FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

The World’s Most Influential Architect

It can be argued that Frank Lloyd Wright is not only the most famous but also the most influential architect of all time.  The American architect was born in Wisconsin in 1867 and spent summers as a child working on his uncle’s farm.  Astonishingly enough, Wright dropped out of high school in 1885 and went to work for Allan Conover, the Dean of the University of Wisconsin’s engineering department.  Wright spent two semesters studying civil engineering before leaving the university, to work for architect Joseph Lyman Silsbee and eventually Alder and Sullivan. 

While working under Sullivan, Wright challenged Sullivan’s maxim, “Form Follows Function,” stating that, “Form follows function - that has been misunderstood.  Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.”  Despite having slightly contradictory views, Wright credits Sullivan as the primary influence of his career.

Wright's Unique Architectural Style

Once on his own, Wright’s early houses and buildings emerged having unique qualities and a new style of their own.  These houses had a number of features, including that they did not have basements or attics, they used uninterrupted window panes to maximize a connect with the exterior, they had low pitched rooflines with deep overhangs, and they merged the lines of the horizontal home into their landscape.  Wright had set out to create an architectural style all of his own, an American architecture that was affordable to the “common people”.  During the great depression when people could not afford to hire architects, Wright began building what he termed “USONIAN” homes.  Usonia is an abbreviation for United States of North America.  In order to cut costs, these homes were smaller in scale and made use of plentiful natural materials such as concrete, brick, or wood; they also included many built-in features.  Although not patented by the great architect, Wright also invented the traditional carport, a less expensive alternative and potentially more design-friendly than the garage.

Wright's Influence

Over time, Wright’s unique style began to influence architects all over the globe.  Wright was not afraid to experiment and push boundaries with his design.  His winter home, office, and architecture school, Taliesin West, is located on the outskirts of Phoenix Arizona; Wright worked, lived, and ran his architecture school there during the winter months.  He moved all three to Wisconsin each year for the summer months to avoid the heat.  Phoenix was Wright’s winter home where he worked diligently during the last 20 years of his life; he was constantly experimenting with different materials and designs, building and rebuilding Taliesin West. Today Taliesin West is still home to the winter semesters of Frank Lloyd Wright’s school of architecture and is now run by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.  He is quoted as saying, “An architect's most useful tools are an eraser at the drafting board, and a wrecking bar at the site.” 

Wright was very particular with every aspect of his designs.  One of his greatest attributes which Wright has passed on to generations of architects was his insistence and appreciation for the natural world.  Not only did he incorporate local, natural materials into his designs, but also he designed his buildings to serve as an extension of nature itself. 

“No house should ever be on a hill or on anything.  It should be of the hill.  Belonging to it.  Hill and house should live together each the happier for the other.” 

Wright believed that a building should emerge from the land in a natural way; in a way that feels as though the two parts had a single, grand designer.  This notion has been passed on and is evident in several distinct Okanagan homes.  The Okanagan is full of natural beauty and, as a result, is a near-perfect location for Frank Lloyd Wright inspired architecture.

  “Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature.  It will never fail you.”

Wright died at the age of 89 and worked right up to the days before his death.  Over his career, Wright had completed 1141 designs, about half of which were seen to completion.  He was internationally renowned for his innovative architecture and contemporary designs; his name is synonymous with some of the greatest designs ever developed.  Frank Lloyd Wright dictated not only what people should live in, but also influenced the very way in which they should live.  His designs were both beautiful in form and practical in function. 

Designing buildings is no easy feat, as Wright was quick to share; “A doctor can bury his mistakes but an architect can only advise his clients to plant vines.”  

Frank Lloyd Wright is arguably the greatest and most influential architect of our day.  Over fifty years after his death, his school of architecture still trains architects and many architects continue to mimic various aspects of his work.  Even today, people still seek to live as Wright intended. 

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