1 When Frank Lloyd Wright (FLW) (1867-1959) began work as an architectural designer in the 1890s, there wasn’t what you could call a definitive style of American architecture. European styles—Italianate, French Empire, and Gothic Revival—were all the rage. This was a huge disappointment to Wright, who was deeply connected to America’s landscape and the spirit of its people. During his seven-decades-long career, Wright endeavored to put American architecture on the map with his designs of more than a thousand buildings. While he created a number of well- known public and commercial buildings— such as the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, California’s Marin County Civic Center, and the S. C. Johnson headquarters in Racine, Wisconsin— it is his private residences that best demonstrate FLW’s guiding philosophies and passions. Ultimately, he believed that good design enriched his clients’ lives, so he crafted homes that championed life in harmony with nature, always advocating for innovative, affordable, and aesthetically appealing residences. FLW is perhaps best remembered for his so- called Prairie School-style houses. Inspired by the wide-open expanses of the American prairie, these homes—and there are hundreds of them—are characterized by their flat, usually cantilevered roofs, extensive use of local materials, simple but striking silhouettes and earthy neutral colors. More than 30 of the 400 or so remaining privately owned homes by Frank Lloyd Wright are open to the public and touring one (or more) of them is the best way to experience the architect’s genius. So, with guidance from the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, we’ve selected 10 of the more unique and historically significant Wright- designed homes across the country that you can visit. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Legacy Visit 10 of his Designs Story by Dave G. Houser
Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio, Oak Park, Illinois
Let’s start our review of Wright-designed buildings where things all began in 1889. This historic home in suburban Chicago was no less than the birthplace of an architectural revolution—Wright’s own Prairie School style— that aimed at creating harmony between a building and its natural surroundings. To that end, Wright implemented leafy landscaping to compliment the design. The home is a massive and somewhat odd- looking wood shingled two-story structure with vaulted ceilings that appear to be cobbled together from large geometric shapes. It served as a testing ground for the young architect’s imagination, and he designed more than 125 buildings here, most of them in the Chicago area, in less than two decades. The historic district surrounding the home and studio features the greatest number of Wright- designed residences worldwide.
www.flwright.org/tours/home-and-studio
Draft room of FLW’s home & studio, Oak Park, IL.
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT’S LEGACY
COAST TO COAST MAGAZINE SUMMER 2024 | 16
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online