Wright’s Organic Architecture
Architecture is an embodiment of a couple of activities. It may involve planning, designing and ultimately constructing the desired structure out of the specified materials. In many cases, the process of design and construction has to take into consideration the aspect of aesthetic values. Historically, most buildings of unique designs represent the culture of the surrounding people or a landmark that is easily recognized. Immediately after World War one, there began the practice of modern architecture. It encompasses moral and aesthetic blueprints. The designers had a primary vision of signifying a new way of development after the war. They had to reduce most design from holding traditional designs so as to maximize the functionality of the buildings. Individuals like Frank Lloyd Wright came up with organic architecture in which had its platform to satisfy the nature of the environment. It was meant to uphold the peaceful relationship between the humans and the natural environment.
The paper will take a cognitive overview of the works of Frank Wright Lloyd and the reasons why his works changed quite significantly. Also, the paper will point out the works that are still sharing similarities and how Frank’s works may have influenced the global architecture. First and foremost, it would be of great significance if we take a quick look at the personal life of Frank Wright Floyd. In most occasions, the lifestyle of an individual is the greatest force that steers his way of life, thoughts and actions. It is undoubtedly true that a closer study of Mr. Wright’s life will enable us to understand some of the motives behind his architectural designs. He was an outstanding American architect who believed in making structures whose underlying platform was the consideration for humanity. Wright is the greatest American architect of all time. He upheld his philosophy of organic architecture. The gentleman attended Madison high school. It is surprising that there is no poignant evidence that he ever graduated from the school. After collecting his honorary doctorate of Fine Arts from the University, he moved on to look for employment in Chicago. It would be magnificent to note that he worked under a great professor of civil engineering Allan D. Conover in his early schooling at the University. After the great Chicago fire of 1971, there was a population boom and the need for newer developments in the town. Mr. Wright was still determined to find work despite the architectural incompetence in the area. He found a job as a draftsman and construction supervisor in Silsbee. Feeling that he received less pay in the company, he quit his job to work as a designer in the firm of Beers but later returned to Silsbee with a salary increment. After close to a year, he landed on another job at the Adler & Sullivan as the official apprentice in the firm. He soon married and acquired a loan from the Sullivan to build his apartment so that he could keep his five-year employment plan.
Architecture and Design
Upon his graduation, and before working with the Silsbee, Mr. Frank was a reliable and competent architect who would still deliver magnificent pieces of work. His practice with the Adler and Sullivan made his perception of work change a great deal. At the Sullivan, he passed an interview where he was meant to complete the design of The Auditorium building. Despite his reputation for construction and taste in architecture, he had to admit the important influence that he obtained from the company. He learned from the organization’s fluid, organically inspired ornamentation. In turn, Mr. the architect went further to create his platform of design and development that were inspired by nature. That was the concept of organic architecture. As suggested earlier, organic architecture simply promotes the harmony between the existence of human beings and the natural world. The building design affirms that the two were a unified organism. It involves the literal design of every item in the building ranging from the windows roofing and the floor. Everything must be relating to one another as to portray the intricate patterns of the links in nature.
The Falling Water.
The Kaufmann home is a house designed by Mr. Frank in the rural Pennsylvania in early 1935. The construction was made partly over a waterfall. Crowned as Wright’s most beautiful job, the house is also among the Smithsonian’s most beautiful places that one should visit before he or she dies. The design and construction of the building were not as easy as an ordinary piece of architecture. One of the most challenging problems was that the location of the north bank of the Bare Run was fairly small in providing a foundation for the Wright House. The Kauffman's couple planned to accommodate a large number of guests. Also, they requested for two separate bedrooms and an additional one for their eldest son. With the prevailing atmosphere and the demands, the house glad to be large. Wright resorted to using a cantilevered structure to address the problem of limited spacing in Fallingwater The issue of spacing was of significant consideration. In addition to the regular visitors, the Kauffmann’s would have to host tourists who would come to enjoy the aesthetic value of the house. In some sections, just like in the Robie house, The structural design got approved of by Frank’s team of engineers like Mendel Glickman. Some of the initial plans got sent to Mr. Kauffmann of which he approved. Mr. Kauffmann had an interesting taste in architecture and engineering that he closely followed the construction process. At some point, he proposed for the consideration of his interests. Later, there were a lot of conflicts between the contractor and the owner of the house because Mr. Kauffmann felt that Mr. Wright was fairly incompetent in using reinforced concrete in the building. He wanted to have the cantilever design reviewed by a team of consulting engineers until the contractor threatened to pull out of the project.
Pictures showing the physical location of Fallingwater house and the plan. (https://ka-perseus-images.s3.amazonaws.com/aa98fb22d93b8cff9720d12f1798ea1f2bd27ef1.jpg)
For the cantilevered floor, the contractor opted to use a unique design of T-shaped beams embedded into a slab made of concrete which formed both the ceiling and space beneath. The other advantage that presented itself is that the design provided resistance to compression. The contracting engineer Walter Hall proposed for reinforcing steel to get used in the flooring slab. At Kauffmann’s request, his engineers redrew Wrights reinforcing plans and doubled up the amount of reinforcing steel. He wanted to be assured of safety due to the strength of the building considering its location and the surrounding environment. The 2007 publication also affirm that the Fallingwater project resulted in America’s most extraordinary house. It would be an amazing place to visit. The Kaufmanns never had the intruding interest of approving most of Wright’s works until they had the demonstration of other successful and closely related construction elsewhere. It would be important that the paper hints the costing of the project. The Fallingwater had its original estimation to be thirty-five thousand dollars. The final cost of the luxurious house together with the guestroom was a whopping one hundred and fifty-five thousand dollars. The cost was subdivided as follows. One, the house itself demanded seventy-five thousand dollars. Furnishing and Finishing demanded another close to twenty-two thousand dollars. In the year 2015, the amount was estimated to be in the range of two and a half million dollars. The guesthouse together with the garage and the servant quarters consumed an excess of fifty thousand dollars. The architect’s fee was about eight thousand dollars. Falling water was Kauffmann’s weekend home up to 1963 when they decided to donate it to Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. It got later opened as a public museum. It receives more than a hundred thousand visitors each year.
Frank Wright was also predominantly known for the dozen Prairie architectural design homes. He did his work in the construction of the homes between 1900 and 1920. Personally, he described them as the city man’s country home on the land of Prairie. Structurally, the homes were quite different from the Victorian homes that were prevalent in the area by then. Most significantly, the period was the time of the great urban unrest. Therefore, the upper middle-class homeowners preferred the new taste of construction. In his desire to accomplish the perception of organic architecture, Wright provided a secured shelter that was in harmony with the local landscape and habitat. The homes simply a united man, the environment and the aesthetic value of architecture. Unifying nature and humanity provide a nostalgic mood by which an individual can have a piece of mind and explore much of his thoughts. In the late 1930s, Wright built over sixty middle-income homes. They were commonly referred to as the Usonian Houses. With their location and design appearance, one would easily perceive them as homes in a museum They embodied the aesthetic principles of the modern ranch houses. The Usonian residential homes were well fitted with elegant, and the most exquisite design features like solar heating, efficient cooling systems, and automobile storage facilities. Wight did several other projects in the design and completion of public buildings like the much-known administration building of SC Johnson Wax. Some of the projects were completed much later after his death.
Influence on global architecture.
Wright’s ideology of organic architecture influenced modern architecture in significantly many places around the world. Tom Casey was an architect who was already saturated with Franks principles before undertaking the construction of the headquarters’ building at the Rocky Mountain National Park. He improved his way of doing things by simplifying the ideology of organic architecture into four main principles that guided architectural designs. In the construction of the National Museum he primarily concerned himself with the principles of making a building whose construction materials are locally obtained and will naturally wear out with time. Imre Makovecz also designed a Catholic church in Hungary employing Wright’s principles. Architects like David Pearson postulated some of the rules that guide organic architecture. The rules were to be adopted by all the modern organic architects and get used as a manual in their design work. Among them, it had to be inspired by nature and be diversely healthy. It should also satisfy spiritual needs and express the rhythm of music and the power of dance. In a summary, Wright was the most celebrated American organic architect. His design plans are environmentally friendly.
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