In 1991, the American Institute of Architects recognized Frank Lloyd Wright as “the greatest American architect of all time.” Talented, radical and passionate about his vocation, Wright was a visionary master. He defied architectural doctrines of his time, challenged the tyranny of the skyscraper and was recognized as a true iconoclast believing that form and function in building should be “joined in a spiritual union.”
For Wright, American cities of the 20th century were a bad dream come true: stagy grandeur, disruptive of surrounding environment, flashy, and dwarfing the human spirit — they represented everything he despised. Wright once referred to New York as “a great monument to the power of money and greed… a race for rent.” He didn’t care much for Pittsburgh either. In 1935, he was quoted saying, “If I were remaking this city, the first thing I’d do would be get rid of that damned smoke.”
His philosophy of architecture was reflected in the Prairie School movement. The movement focused on the importance of harmony and aesthetic congruence between humanity and the surrounding environment. The philosophy embraced structures that grew organically, shaped by their natural surroundings and the needs of their human inhabitants, buildings that ‘hugged the Earth’ and merged with the landscape rather than dominated it.
“Simplicity and repose are qualities that measure the true value of any work of art,” Wright said. Simplicity was his mantra and the ability to simplify, he believed, was the hardest skill for an architect to perfect. ” ‘Think simple’ as my old master used to say — meaning reduce the whole of its parts into the simplest terms, getting back to first principles,” he said. It was for the simplicity and elegance of Wright’s creations that he received international praise from Germany to Japan.
Wright designed more than 500 structures, 300 of which survive.
Robie House, which he built in 1910 in Chicago, was recently included in the list of “Ten buildings that changed America.”
But the people’s favorite is, of course, the famous Fallingwater. It was built from 1934 to 1937 for the Kaufmanns at Mill Run, Fayette County. Constructed over a 30-foot waterfall, Fallingwater is unique; its design defines ‘organic architecture.’
Frank Lloyd Wright also had projects that were never meant to be. When his plans for a building in Yosemite were rejected, he was unhappy with the government; when Venice tabled his proposal for a glass and marble palace on the Grand Canal, he was mad at the tourists.
Frank Lloyd Wright’s personal life was tempestuous, filled with adventures, struggle and turmoil. Wright was married three times and fathered seven children. He died in 1959 at age 91.
He mentored a lot of successful architects and left behind many bits of wisdom in books and lectures. One piece of advice he tried to sear into the minds of his apprentices was, “Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.”
