Frank Lloyd Wright’s Home and Studio remain the finest specimen of the architect’s innovative approach to the design of buildings in general and spaces for living in particular. The house is located in Oak Park, Illinois in a historic neighborhood which was later adorned by a number of other Wright’s houses representative of his unique style.
While construction began in 1889 as soon as the architect married Catherine Tobin, the building was reconstructed and expanded for the next twenty years to arrive at the form one can see nowadays, restored by the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust. Thereby, an outstanding trait of the building lies in the innovative philosophical approach to the content of architecture as it is related to style, form and function.
At the dawn of his career, Wright developed a new philosophy of architecture, drawing new connections between human life and environment. The House and Studio bear the imprint of his fascination with the ideas of the Arts and Crafts Movement of the late nineteenth century and reflect his own philosophy.
The idea dominating the contemporary transitions in attitudes towards architecture was that theory – when dogmas are complied with too strictly – might dismiss the designer’s willing to explore, while, on the other hand, the theory might be used as the pathway to new understandings and ideas. At the same time, Wright’s approach reflected the emerging belief that principles and function in architecture are interactive and highly dynamic, connecting the dimensions of spirit and substance.
The Home and Studio present a rather large and complex architectural ensemble which reflects the quite innovative Modernist philosophy of the given period: the interrelation between content, form and function is a necessary premise of creating architecture satisfying the needs of the new society characterized by technology, industrialization and urbanization.
The content of architecture, its symbolic meaning and inherent intention, arises as the foundation for design, includes form-function relations and rises above them. Such idea reflects the shift in understanding of architecture from architecture per se as a value to architecture as created for use and convenience.
Thereby, the focal point in the design of Wright’s own Home and other domestic architecture projects he developed is rationality and logic of responding to content. For Frank Lloyd Wright, content became the humanistic concern rather than utterly aesthetic and mechanistic, while form became its natural expression which could not be isolated from it.
The Home and Studio’s design largely reflects the idea professed by Wright’s teacher, Louis Sullivan, “form follows function”.
Such attitude towards the use of space and the content of architecture marked the change in design, creating the relationships of interdependence of the architectural piece and its intended purpose. In other words, the symbolic meaning of architecture for its users and the respective form of the building could not and should not be disconnected from the functional aspect. In designing spaces for human activity and living, Wright transformed Sullivan’s formula purporting that function and form are one, i.e., inseparably connected.
The Home and Studio complex is an early expression of such ideas: the design of the house derives from the meaning its users grant to this space and flows into the interplay of form and function. Even more, the content and meaning Wright and his family as the intended users of the house grant to domestic environment and the hearth define the functions that could serve their needs and provide the desirable authentic experience.
In Wright’s design philosophy, every human has a right to live and use his/her house in his/her own unique manner; therefore, the human being is a pioneer with the home environment being controlled by him/her and reflecting his/her tastes, characters and ideas. The given position gives a place to individualism and pragmatism in Wright’s philosophy of architecture and stresses simplicity, honest use of material and propriety as the virtues to be preserved in the design of domestic architecture and beyond.
Wright’s house was originally perceived by him as the reflection of his own attitudes towards architecture and convenience, and became a kind of design laboratory where the architect tested the approaches and strategies which would later be offered to his clients and reflected in his design projects.
Evidently, Wright valued both his home as the place of comfort and convenience for his and his family ad his working space; while the Home and Studio complex reflects his affection for both of these aspects of his life. The ensemble literally consists of the two large and elaborately designed parts which have separate entrances and are connected by a single corridor – a remarkable parallel to the architect’s family life and professional activity.
Even more, the planning of the house, its interior and material use reflect Wright’s innovative approach of organic architecture, i.e., the architecture which integrates into the environment smoothly and adopts nature’s principle in organization and functioning. Embracing the laws of nature, architecture resembles the living organism where all parts and the whole piece are placed in the reciprocal relatedness.
Organic architecture implies harmony of multiple parts and their balanced and coherent functioning as well as respectful use of natural materials in accordance with their properties. The Home and Studio complex combines ample amounts of natural material such as stone, brick and wood. Even more, Wright’s respect for nature is reflected even in the fact that he let the willow tree grow literally through the pathway between the Studio and the Home.
Form
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Home and Studio complex is characterized by the architectural form which was practically inconceivable in the later nineteenth century and could be easily mistaken for a quite modern architectural piece: mounting geometrical shapes and elements, clear lines, modest amounts of ornamentation and decoration and plain brick and wooden elements.
The building is comprised of two floors, while the overall structure has a type of two-dimensional division: the one between the ground floor and the second floor and another one between the living part of the house and Wright’s working space. Remarkably, the Home and the Studio are positioned as two separate parts of the ensemble connected only by a corridor and yet maintaining integrity of form, style and materials.
The entire building might be characterized as a prototype of cubistic tendencies in architecture: the whole seems to have been dissolved and reassembled in a complex combination of geometric elements following a balanced rhythm. While the house was expanded during almost two decades, the architect tried to preserve the dominating shapes of the original building in the subsequent annexes. Thereby, rectangles and octagons repeat themselves in different levels and parts of the building and are sometimes layered in dense constructions. Wright used open floor planning and
One of the most important parts in terms of form is the Studio Annex with its entrance façade. The northern part of the house is designed as a separate working space for Wright with several rooms in it: the octagonal presentation library, the drafting room to the left from the entrance, the reception area and the architect’s office located behind the latter. The entrance ensemble maintains a clear geometric shape, being supported by four rectangular columns adorned by bronze sculptural elements.
The sculptural ornaments are rather moderate and are repeated on each of four columns: two storks, a tree of life, an architect’s scroll and the book of knowledge are reproduced on each side of the column, greeting the clients. Complexity of forms grows from the entrance and to the two-level drafting room which combines square shape of the ground floor with an octagon of the second floor.
Remarkably, the tendency which can be observed both in the drafting room and in the presentation library is the use of the second-level space: the intermediate ceiling in these rooms is eliminated enabling the additional flow of light in the rooms. The drafting room has a complex system of insolation which combines two levels of windows on both floors.
The library, on the other hand, is marked by a more complex insolation pattern complementing its shape. The room plan excludes windows from the ground floor level, yet placing them on the second floor level and complementing the insolation pattern with the top light: the top light window is located directly above the architect’s presentation table. In addition, the central part of the Studio Annex, i.e., the reception room and the office behind it are also lit by the top light: Wright used glass pyramid-shaped roof lanterns adjusted to the size of the rooms to light the space.
The key trait of the Studio’s interior is the active use of wood in decoration and furniture. The wooden tables of the drafting room match the wood-beamed ceiling, while the presentation library is trimmed with the wooden ‘rotating’ panels on the second-floor level. At the same time, Wright made use of glass constructions wisely adhering to the norms of insolation.
The Studio Annex is connected to the Home with a single pathway leading from the drafting room to the living section of the house, i.e., the study, the living room and other spaces. The Home has a complex system of stairways and rooms which are separated either by doors or by other architectural means.
The Home is comprised of two floors: Wrights’ living and dining rooms, kitchen, study and other spaces are located on the ground floor, while bedrooms, Catherine’s dayroom (sewing room) and children’s playroom occupy the second floor. The spaces of the Home interplay with the Studio Annex in terms of shapes, material use and lighting strategies. For instance, the formal dining room has the wood-carved top light and the patterned wooden floor consisting of small square wooden bricks of different shades.
One of the most interesting rooms is located on the second floor: the children’s playroom added by Wright in 1895 is a large room with the barrel-shaped vault and the second-level space lit by the system of windows and the top light, which is an exquisitely detailed wood-carved window.
The interior of the room is also aligned with Wrights ‘organic’ philosophy, with lavish wooden panel trimming and the stone-trimmed fireplace. At the same time, Wright did not exclude decorative elements completely, designing an Egyptian-style image above the fireplace. The bedrooms located on the second floor are also almost all wood: Wright used wood as the primary material both for wall decoration, for furniture and for the floor. The nursery which later became the sewing room for Wright’s wife also maintains the geometric rhythm of the house with its second-level space and the octagonal shape of the external wall.
Overall, the Home and Studio ensemble created by Wright is extremely innovative, complex and elaborate in its form. Wright abandoned symmetry and yet maintained a steady rhythmic pattern in location of repetitive geometric forms. Moreover, the building is multi-level, multidimensional and resembles a complex organism with all its parts being interconnected and functioning in a well-balanced way.
Function
As it has been mentioned above, Wright’s philosophy laid foundations of the non-holistic approach towards architecture which values the interplay of form and function as the key condition of the spaces responsive of the user’s needs. At the same time, function is an integral part of organic architecture where all parts are made with consideration of the function performed by the whole project. Thereby, the Home and Studio became the pioneering specimen of the form-function interplay, which means that the design decisions implemented by Wright in his own house project reflect the content of this space (i.e., home and work environment) and respond to the demands he and his family had with the form.
Obviously one of the most evident functional aspects underlying the design of the house is Wright’s intention to draw a more or less clear line between professional activity and family life. Thereby, the decision to create two separate and stylistically diverse entrances is no coincidence.
The entrance to the Home oozes an air of comfort and family hearth: the modest wooden door, a flowerbed and two smooth round-shaped decks on both sides of the door interplay with the symbolic meaning of the house and serve the family’s personal needs. On the other hand, it is quite obvious that the appearance and form of the Studio façade are completely different and, naturally, perform another function.
The northern façade showing off the architect’s studio is not only grand in its shapes and size; it also presents a glorious specimen of his work to the client. Moreover, the four entrance capitals decorated with sculptural elements (storks, scrolls, the tree of life and the book) serve to greet the client and convey the values held by Wright in his life and work.
The special function is performed by the insolation decisions implemented in the house design. One could observe that Wright designed a great number of windows, roof lanterns and top lights throughout the house – both in the working space and in the living part.
The tastefully wood-carved windows, exquisite pyramidal roof lanterns and patterned stained glass top lights might drive one at an assumption that Wright contradicted his own philosophy. However, these ornamental elements are not deprived of functionality: all these fancies are given enormous functional significance in both parts of the house.
Obviously, Wright was obsessed with light and wanted architecture to integrate with it as a part of nature, or even bring about comfort and certain mood with help of powerful insolation. In all rooms, the architect tried to add as much light as possible to make the house comfortable and spacious, or even practically convenient.
The latter aspect relates directly to Wright’s studio where insolation fancies function as an assistance in architectural work. A great example of functionality is the presentation library, a powerfully lit room with not windows on the ground floor level. From the first sight, Wright’s decision to exclude ground floor windows from the planning might seem strange. However, the architect’s decision is justified by the important function of the room where all his design projects were presented to clients and virtually ‘sold’.
Thereby, windows were elevated to the second-level space in order to minimize their distracting effect, but the high level of insolation – also extremely important for the mentioned aspect of work – was preserved with help of second-level windows and a large top light window. At the same time, the function of rotating octagonal shapes on the second floor level should be mentioned: the latter enhance the sense of space and make it more complex and impressive.
Functionality of windows and other lighting means is reiterated throughout the house, as additional light flows are ensured for the large spaces of both working and living rooms. Wright connected form with function to create a house full of light and deployed innovative means to light spaces which – due to the complex shape of the house – could not be lit to the sufficient extent with the help of traditional windows only.
Here, a good example of functionality is the roof lantern located in Wright’s office: the position of the room does not provide enough space for windows on the perimeter, while the roof lantern located in the ceiling ensures a direct flow of daylight right onto the architect’s table.
The design of bedrooms, too, exemplifies organic approach and functionality. The use of minimalistic floor-to-ceiling windows which were unusual for the late nineteenth century is dedicated to the function of insolation, again. At the same time, the interior and furniture created with help of natural materials are literally deprived of excessive and ‘useless’ decorative elements, performing the primary functions of convenience.
The design of the entire house is supplied with multiple nonstandard architectural decisions contributing to functionality. The abundance of pathways and stairways is held strictly within the limit of functionality – the passages are designed in the way which enables fast and convenient movement around the house.
Even the Studio is connected to the Home via two-level corridor providing access both to the ground and the second floor. Such unusual decisions as the use of chains in the drafting room is explained by their high reliability as they hold numerous lightbulbs above the working tables. The beamed ceilings, in turn, also turn out to be the form and the function at the same time: the supporting construction of the house’s ceiling became a part of the interior balancing the overall style.
Reference List
Fandel, J., & Wright, F. L. (2005). Frank Lloyd Wright. The Creative Company.
Hanks, D. A., Wright, F. L., & Renwick Gallery (1979). The Decorative Designs of Frank Lloyd Wright. Courier Corporation.
Laseau, P., & Tice, J. (1991). Frank Lloyd Wright: Between Principles and Form. John Wiley & Sons.
Sullivan, L. H. (1896). The Tall Office Building Artistically Considered. Lippincott's Magazine (March 1896), 403–409.
Zeidler, E. (2013). Buildings Cities Life: An Autobiography in Architecture, Volume 2. Dundurn.
