Good Essay On The Modern Man: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Architecture

The emergence of the Modernist period enabled the world to shift from the rigid and hierarchical architecture to the bolder and naturalistic styles. However this time, architects also applied scientific knowledge in building their crafts to mark the beginning of the modern era. Frank Lloyd Wright ingenuity in building innovative and functional architecture spearheaded the quest for exploring various building designs in the early 20th century. Among his notable works are as follows: The Usonian House was one of the finest examples of incorporating geometrical patterns to homes as well as the delicate imitation of post-and-lintel style framework that supports the entire house. Even today, this simple and minimalistic home style reflects the 21st century’s taste in avant-garde lifestyle. In terms of religious structures, Wright’s William H. Danforth Chapel embodies the 16th century Reformation idealism of less ornamentation in places of worship. This chapel uses geometric patterns to create a pointed portico on the façade of the chapel; the interior decorations were muted and no paintings were seen on the walls, a defiance towards the iconography present on the churches even in the 20th century. What makes this church revolutionary was the fact that it also akin to Matisse’s church constructed in the mid-20th century and both building embodies the restoration of pure styles by limiting the structure to what is functional and utter rejection to the lavish ornamentations of the previous eras. Third was the Annie Pfeiffer Chapel constructed in the mid-20th century and one of the most notable works of Wright during the beginning of his career; here, he demonstrated his skill of observation and designing the building interiors by distorting the regular angles; hence, instead of sticking to the regular building methods such as post-and-lintel style covered with walls, he liberated the structure by giving it a geometric design as if distorted by a concave mirror since. Finally, the most notable of all the works of Wright that managed to survive up to this day was the Water Dome created in the early 1940s but the project never materialized not until the arrival of the 21st century many decades later, the water dome composed of multitude of iron pipes attached on to the fountain base can now be seen sprouting curved projections of water simultaneously. Their circular alignment and curved pipes allows water to bend slightly thereby producing a ‘dome’ effect. As a conclusion, Frank Lloyd Wright’s buildings proposed the arrival of the new era based on the application of the scientific principles rather than flamboyant structures.