Frank
Lloyd Wright was an architect and interior designer credited to have
revolutionized American architecture and interior designing. Over his long and
productive career he designed more than 1000 structures and 500 works including
different types of buildings like offices, schools, hotels, museums, churches
and skyscrapers. He is best remembered for his innovative designs which were in
harmony with nature and humanity. As an interior designer he also designed
furniture and stained glass. His interest in architecture began when he
assisted famous architect Joseph Silsbee with the construction of the Unity
Chapel as a college student. He also worked under the architect Louis Sullivan
who was known as the ‘father of skyscrapers’. This experience had a profound
influence on the young Wright and motivated him to develop a unique American
style of architecture. He later developed his own practice and became a much
sought after architect famous for his unique and stylish designs. His
residential designs were known as “Prairie Style” and reflected the influence
of Japanese architecture. In spite of being highly talented, his scandalous
private life and affair with a married woman jeopardized his career and he
could never gain back the reputation of his hey days.
Career
·
He went to Chicago in 1887 in search of employment. He found
work as a draftsman with the architectural firm of Joseph Silsbee with whom he
had worked as a college student.
·
Even though this work helped him earn his livelihood but he was
not satisfied with that. Soon he started looking for a new job and was hired by
the firm of Adler & Sullivan.
·
Working with the legendary architect Louis Sullivan had a
profound influence on Wright’s creativity and designing abilities. Sullivan granted
him a five year contract. However, due to financial troubles Wright began
accepting independent commissions as well. He was fired by Sullivan in 1893 for
breach of contract.
·
He established his own practice after leaving Sullivan. His
first independent commission was the Winslow House which was simple yet elegant
and characterized by open, expansive interior spaces. This design soon came to
be called the “organic style”.
·
Determined to develop an architectural style that was uniquely
American, he designed several residential and public buildings over the next
several years that came to be known as “prairie style”.
·
The prairie houses had extended low buildings with shallow,
sloping roofs, suppressed chimneys, overhangs and terraces. These houses are an
example of the “open plan”, with long and low windows that connect the
interiors with nature.
·
He was a lifelong Unitarian. After the Unitarian church was
burned down in 1905, he offered to build the Unity Temple on which he worked
till 1909. The temple was built with only one material, reinforced concrete,
and was hailed as the world’s first modern building.
·
In spite of being married with children, he fell in love with a
married woman and left for Europe in 1909. This scandal marred his reputation
and he was finding it difficult to get significant commissions. His lover and
several others were killed by a deranged man which shook the architect
emotionally.
·
He was commissioned by the Japanese Emperor to design the
Imperial hotel in Tokyo in 1915. It took him a full seven years to build the
project which he claimed was earthquake proof. This claim proved to be a fact
as the hotel was the only large structure to survive the Great Kanto Earthquake
of 1923.
·
His career as an architect slowed down due to the Great Depression
during the 1930s. He focused on writing and teaching at this time. His books
‘An Autobiography’ and ‘The Disappearing City’ were published in 1932.
·
One of his most significant works was built during his later
years. It took him 16 years (1943-1959) to design the Solomon R. Guggenheim
Museum in New York City which rises as a spiral with its interiors similar to
the inside of a sea shell.
Major
Works
·
The Fallingwater, a house designed by him was named the
"best all-time work of American architecture” in 1991 by the American
Institute of Architects. The home was partially built over a waterfall which
adds to its aesthetic appeal.
·
He designed the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum which is a
cylindrical museum building considered to be one of the most important
landmarks of the 20th century
Awards
& Achievements
·
He received Gold Medals from The Royal Institute of British
Architects (RIBA) and the American Institute of Architects in 1941 and 1949
respectively.
·
In 1953 he received the Franklin Institute’s Frank P. Brown
Medal
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