HE WAS BORN FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT ON JUNE 8, 1867, IN RICHLAND CENTER, WISCONSIN, USA, INTO A FAMILY OF WELSH DESCENT

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Douglas Garrett
7 years ago
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1 Frank Lloyd Wright

3 MINI BIOGRAPHY: FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT WAS ONE OF AMERICA'S MOST FAMOUS ARCHITECTS WHO INTRODUCED HIS CONCEPT OF "ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE" AND DESIGNED SUCH LANDMARKS AS THE FALLINGWATER AND THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM OF ART. HE WAS BORN FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT ON JUNE 8, 1867, IN RICHLAND CENTER, WISCONSIN, USA, INTO A FAMILY OF WELSH DESCENT. HIS FATHER, WILLIAM CARY WRIGHT, WAS A MUSIC TEACHER AND A BAPTIST MINISTER. HIS MOTHER, ANNA LLOYD-JONES WRIGHT, WAS A TEACHER. HIS FATHER PLAYED THE MUSIC OFJOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH WHICH WRIGHT LATER CREDIT AS A SOURCE OF HIS SENSE OF HARMONY IN MUSIC AND ARCHITECTURE. HIS MOTHER INVOLVED HIM IN PLAYING WITH FROEBEL'S GEOMETRIC BLOCKS, WHICH FORMED HIS 3D VISION, AND LATED HELPED HIM DEVELOP ARCHITECTURAL STYLE MARKED WITH GEOMETRICAL CLARITY. WRIGHT STUDIED ENGINEERING AT UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN FOR TWO YEARS, BUT DROPPED OUT WITHOUT GRADUATING. HE MOVED TO CHICAGO AND WORKED FOR SEVERAL ARCHITECTURE FIRMS, INCLUDING HIS SIX YEARS WORKING DIRECTLY WITH THE "FATHER OF MODERNISM" AND LEADER OF THE CHICAGO SCHOOL, LOUIS HENRY SULLIVAN, WHO WAS WRIGHT'S MENTOR FROM

4 COLLEAGUES AND INFLUENCES : WRIGHT RARELY CREDITED ANY INFLUENCES ON HIS DESIGNS, BUT MOST ARCHITECTS, HISTORIANS AND SCHOLARS AGREE HE HAD FIVE MAJOR INFLUENCES: LOUIS SULLIVAN, WHOM HE CONSIDERED TO BE HIS 'LIEBER MEISTER' (DEAR MASTER), NATURE, PARTICULARLY SHAPES/FORMS AND COLORS/PATTERNS OF PLANT LIFE, MUSIC (HIS FAVORITE COMPOSER WAS LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN), JAPANESE ART, PRINTS AND BUILDINGS.

5 PERSONAL STYLE AND CONCEPTS : WRIGHT'S CREATIONS TOOK HIS CONCERN WITH ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE DOWN TO THE SMALLEST DETAILS. FROM HIS LARGEST COMMERCIAL COMMISSIONS TO THE RELATIVELY MODEST USONIAN HOUSES, WRIGHT CONCEIVED VIRTUALLY EVERY DETAIL OF BOTH THE EXTERNAL DESIGN AND THE INTERNAL FIXTURES, INCLUDING FURNITURE,CARPETS, WINDOWS, DOORS, TABLES AND CHAIRS, LIGHT FITTINGS AND DECORATIVE ELEMENTS. HE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST ARCHITECTS TO DESIGN AND SUPPLY CUSTOM-MADE, PURPOSE-BUILT FURNITURE AND FITTINGS THAT FUNCTIONED AS INTEGRATED PARTS OF THE WHOLE DESIGN, AND HE OFTEN RETURNED TO EARLIER COMMISSIONS TO REDESIGN INTERNAL FITTINGS. SOME OF THE BUILT-IN FURNITURE REMAINS, WHILE OTHER RESTORATIONS HAVE INCLUDED REPLACEMENT PIECES CREATED USING HIS PLANS. HIS PRAIRIE HOUSES USE THEMED, COORDINATED DESIGN ELEMENTS (OFTEN BASED ON PLANT FORMS) THAT ARE REPEATED IN WINDOWS, CARPETS AND OTHER FITTINGS. HE MADE INNOVATIVE USE OF NEW BUILDING MATERIALS SUCH AS PRECAST CONCRETE BLOCKS, GLASS BRICKS AND ZINC CAMES (INSTEAD OF THE TRADITIONAL LEAD) FOR HIS LEADLIGHT WINDOWS, AND HE FAMOUSLY USED PYREX GLASS TUBING AS A MAJOR ELEMENT IN THE JOHNSON WAX HEADQUARTERS. WRIGHT WAS ALSO ONE OF THE FIRST ARCHITECTS TO DESIGN AND INSTALL CUSTOM-MADE ELECTRIC LIGHT FITTINGS, INCLUDING SOME OF THE VERY FIRST ELECTRIC FLOOR LAMPS, AND HIS VERY EARLY USE OF THE THEN- NOVEL SPHERICAL GLASS LAMPSHADE (A DESIGN PREVIOUSLY NOT POSSIBLE DUE TO THE PHYSICAL RESTRICTIONS OF GAS LIGHTING). AS WRIGHT'S CAREER PROGRESSED, SO DID THE MECHANIZATION OF THE GLASS INDUSTRY. WRIGHT FULLY EMBRACED GLASS IN HIS DESIGNS AND FOUND THAT IT FIT WELL INTO HIS PHILOSOPHY OF ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE. GLASS ALLOWED FOR INTERACTION AND VIEWING OF THE OUTDOORS WHILE STILL PROTECTING FROM THE ELEMENTS. IN 1928, WRIGHT WROTE AN ESSAY ON GLASS IN WHICH HE COMPARED IT TO THE MIRRORS OF NATURE: LAKES, RIVERS AND PONDS. ONE OF WRIGHT'S EARLIEST USES OF GLASS IN HIS WORKS WAS TO STRING PANES OF GLASS ALONG WHOLE WALLS IN AN ATTEMPT TO CREATE LIGHT SCREENS TO JOIN TOGETHER SOLID WALLS. BY UTILIZING THIS LARGE AMOUNT OF GLASS, WRIGHT SOUGHT TO ACHIEVE A BALANCE BETWEEN THE LIGHTNESS AND AIRINESS OF THE GLASS AND THE SOLID, HARD WALLS. ARGUABLY, WRIGHT'S BEST-KNOWN ART GLASS IS THAT OF THE PRAIRIE STYLE. THE SIMPLE GEOMETRIC SHAPES THAT YIELD TO VERY ORNATE AND INTRICATE WINDOWS REPRESENT SOME OF THE MOST INTEGRAL ORNAMENTATION OF HIS CAREER. [63]

6 LARKIN BUILDING Larkin Building Designer Frank Lloyd Wright Location Buffalo, New York, USA Date 1904, Demolished 1950 Building Type Commercial Offices Climate Temperate Context Urban Architectural Early Modern Style Street Address 680 Seneca Street Notes S.093. large four-story central atrium.

7 PLAN OF LARKIN BUILDING :

8 THE LARKIN BUILDING WAS A BUILDING THAT WAS BUILT FOR THE ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF OF THE LARKIN SOAP MANUFACTURING COMPANY, ACTUALLY FOR THEIR MAIL ORDER BUSINESS AND SO IT WAS REALLY A SECRETARIAL POOL TYPE SPACE. AND WHAT WRIGHT WAS TRYING TO DO IN THAT WAS TO CREATE A MODERN BUILDING THAT WOULD GIVE THE WORKERS A SENSE OF WHAT HE CALLED A FAMILY GATHERING PLACE. AND WHAT HE DID THERE, WHICH I THINK IS REALLY ASTOUNDING AND UNFORTUNATELY IT S GONE NOW AS MANY KNOW...IS THE FACT THAT THE INTERIOR IS OPENED UP INTO WHAT, TODAY, WE WOULD CALL AN ATRIUM-LIKE SPACE WHICH IN EFFECT DOES FOR THE OFFICE BUILDING WHAT THE HEARTH OR THE FIREPLACE DID FOR THE FAMILY HOME. THAT S TO SAY, PROVIDE A SENSE OF FOCUS. HERE, THE FOCUS BEING A SPACE OF COMMONALITY, THE SPACE OF COMMUNITY AS OPPOSED TO THE HEARTH IN THE HOUSE WHICH IS A KIND OF TRADITIONAL SYMBOL OF HOME

9 EXPERIMENTS: THE LARKIN BUILDING WAS DESIGNED IN 1904 BY FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT AND BUILT IN 1906 FOR THE LARKIN SOAP COMPANY OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, AT 680 SENECA STREET. IT WAS DEMOLISHED IN THE FIVE STORY DARK RED BRICK BUILDING USED PINK TINTED MORTAR AND UTILIZED STEEL FRAME CONSTRUCTION. IT WAS NOTED FOR MANY INNOVATIONS, INCLUDING AIR CONDITIONING, STAINED GLASS WINDOWS, BUILT-IN DESK FURNITURE, AND SUSPENDED TOILET BOWLS (HUNG FROM THE WALLS, NOT SUPPORTED BY THE FLOOR). SCULPTOR RICHARD BOCK PROVIDED ORNAMENTATION FOR THE BUILDING. EXTERIOR DETAILS WERE EXECUTED IN RED SANDSTONE;

10 THE ENTRANCE DOORS, WINDOWS, AND SKYLIGHTS WERE OF GLASS. FLOORS, DESKTOPS, AND CABINET TOPS WERE COVERED WITH MAGNESITE FOR SOUND ABSORPTION. FOR FLOORS, MAGNESITE WAS MIXED WITH EXCELSIOR AND POURED, AND TROWELED LIKE CEMENT, OVER A LAYER OF FELT TO IMPART IT'S RESILIENCY. MAGNESITE WAS ALSO USED FOR SCULPTURAL DECORATION ON THE PIERS SURROUNDING THE LIGHT COURT AND FOR PANELS AND BEAMS AROUND THE EXECUTIVE OFFICES AT THE SOUTH END OF THE MAIN FLOOR. FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT DESIGNED MUCH OF THE FURNITURE. THE INTERIOR WALLS WERE MADE OF SEMI-VITREOUS, HARD, CREAM COLORED BRICK. THE BUILDING'S APPROXIMATE DIMENSIONS WERE 200 FEET LONG BY 134 FEET WIDE. THE LIGHT COURT WAS LOCATED IN THE CENTER OF THE BUILDING, AND WAS 76 FEET TALL. IT PROVIDED PLENTY OF NATURAL LIGHT TO ALL OF THE FLOORS. IN THE LIGHT COURT, BETWEEN THE PIERS ON THE SIDES OF THE COURT, THERE APPEARED FOURTEEN SETS OF THREE INSPIRATION WORDS EACH, SUCH AS: GENEROSITY ALTRUISM SACRIFICE, INTEGRITY LOYALTY FIDELITY, IMAGINATION JUDGEMENT INITIATIVE, INTELLIGENCE ENTHUSIASM CONTROL, CO- OPERATION ECONOMY INDUSTRY.

11 INTERIOR VIEWS :

12 THE MODERN OFFICE BUILDING : PARALLEL MOVEMENTS HE INVENTION OF THE ELECTRIC ELEVATOR IN 1889, AS WELL AS REFINEMENTS OF MATERIALS SUCH AS IRON AND EVENTUALLY STEEL LIGHTING, VENTILATION AND CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT, CHANGED THE MODERN OFFICE BUILDING FOREVER, AND ARCHITECTS NOW HAD THE FREEDOM TO DESIGN TALL BUILDINGS AND EVENTUALLY SKYSCRAPERS IN AN 1896 ESSAY ENTITLED THE TALL OFFICE BUILDING ARTISTICALLY CONSIDERED, CHICAGO ARCHITECT LOUIS SULLIVAN OUTLINED HIS PRINCIPLES FOR DESIGNING TALL BUILDINGS. ALTHOUGH HE HAD PUT HIS OWN IDEAS INTO PRACTICE EARLIER THAT DECADE WITH THE WAINWRIGHT BUILDING IN ST. LOUIS, IN 1896 HE COMPLETED ONE OF THE BEST EXAMPLES OF AN EARLY TALL OFFICE BUILDING IN THE UNITED STATES, THE GUARANTY BUILDING IN BUFFALO, NEW YORK. THIS THIRTEEN STORY OFFICE BUILDING IS ONE OF THE FIRST TALL BUILDINGS TO USE ORNAMENTATION TO ACCENTUATE THE VERTICAL THRUST OF THE FACADE. SULLIVAN INSTITUTED A TRI-PARTITE DIVISION OF THE BUILDING THAT REFLECTS IN FORM THE THREE MAJOR FUNCTIONS OF A TALL URBAN OFFICE BUILDING: STORES AND DISPLAY AT GROUND LEVEL; HONEYCOMB OF OFFICES IN THE UPPER STORIES; MECHANICS OF BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE AT ATTIC LEVEL.

13 BUILDING DETAILS : Frank Lloyd Wright's Larkin Building of 1905 was revolutionary. The first atrium office building -- indeed, the first atrium building of any type -- air-conditioned, fire-proof, a veritable 'cathedral of industry.' The Larkin building was completely revolutionary for the time. Most obviously it was one of the first buildings to use a form of air conditioning that was integral to its design. The main pillars would circulate air through them and treat them with a water mist to cool and cleans the air as it flowed into the rest of the building... The building was designed with both elevators and stairways. Its open center section was lit with large plate glass windows and a large skylight... The Larkin building was demolished in Only one of the wall pillars still stands. The building was removed and replaced with a parking lot.

14 EXTERIOR VIEWS

15 THANK YOU JAIN PARTH G 08 IDG 08 GROUP - A

FAMOUS ARTISTS SERIES: FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT (1867-1959) Architecture

Revised March 2012 FAMOUS ARTISTS SERIES: FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT (1867-1959) Architecture Supplies needed: * Framed image of Coonley Window from art gallery and framed image of Robie House stored in the Art