

This photo of Frank Lloyd Wright was taken in 1958, one year before his death. He is shown displaying a model of a pre-fabricated home he designed to be factory-built. Wright’s innovative ideas were revolutionary, from the beginning of his career with the architectural firm of Adler and Sullivan in Chicago in 1887, right up to the designs he created in his later years.

2. Winslow House, West Elevation1892, River Forest, Illinois

This is the first home Wright designed after opening his own firm. It is a box-like house (door in the center, windows at balanced distances apart), but Wright altered the traditional façade by designing a roof that was flatter, lower, and with a deep overhang that emphasized the horizontal lines of the home. The upper floor of the house is compressed and painted a dark color to further emphasize this long, low form that is interrupted by regularly spaced windows.

Colors repeat through the house’s detailing. The color of the brick exterior repeats on the front door and throughout the roof shingles. Wood trim around the front door, windows, and across the top and bottom of the brick facing repeats the same white color and lends unity to the home’s appearance.

3. Frederick C. Robie House1908-1910, Chicago, Illinois

Wright built this extraordinary residential home for the wealthy bicycle and motorcycle manufacturer, Frederick C. Robie. It is considered one of the most important buildings in the history of American architecture. Designed in Wright’s Oak Park studio in 1908 and completed in 1910, the building reflects the architectural design called “The Prairie House,” named after Wright’s revolutionary design published in the Ladies’ Home Journal in 1901. The sweeping, repeating horizontal lines of the Robie House, with its dramatic overhangs, stretches of art glass windows, and open floor plan came to define the Prairie House style.

The Robie House has overhanging cantilevered roofs which extend beyond the walls of the house to meet a line of exterior walls. These exterior walls shelter the house and provide privacy. This delicate balance of private and exposed space was requested by Robie to shield his family from outsiders. Like the entrance to many of Wright’s houses, this one is concealed; it is on the back side of the house. Wright always paid serious attention to the placement of the house within its natural environment. The main living spaces have large walls of windows (also placed on the back side of the house) to open up the interior of the home to the natural light from outdoors and to unify it with its surroundings.

For Educational Purposes Only Revised 09/12

What is one element that unifies this structure?

Point to elements of the structure that repeat.

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Frank Lloyd Wright 4. Robie House, Interior

1908-1910, Chicago, Illinois

In response to Robie’s request for privacy, many of the windows are inoperable and placed to admit light without allowing views into the structure. The house was not built in an area with panoramic natural views, so it was not necessary for Wright to concern himself with the view looking out from inside the house. He instead designed these large, decorative window panels with the purpose of allowing natural light into the home. As their art glass design obscured any view to the outside, their design became the view itself. The same motif of lines and shapes is repeated on each set of windows, creating a regular rhythm. The dark lines repeat through the woodwork around the windows and on the ceiling to lend unity to the room.

Fun Fact: Decades of decay and neglect endangered the Robie House. Frank Lloyd Wright himself fought to save the home from demolition—twice. Although designated one of the 12 most significant structures of the twentieth century by the American Institute of Architects, the Robie House was badly in need of repairs. In 1999, the house was named an official project of the Save America’s Treasures program, intended to help preserve America’s irreplaceable historic and cultural treasures. A 10-year, $8-million-plus restoration project has given this American treasure a new lease on life and preserved it for future generations. Interestingly, the Robies lived in this house for less than three years.

5. Unity Temple1908, Oak Park, Illinois

When Unity Church of Oak Park was struck by lightning and burned to the ground in 1905, Wright was commissioned to design a new building for the congregation. He was faced with several problems, including a limited budget, a long, narrow and noisy corner lot, and a client who needed a structure that would serve both as a place of worship and as a meeting place for the congregation and the community. Wright responded to the challenge in a characteristically daring way, and when Unity Temple was completed in 1908, it looked like no church anyone had ever seen before. Using cast-in-place reinforced concrete as the structural and decorative material, Wright’s bold cubical design broke barriers for both religious and secular architecture in America and throughout the world. The concrete material produced a dramatic façade, afforded privacy, muffled street noise, and kept costs low. The exterior walls and cantilevered roofline were formed as a direct expression of the monumental space within. Today it is the last remaining public building of Wright’s “golden period,” the era in which he founded the Prairie School of architectural design.

The temple’s geometric form is defined by repeating horizontal and vertical lines. Vertical pillars repeat at regular intervals to support the horizontal cantilevered roofline and to frame the windows; repetition continues on the cast decorative details on the pillars. The exterior of the church is unified by the color and texture of the cast concrete material from which it is constructed.

Fun Fact: This “modern” style building, unlike anything anyone had seen before when it was completed, contrasts greatly with a Gothic-style church structure directly across the street.

For Educational Purposes Only Revised 09/12

Describe the lines you see in these windows.

How would you describe the form of

this building?

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Frank Lloyd Wright 6. Unity Temple, Interior

1908, Oak Park, Illinois

The most interesting feature of Unity Temple is Wright’s manipulation of the interior spaces. He used vertical and horizontal lines of wood trim to interrupt the surfaces of the walls, adding interest and creating visual flow. This made the space look finished and feel comfortable. His use of multiple receding surfaces can be seen in the arrangement of the seating, the organ screen, and the windows in the auditorium, which focus attention on the pulpit and central performance area. Wright’s repetitious and ingenious use of wood trim draws the visitor’s eye around the building, flowing in and out of balconies, around columns, and snaking up stairwells. It also serves to unify the interior space.

7. Imperial Hotel1915-1922, Tokyo, Japan (demolished 1968)

One of Wright’s grandest, largest, and most detailed designs was for the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. He spent much time in Japan overseeing its construction. On its opening day in 1923, the great Tokyo earthquake struck, but the hotel was built on a special floating foundation and, as a result, was scarcely damaged. For some years after World War II, it was used as quarters for the U.S. Occupation Army. In 1965 it was announced that it would be demolished in order to clear the site for a new highrise hotel. Once the project was announced, a world-wide campaign for its preservation began. As a result, the Meiji Mura Museum near Nagoya is now the home of its reconstructed Entrance Hall and Lobby.

The exterior of the Imperial Hotel was very detailed and ornate. The façade was decorated with carved soft lava stone that gave the hotel a more Pre-Columbian than Asian form. Horizontal and vertical lines dominated the hotel’s exterior, and vertical elements repeated to create a regular rhythm. Windows, recesses and towers also repeated, contributing to the unity of the hotel’s design.

Fun Fact: This is one of the few pieces of modern architecture that is still studied and talked about even though it is no longer in existence.

For Educational Purposes Only Revised 09/12

What types of lines do you see?

Where do you see repetition that creates

a regular rhythm?

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Frank Lloyd Wright 8. Taliesin East, Exterior

1925, Spring Green, Wisconsin

Wright’s intention upon moving to Spring Green, Wisconsin was to build a home, studio, and farm for himself and his mistress, Mamah Borthwick Cheney, and to seek the tranquility and beauty of the Wisconsin landscape. The name Wright gave to this home, Taliesin, is a Welsh word, translating as “shining” or “radiant brow.” Wright described the building as wrapping around the brow of the hill. However, to Wright the name Taliesin signified much more than the placement of the house. It embodied his personal hopes as well as his identity as an artist in a state of continual change and development.

Wright included in the original design three main wings: the residential wing, with living spaces for himself and Ms. Cheney; the office and studio wing for drafting and business; and the farm wing, which included spaces for cows, chickens, pigs, horses, farm hands, and storage. Taliesin was originally constructed of four materials: limestone, glass, wood and plaster. The limestone was quarried nearby, and the plaster was mixed with sand from the Wisconsin river. When Taliesin was rebuilt in 1939, Wright added reinforced concrete.

In August of 1914, tragedy occurred at Taliesin when a servant, whom Wright had hired earlier in the summer, set fire to the residential wing and murdered seven people inside, including Mamah Cheney and her two children from an earlier marriage. Following the tragedy, to everyone’s surprise, Wright announced that he would rebuild his home, which became Taliesin II. The reconstructed residential wing was again consumed by fire in April, 1925, and was again rebuilt, this time as Taliesin III.

Over the five decades he lived and worked at Taliesin, Wright used the buildings on the estate to test new ideas and spatial constructions, often without floor plans or sketches. Sometimes the architect would sketch in the dirt, on scrap pieces of wood, or just supervise his builders and apprentices on what and where to build. To Wright, these structures were perfected with each change, and subject to continual evolution. Taliesin not only was Wright’s home, studio, farm, and estate, it was a living testament to his changing views on structure, nature, and architecture—a testament that endured for almost 50 years.

In this view, we can see that horizontal and vertical lines continued to dominate his forms. We can also see how he opened the interior living space to the outdoors by replacing solid walls with repeating glass windows that stretched from the ceiling to the floor. The stone used on the chimney repeats in the planter boxes next to the door and in the surface of the exterior decking and steps. This repetition also lends unity to the design of the structure.

For Educational Purposes Only Revised 09/12

Where do you see geometric forms? Where

do you see organic forms?

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Frank Lloyd Wright 9. SCANNING: Fallingwater (Edgar Kaufmann House)

1936, Bear Run, Pennsylvania

Fallingwater, one of Wright’s most widely acclaimed works, was designed in 1936 for the family of Pittsburgh department store owner Edgar J. Kaufmann. It was the weekend home of the Kaufmann family from 1937 until 1963, and it is the only remaining great Wright house with its setting, original furnishings, and artwork intact. In 1963, the house, its contents, and grounds were presented to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy by Edgar Kaufmann, Jr.

The key to the setting of the house is the waterfall over which it is built. The falls had been a focal point of the Kaufmann’s activities, and the family had selected the area around the falls as the location for a home. They were unprepared for Wright’s suggestion that the waterfall be integrated into the house, with the structure rising over the waterfall rather than facing it. As radical as it was, the architect’s original scheme was adopted almost without change. Horizontal projecting slab forms were cantilevered over the waterfall. The house was supported only by vertical masonry walls anchored in the solid ground.

The materials used to construct Fallingwater also help to integrate and unify the building into the natural surroundings. The sandstone used in the construction was quarried on the property, and repeated the look of the natural stone alongside the waterfall. Expanses of glass windows, arranged in horizontal and vertical lines, opened the interior space to the view outside and reflected the natural beauty of the setting. Fun Fact: Edgar Tafel, a former Wright apprentice, once said, “ Wright never liked to draw until he knew what he was going to draw. This is the way it came out of his noodle. And this is the way he planned.” Fallingwater eventually became the most famous modern house in the world, and Wright drew it all in less than three hours.

Scanning Questions

For Educational Purposes Only Revised 09/12

Point out the lines of the house that

repeat in the natural surroundings.

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Frank Lloyd Wright

Fallingwater (Edgar Kaufmann House)1936, Bear Run, Pennsylvania

Art Elements: What you see.

Form• Why would we call a house a form rather than a shape?

(It has three dimensions: height, width and depth.)• Where do you see geometric forms? (The rectangular forms that define the structure of the house.)

Where do you see organic forms? (The boulders alongside the waterfall and stream; the trees.)

Line• What kinds of lines do you see throughout the house’s form? (Horizontal and vertical.)• Can you find similar lines in the surrounding landscape? (The trees, the waterfall, the stream.)

Art Principles: How the elements are arranged.

Repetition• What forms are repeated in this house? (Horizontal slabs and vertical blocks.)• What material repeats in the house and surrounding landscape? (Stone or rock.)

Unity• How did the architect unify this structure with the landscape? (He used natural materials that echoed

the surrounding landscape.)• How is the waterfall unified with the house? (Parts of the house are cantilevered over it so it seems that

the waterfall originates within the house.)

Technical Properties: How it was made.• What building materials did Frank Lloyd Wright use? (Concrete, rock, glass, wood.)• How did Wright use these materials to echo the surrounding landscape? (They are rough-cut, layered,

and projecting.)

Expressive Properties: How it makes you feel.• What sounds do you think you would hear at Fallingwater?• Does it look like someplace you would like to live? Why?

10. Fallingwater, Interior

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Frank Lloyd Wright The interior of Fallingwater remains true to Frank Lloyd Wright’s vision as well, including cantilevered desks, earth-toned built-in sofas, polished stone floors, and large casement windows which allow the outdoors to pour in. Seen in front of the stone fireplace is the actual boulder around which the house was built. It was said to have been Mr. Kaufmann’s favorite sunning spot before Fallingwater was built; the house was literally built around its form. The rock and the adjacent tree truck table are the only organic forms in the predominately geometric setting. The round red kettle to the left of the fireplace was installed to be used for warming water over the fire. The kettle hangs on a swing arm that moves it into the fire box.

Horizontal lines repeat throughout this living space. A low horizontal couch was built-in next to the fireplace and in front of a large window where horizontal casements separate the glass panes. Long thin pieces of stone were stacked horizontally in the construction of the fireplace. The decorative woodwork in the ceiling and above the fireplace also repeats these horizontal lines and adds to the unity of the room.

11. S. C. Johnson Offices and Research Center Tower1936-39, Racine, Wisconsin

Since its opening on April 22, 1939, the S.C. Johnson Administration Center has been a mecca for tourists, architects and Frank Lloyd Wright devotees from around the world. What began as a new office building for S.C. Johnson Wax has become a testament to the foresight of H. F. Johnson, Jr. and the vision of Frank Lloyd Wright.

The bricks used in the building complex were unusual, including more than 200 different sizes and shapes that created the angled and curved forms used by Wright. Even their color, Cherokee Red, was specified by Wright. To complement the warm tone of the brick, a lighter colored stone was used to create horizontal lines of trim. The use of brick with stone trim throughout the complex of structures unifies all the various geometric forms.

In 1947, H. F. Johnson, Jr. turned to Wright once again to design a research and development tower for the Johnson Wax complex. The interior floors alternated round and square floor levels. Wright’s intention was to allow for easy communication between floors via the “open corners.” The architect also used glass tubing instead of windows to allow for even, shadowless light and to prevent any view of outside distractions, yet another of Wright’s innovations.

12. S. C. Johnson Administration Building, Interior1936, Racine, Wisconsin

Knowing that the Administration Center needed to be a functional building, Wright studied the daily work flow and believed that the most important

For Educational Purposes Only Revised 09/12

How did Wright unify the horizontal trim on

these buildings?

How did Wright unify this room with the outdoors?

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Frank Lloyd Wright criterion for his designs was how the people used the space. Wright also considered the corporate hierarchy. The clerical staff had office areas on the main level, the manager’s offices were on the mezzanine level surrounding the clerical staff, and the executive offices were on the third or penthouse level, overseeing everyone below.

The Great Workroom, which covers nearly one-half acre, is the main office area. It has many unique features, including the slim column forms (shaped like golf tees) that support the roof, and the glass tubing that replaces conventional windows. Neither of these features had been used in architecture before.

Curving circular lines repeat throughout the interior design and help unify the space. The circular shapes at the top of the columns repeat in the curved lines of the building’s interior. These lines also repeat in the furniture that Wright designed to complement the work flow and needs of the employees. The rounded desk tops unify the furnishings with the building structure itself.

13. Taliesin West1937-1959, Scottsdale, Arizona

The original Taliesin in Wisconsin was not only Wright’s home; it was also the home of the Taliesin Fellowship, Wright’s group of apprentices and students with whom he shared his architectural vision. Founded in 1932, the fellowship invited young men and women to live with, as well as study with, Wright and his family. The apprentices in the fellowship participated in almost every aspect of Wright’s life: working on the buildings, in the fields, the kitchens, on drawings and projects, and taking part in social events.

In 1937, Wright purchased land outside of Scottsdale, Arizona, and began a winter home that was built almost entirely by his students themselves. It became known as Taliesin West. Thereafter, the Wrights and the Taliesin Fellowship left Wisconsin in the fall (usually November) and spent the winter in Arizona. Just as Wright continuously changed Taliesin, he also changed Taliesin West every winter when he returned.

According to Wright, Taliesin West’s architecture was designed to follow the desert’s example of sharp, hard and clean forms. Ideally suited to its environment, the walls of Taliesin West are concrete, but of a special kind: native boulders, red, yellow and gray, were laid in rough wooden forms and cement was poured over them. Above these colorful, variously tapered walls, great redwood trusses repeat to support the roof. The low horizontal line of the structure, along with the use of materials that echo the surrounding landscape, unify Taliesin West with the Arizona countryside.Fun Fact: There is a Wright-designed house in our own backyard. The Gordon House, at The Oregon Garden in Silverton, near Salem, is the only Wright-designed building in Oregon and the only one in the Pacific Northwest that is open to the public. The house was designed to follow Wright’s “Usonian” model, a design concept that changed the course of small house construction. His innovations included an open floor plan, gravity floor heat, carports, cantilevered roofs with broad overhangs and floor-to-ceiling windows. Wright designed the home in 1957 for Conrad and Evelyn Gordon for their farm on the south

For Educational Purposes Only Revised 09/12

Why do you think Wright designed the roofline of the house the way he did?

Which forms repeat throughout this

interior?

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Frank Lloyd Wright side of the Willamette River in Wilsonville. The house was completed in 1964, and the Gordons lived there for over thirty years. Descendants of the Gordons sold the property in 2000, and the new owners agreed to donate the property to the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy with a requirement that the house be moved off the property. In January, 2001, the house was moved 24 miles south to The Oregon Garden where it was restored and dedicated as a public museum in March 2002.

14. The Guggenheim Museum of Modern Art 1946-1959, New York

In June of 1943, Frank Lloyd Wright received a letter asking him to design a new building to house Solomon R. Guggenheim’s four-year-old Museum of Non-Objective Painting. The project evolved into a complex struggle that pitted the architect against his clients, city officials, the art world, and public opinion. Both Guggenheim and Wright would die before the building’s 1959 completion. The resulting achievement, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, is a testimony not only to Wright’s architectural genius, but to the adventurous spirit that characterized its founders.

With this project, Wright departed from the conventional approach to museum design, which led visitors through a series of interconnected rooms, forcing them to retrace their steps when exiting. Instead, he designed a circular winding structural form that grew wider as it went higher. The concept was to whisk people to the top of the building via an elevator and allow them to view the art at a leisurely pace on the gentle descending slope of a continuous ramp. The open rotunda afforded viewers the unique possibility of seeing art work on different levels simultaneously.

The circular lines of the gallery tower repeat throughout the exterior façade and lend unity to the design. Even the sidewalk in front of the museum was laid out in repeating circular patterns of concrete. The rounded forms of the museum stand in contrast to the boxy shapes of adjacent buildings.

Wright’s vision of the Guggenheim Museum took decades to be fulfilled. The original construction was not completed until 1959, some months after Wright’s death, and parts of his original plan for the museum went unrealized, largely for financial reasons. A restoration in 2001 finally opened a 8,200-square-foot education facility that was part of Wright’s original architectural design for the building.

15. Guggenheim Museum, Interior

From this vantage point inside the museum, the winding structural form of the museum can be seen. Curved lines repeat throughout the space, creating one large room on many levels that wind around in a spiral and

For Educational Purposes Only Revised 09/12

How would you describe the form

of this building?

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Frank Lloyd Wright are open to a central atrium. This repetition of line helps to contribute to the unity of the building’s interior.

The Guggenheim Museum is certainly the most important building of Wright’s late career. Some people, especially artists, criticized him for creating a museum environment that might overpower the art inside. “On the contrary,” Wright wrote, “it was to make the building and the painting an uninterrupted, beautiful symphony such as never existed in the World of Art before.” The Guggenheim remains an example of architecture that is as unusual now as it was 40 years ago.

For Educational Purposes Only Revised 09/12

How would you feel if you were seeing the museum

from this viewpoint?

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