Architect Frank Lloyd Wright was born on June 8, 1867, in Richland Center, Wisconsin. America's most significant architect, Wright's "Prairie Style" transformed 20th-century residential design while his plans for businesses, churches, and museums also proved simultaneously innovative and practical. Wright's commitment to "organic architecture"—the belief that structures should harmonize with both occupants and landscape—underscored his creative genius. [...]
Well, they are cool to look at, and Wright was truly a genius, but he was a genius entirely on his own terms. Wright didn't design for you--you had to become a convert to Wright, and that included putting up with all his quirks, including the one that seemed to place the need for a durable structure much further down the list of priorities than it probably should have been. That is, Wright really didn't care quite so much if things leaked or broke, as long as the overall composition was uncompromised. He was a high-maintenance little dude, and his buildings can be equally high-maintenance.Further information from the PBS website, and from the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.
Posted by Terry Oglesby at June 8, 2006 09:45 AMJust read a novel, "The Prop", by Pete Hautman that featured a Wright-inspired house. Whether the house is purely imaginary or real, I don't know.
A quote:
"It was designed by one of Wright's students. Grandfather loves it, but there is always something leaking or broken. In that sense, it is very authentic."
Posted by: Janis at June 8, 2006 10:00 AMI've always thought that if you must truly show how much you appreciate genius, it's better to buy a nice painting by a famous dead artist and hang it on your wall than it is to live in a house designed by a famous dead architect.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at June 8, 2006 10:07 AMFINALLY, someone who doesn't worship at the altar of all things Wright!
We have quite a few Wright-designed buildings in our area, and all of them have undergone massive, never-ending repairs, often financed by fund-raising campaigns, because, you know, he is part of our state heritage and it is our DUTY to spend our money to support shoddily built structures. Heck, Talisen itself is falling apart.
Bah.
Posted by: Diane at June 8, 2006 10:22 AMWell, he really did change the idea of architecture and architects in America, but a lot of that is due to his OTHER genius, that of self-promotion. Louis Sullivan is responsible for Wright's ability above anyone else, and doesn't get nearly the attention he should receive.
Also not getting the attention they deserve are the Greene brothers, contemporaries of Wright's from out in California. They didn't do as many works, and not nearly so many public buildings, but their residential work is stunningly beautiful.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at June 8, 2006 10:28 AMNot to mention he hated bathrooms and kitchens. I toured Falling Waters and if there's a more beautiful totaly non acessable house anywhere I love to see it.
Posted by: Tony von Krag at June 8, 2006 03:58 PMOh, silly Chef Tony--like Falling Water needs an enclosed pissoir! It's on a waterfall for heaven's sake--you just go out on the balcony and squat!
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at June 8, 2006 04:04 PM