Frank Lloyd Wright

[Diamonds4Me]

I was just wondering what Frank Lloyd Wright structure is your favorite, if you have one. I absolutely love everything Frank Lloyd Wright and have found a site where you can order copies of his blue prints. H2b and I have already decided that the last house we build...I guess the one we'll keep forever and ever..will be a Frank Lloyd Write reproduction. We have found one that is our all time favorite as far as what we would want to live in...The Blossom House, built for George Blossom in Chicago, Illinois. It's actually a Colonial Revival style house with a FLW twist to it. I hate that I can't find any photos of the interior of the home. I have a huge book here that has one in it. Love those windows of his!

While I do love his more contemporary styles I'm still a big pushover for Colonial Revival homes. Imagine how excited I was to see this one!

Then there is the Avery Coonley house.

The E. Arthur Davenport House

As well as the Charles Ennis House..amazing.
Probably just better to link it instead of trying to insert ALL of those pictures.


I wish I could link all of my favorite ones..but that would pretty much be every single thing he ever designed

 

[Diamonds4Me]

Date: 2/6/2005 10:18:29 AM
Author: Feydakin
FLW for the win!! Sorry, the architect in me had to giggle.. I love FLW too.. I love the Coonley house, but I tend to prefer his more understated, plains style, houses.. I'll dig out my arch. books and see if I can find some pics of that house for you though.. But, if you build it, please have it updated.. FLWs plans and structures tend to have 'issues' in areas that most people would not approve of today.. Ill fitting entrys and windows, bad drafts, etc., but still wonderful to look at..

How wonderful! I would love to see the photos of the house. And yes, I really love the Coonley house. The low roof lines and the straight lines and the unbelievable attention to detail. I have also heard about some of the problems that there has been with some of the design aspects. There is a house not too far from here that someone built using a set of FLW's blueprints. H2b has a tile installation company and they were contracted to do work for the owners of that house. What a magnificent house! I felt like I stepped through the pages of my FLW book. I didn't want to leave! I didn't recognize the home that they copied and they weren't there when I was visiting so I didn't get the chance to ask. And those stained glass windows!! My grandmother does stained glass and I've pretty much told her that she's going to have to makes some inserts for the windows in the house we're in now. I just can't decide if I want the the ones from the Ennis house, the Fricke house..or what. Maybe I'll just have her do one of each and I can just mix and match them through out

I also like the understated styles. I recall seeing something that detailed a house that he had built for a teacher. It was very small but so beautiful. Oh, and Fallingwater! Not so understated but how could I forget that house??? From what I've heard it had started to crack through the middle of the home but so far they have stabilized it..thank goodness. How amazing would that be to walk down your stairs directly to a waterfall and stream? I am determined to visit that home someday. Ooo, I can just picture it it the Blue Ridge Parkway

And here's an interesting bit of personal information. My h2b was born on FLW's bday exactly 100 years apart. No wonder he's such a detail nut

Edited: I'm also in love with the arched door and arched transom at the Francis Little house in Peoria.

Good gosh. Even though it's curved I think it compliments the straightness of the design very well.

Edited yet again: As for the house designed for the teacher..I want to say that it was the Pope-Leighey house...if it isn't the correct house then it looks VERY much like the one he did design for them.

 

[Diamonds4Me]

Bart Prince! Holy Cow!! That''s one that will certainly be bookmarked to my favorites list. The Gradow residence has really captured my attention....that wall of windows

And of course I noticed the grand piano...I have the sudden urge to pick out a sonata or fuge...or maybe something by Béla Bartok...Fourteen Bagatelles, Opus 6...yeah..that''s it

Why I picked that one I really don''t know..it''s just the first thing that popped in my head when I looked at the picture with the contempo. sofas.

The outside of that house is amazing! It reminds me of something that you might see designed to be built for another planet. Absolutely stunning. And is that bronze or copper? What a beautiful patina.

And the Whiting residence. I looove how it mimics the hills behind it. I love all of them.

Ooo..I can''t wait until h2b comes home from his trip. He''ll love this site!

When I was a kid..if I wasn''t looking in my encyclopedia books at minerals or the bones, nervous system, or anything else to do with the human body..I was looking through magazines and architecture books at houses and office buildings. I couldn''t decide if I wanted to be a doctor or an architect (or even an archaeologist..I love watching shows about medeival digs)....unfortunately I became none of those. But that''s alright. I still enjoy reading about the different architects and their unusual designs.

A few years back before HGTV got into the home makeover shows they were showing a great deal of modern homes. Mostly out west..and they were stunning. Huge metal and glass structures but really set well with the surrounding desert landscape. Inside of them you felt like you were part of the outside surroundings. Even with the massive steel beams you just sort of forgot that they were there. I love the minimalist style to them. I hate clutter..the less I have to clean the better and those were perfect in my book. I hate that they don''t show them anymore

I''m going to go fish around on Bart Prince''s site some more

Thanks for the link!

 

[Diamonds4Me]

This is so me....

 

[Diamonds4Me]

Alright..I told a huge fib. This one is the one I could certainly live with

..it makes me think of Leonardo da Vinci...or my brother's favorite game Myst.

 

[fire&ice]

Hey, Wright up my alley!

We have every book written on FLW. Hubby is a freak as well. We have had the privlidge of meeting Edgar Taffel & Aaron Greene - the last living partners of FLW. Since then, AG is had died. Edgar Taffel still kicking. Hubby has had the priviledge to work very closly w/ AG.

I''m having trouble downloading stuff right now. So, I can''t view your pics.

My favorite by far is the Dana House (chicago). We have part of the concrete frieze. I like it because it is from the era we collect. Next to that - you can''t beat Falling Water. The love the Avery Coony playhouse window. We have several FLW stained glass pieces in our musuem here & a couple of chairs- VMFA.

Unfortunately, the Ennis house is in really bad repair.

 

[Diamonds4Me]

Date: 2/6/2005 5:27:52 PM
Author: fire&ice
Hey, Wright up my alley!

We have every book written on FLW. Hubby is a freak as well. We have had the privlidge of meeting Edgar Taffel & Aaron Greene - the last living partners of FLW. Since then, AG is had died. Edgar Taffel still kicking. Hubby has had the priviledge to work very closly w/ AG.

I''m having trouble downloading stuff right now. So, I can''t view your pics.

My favorite by far is the Dana House (chicago). We have part of the concrete frieze. I like it because it is from the era we collect. Next to that - you can''t beat Falling Water. The love the Avery Coony playhouse window. We have several FLW stained glass pieces in our musuem here & a couple of chairs- VMFA.

Unfortunately, the Ennis house is in really bad repair.

GET OUT!

That is the coolest thing! To be able to work with someone that was so close to FLW. What is it that your husband does? Too awesome. I''m sure that''s something the two of you will always remember. I know I would! I haven''t been fortunate enough to visit one of FLW''s actual houses that he designed. Just the one that is a repro. And to have an actual piece off of one of them. That''s ranked right up there with the hunk of floor I have out of Duke''s Cameron Stadium. Sorry to anyone who isn''t a Duke fan. My great uncle was an assistant coach and head trainer there waaaaaay back in the day..so it''s kind of in my blood...he was involved in over 600 victories and 9 of their 10 final four appearances

OK, back to Mr. Wright!

I absolutely love his stained glass window designs. I want to find a book that features them. And as for the Ennis house...it''s so sad that an important piece of architecture is so bad off. Hopefully it will be returned back to it''s splendor...I don''t want to think that it would crumble to pieces.

OK. It''s getting close to my bedtime....

 

[fire&ice]

Hubby is an Architect. Most of his profs were entrenched in Modern Design. One of them worked for Greene & Greene.

On one of my LA trips, hubby accompanied me & spent days touring the famous houses. Ennis being one of them. I will have to ask; but, I think it''s a private residence. FLW houses had quite a few problems. He would use new materials. Many couldn''t withstand abuse. The concrete crumbled. Besides the Wright houses, plenty of Greene & Greene - Blacker House (private res) & Gamble house (open to the public). One of my favorites in Pasadena is FLW "La Minitura". It''s a tiny little house that sits on a cliff &overlooks a spectular view.

Were you old enough to go see the FLW unisonion home resurrected at the National Gallery in DC?

I will PM you with the info about hubby''s involvement with FLW''s associates.

 

[fire&ice]

Date: 2/7/2005 2:50

8 PM
Author: Feydakin
Congrats to your hubby for making it through the entire process!!

I almost made it.. But in the end I needed the money more than the degree.. Well, that and the USAF decided to move us just as I was starting my Masters work in Arch to a remote area with no arch. schools within a 3 hour drive.. But, I doubt I would have survived the internship saga anyway.. There are times when I do miss it though..

He went ahead with the fifth year even though - AT THE TIME - it wasn''t required. So, his internship wasn''t as long. I know they have changed the game. Some people got royally screwed by the change. Though he worked under the supervision of an Architect, they really didn''t practice Architecture (instead RE development). It was a technicality that enabled him to do his "time" & practice what he wanted. We did move to an area with many Arch. firms. Hubby has an ME/MBA (long story) with an emphasis on construction. He didn''t sit for the exam (which was a ball buster

) until about 7 years after grad school. He has some friends who have never become registered. They design. They just can''t stamp the drawings. You could always do that.

Funny, though a very "practical" Architect, he still has that whole thing that goes with right brain people.

 

[fire&ice]

Date: 2/7/2005 4:48:13 PM
Author: Feydakin
Actually, i do that for a few friends and family when I can get away with it.. And with certain scale projects they really don''t even need stamped, and I never really liked commercial design anyway.. My favorite is remodels and additions.. I like the challenge of working with existing space.. But my heart is in residential work.. Hopefully when we move in a couple of years I can finally build a nice studio and have all my hobbies under one roof instead of scattered over 3 counties..

He still has my greatest respect for making it through.. I only know one person that sat for the exam and passed it first time through the day after her apprenticship ended.. But she has a gift that I really wish I had.. And she does nothing but retirment / assisted living design now.. And loves it..

Fun. Hubby used to do renderings & house plans on the side for extra $. What is it with Architects - house & chairs seem to be their ultimate love.

He never goes anywhere without a roll of trash.

And, he''s always bubbling up something.

Believe me, he studied. I was a widow during that time. It''s when he grew a beard - didn''t want to take the time to shave! What was his savings grace was a study group. 1/2 of the group passed the first round!

I hope you get to build that studio. It''s an Architect''s life blood!

So, it seems you do use the Design school training in many aspects.

 

[Kamuelamom]

D4M, we have one right here where I live! It''s off hidden behind some remote hill, you can''t see it from the road but we got a birdseye view from a commercial

of it when they were advertising it for sale a couple of years back. Forget the name but it starts with a "T." Ta.....something, kind of like taliten but I know that''s not exactly it. Maybe the other architects (or their spouses, hehehehehe) can help me.

 

[lindsal]

Wow, who knew there were other FLW and architecture nuts on here! I am a huge "clean function" architect freak. One of the reasons I LOVE living in Chicago is the access to all the wonderful architecture around here (and working for a commercial real estate firm greatly helps as I get to get inside some of the most fantabulous pieces and check them out close up.)

As for my favorite FLW house.. I can''t name just one.. but recently it''s been Taliesin West which I just saw for the first time in person last summer. I have dreams about it.

 

[websailor]

My favorite has always been Falling Water....

There is a great website about it - http://www.ds.arch.tue.nl/education/students/MultiMedia/FallingWater/

 

[lostdog]

You can't really top Fallingwater, but after that, The Robie House is amazing, and to make a Prarie House work (well not just work but soar) on that small site is remarkable.

Two others that accompany commercial commissions stand out for me, Wingspread in Racine, Wisconsin has a great plan and has the modern Prarie lineage where so many of his late houses were Usonian.

The Martin house in NY is very very clever technically, and Wright did an interesting job of integrating the secondary buildings and the garden areas. On a purely formal basis it's not as powerful in the Prarie idiom as, say, the way the Ward Willits house works the vertical and horizontals, masses and voids, etc.

Taliesin, the Oak Park home and studio, and much of the Oak Park work all don't get to the same level for me, though some examples are still darn good obviously. It more useful to me in terms of piecing together certain steps in his evolution. The second Gale house stands out, . Walter Burley Griffin has a similar sort in Evanston. I'd also single out the Coonley house more for certain elements rather than the whole.

A related question is which unbuilt house would you most like to have seen built?

I think of the lost opportunity to build for Henry Ford. Wright never really got down to it on the design given his other distractions in the early teens. Imagine what a cap to Wright's first phase that could have been.

 

[Kamuelamom]

Date: 2/8/2005 9:26:44 AM
Author: Feydakin
Could be one of his Taliesin homes.. Named for his compund where he worked rather than the name of the house I would guess..

Yes, Steve that sounds about right. I had no idea what it was named for.

Thanks!

 

[lostdog]

I was trying to figure out which FLW house that was in Hawaii. I have a guide to all his existing buildings, but it's a few years old and doesn't list any there. You might think, well, he isn't building any more of them. But that isn't exactly true. The Taliesin Architects, an architectual practice formed by his followers, built several houses adapted from original FLW designs. Some of the designs were more complete than others, and most of them were built in locations they were not designed for, which you might think is at odds with FLW's thoughts on the matter. Still the results are dramaitc enough if you don't try to take them as exactly what FLW would have done and just enjoy that they got built at all.

Anyway, in Hawaii, it appears that two, maybe more have been built. Maybe this is what you saw advertised Kamuelamom. There are some clues on this page, plus photos of other recently built FLW designs: http://www.franklloydwrightinfo.com/wrightxtaa.html

 

[lindsal]

OWN YOUR OWN PIECE OF THE FLW HISTORY...

"After several months on the market, a 1915 Frank Lloyd Wright house on Chicago’s North Side is going on the auction block, with bids starting at $750,000 — less than a third of the original $2.5 million asking price." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7031750/

http://www.savewright.org/wright_on_the_market/bach/bach.html


We drove by this weekend, and there are just tons of people waiting there to get in and see the house and potentially bid.. after it sat empty and on the market for over two years. Too bad we can''t afford it or I''d snap it up in a hearbeat, even it its not my favorite type of his houses.