Frank Lloyd Wright: Education, Influences, and Architectural Legacy
Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 - April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator who left an indelible mark on 20th-century architecture. His innovative designs, philosophical approach, and prolific output continue to inspire architects and designers worldwide. Wright's career spanned seven decades, during which he designed over 1,000 structures, penned numerous books and articles, and lectured extensively in the United States and Europe. This article explores Wright's education, the key influences that shaped his architectural vision, and the enduring legacy he left behind.
Early Life and Education: Foundations of a Visionary
Frank Lloyd Wright was born in Richland Center, Wisconsin, on June 8, 1867. His mother, Anna Lloyd Jones, a teacher from a large Welsh family, instilled in him a love for learning and an appreciation for beauty. His father, William Carey Wright, was a preacher and musician. Wright's family moved frequently during his early years, living in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Iowa before settling in Madison, Wisconsin, when Wright was 12 years old. He spent his summers with his mother’s family in Spring Green, developing a deep connection with the Wisconsin landscape.
Wright's mother, recognizing his potential, decorated his nursery with pictures of European cathedrals, fostering an early appreciation for architecture. According to Wright's autobiography, his mother believed her first child would grow up to build beautiful buildings.
In 1876, when Wright was nine years old, his mother introduced him to the Froebel Gifts, a set of wooden educational blocks that formed the foundation of an innovative kindergarten curriculum. These geometrically shaped blocks could be assembled in various combinations to form two- and three-dimensional compositions. Wright later described the profound influence of these exercises on his design approach: "For several years, I sat at the little kindergarten table-top… and played… with the cube, the sphere and the triangle - these smooth wooden maple blocks… All are in my fingers to this day…"
In 1885, the year Wright graduated from public high school in Madison, his parents divorced, and his father moved away. That year, Wright enrolled at the University of Wisconsin at Madison as a special student, studying civil engineering to pay his tuition and support his family. He also worked for the dean of the engineering department and assisted the acclaimed architect Joseph Silsbee with the construction of the Unity Chapel.
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Apprenticeship and Early Career: Shaping an Architectural Identity
In 1887, Wright arrived in Chicago in search of employment. He briefly apprenticed with Joseph Lyman Silsbee, a Chicago architect known for his picturesque designs. Silsbee's influence can be seen in Wright's early work, particularly in his use of natural materials and ornamentation.
Wright learned that the Chicago firm of Adler & Sullivan was "… looking for someone to make the finished drawings for the interior of the Auditorium Building". Wright demonstrated that he was a competent impressionist of Louis Sullivan's ornamental designs and two short interviews later, was an official apprentice in the firm.
A year later, Wright began an apprenticeship with the Chicago architectural firm of Adler and Sullivan, working directly under Louis Sullivan, the great American architect best known as “the father of skyscrapers.” Sullivan, who rejected ornate European styles in favor of a cleaner aesthetic summed up by his maxim “form follows function,” had a profound influence on Wright, who would eventually carry to completion Sullivan’s dream of defining a uniquely American style of architecture. As an act of respect, Wright would later refer to Sullivan as lieber Meister (German for "dear master").
By 1890, Wright had an office next to Sullivan's that he shared with friend and draftsman George Elmslie, who had been hired by Sullivan at Wright's request. Wright had risen to head draftsman and handled all residential design work in the office. As a general rule, the firm of Adler & Sullivan did not design or build houses, but would oblige when asked by the clients of their important commercial projects.
During this time, Wright was assigned to work on the Sullivan's bungalow (1890) and the James A. Charnley bungalow (1890) in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, the Berry-MacHarg House,[35] James A. Despite Sullivan's loan and overtime salary, Wright was constantly short on funds. Wright admitted that his poor finances were likely due to his expensive tastes in wardrobe and vehicles, and the extra luxuries he designed into his house.
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To supplement his income and repay his debts, Wright accepted independent commissions for at least nine houses. These "bootlegged" houses, as he later called them, were conservatively designed in variations of the fashionable Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles. Nevertheless, unlike the prevailing architecture of the period, each house emphasized simple geometric massing and contained features such as bands of horizontal windows, occasional cantilevers, and open floor plans, which would become hallmarks of his later work. As with the residential projects for Adler & Sullivan, he designed his bootleg houses on his own time.
Sullivan knew nothing of the independent works until 1893, when he recognized that one of the houses was unmistakably a Frank Lloyd Wright design. Since Wright's five-year contract forbade any outside work, the incident led to his departure from Sullivan's firm.
After leaving Adler & Sullivan, Wright established his own practice on the top floor of the Sullivan-designed Schiller Building on Randolph Street in Chicago. Wright chose to locate his office in the building because the tower location reminded him of the office of Adler & Sullivan. In 1896, Wright moved from the Schiller Building to the nearby and newly completed Steinway Hall building. The loft space was shared with Robert C. Spencer Jr., Myron Hunt, and Dwight H. Perkins.
The Prairie School: A Distinctly American Architecture
Over the next several years, Wright designed a series of residences and public buildings that became known as the leading examples of the “Prairie School” of architecture. These were single-story homes with low, pitched roofs and long rows of casement windows, employing only locally available materials and wood that was always unstained and unpainted, emphasizing its natural beauty. Wright’s most celebrated “Prairie School” buildings include the Robie House in Chicago and the Unity Temple in Oak Park.
By 1901, Wright had completed about 50 projects, including many houses in Oak Park. William Eugene Drummond, Francis Barry Byrne, Walter Burley Griffin, Albert Chase McArthur, Marion Mahony, Isabel Roberts, and George Willis were the draftsmen. Five men, two women. They wore flowing ties, and smocks suitable to the realm. The men wore their hair like Papa, all except Albert, he didn't have enough hair. They worshiped Papa! Papa liked them!
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Between 1900 and 1901, Frank Lloyd Wright completed four houses, which have since been identified as the onset of the "Prairie Style". Two, the Hickox and Bradley Houses, were the last transitional step between Wright's early designs and the Prairie creations. Meanwhile, the Thomas House and Willits House received recognition as the first mature examples of the new style. At the same time, Wright gave his new ideas for the American house widespread awareness through two publications in the Ladies' Home Journal.
Wright came to Buffalo and designed homes for three of the company's executives: the Darwin D. Martin House (1904), the William R. Heath House 1905), and the Walter V. Davidson House (1908). Wright also designed Graycliff (1931), a summer home for the Martin family on the shore of Lake Erie. Other Wright houses considered to be masterpieces of the Prairie Style are the Frederick Robie House in Chicago and the Avery and Queene Coonley House in Riverside, Illinois.
By 1909, Wright had begun to reject the upper-middle-class Prairie Style single-family house model, shifting his focus to a more democratic architecture.
Influences and Inspirations: Nature, Philosophy, and Art
Wright's architectural vision was shaped by a variety of influences, including:
Nature: Wright's deep connection with the natural world was a cornerstone of his design philosophy. He believed that buildings should be integrated with their surroundings, using natural materials and forms to create a sense of harmony. As an outdoorsy child, Wright fell deeply in love with the Wisconsin landscape he explored as a boy. “The modeling of the hills, the weaving and fabric that clings to them, the look of it all in tender green or covered with snow or in full glow of summer that bursts into the glorious blaze of autumn,” he later reminisced. Wright’s reverence for the natural world became the cornerstone of his pioneering theories of “organic architecture” and would shape, define and enhance every project he approached for the rest of his life.
Louis Sullivan: Wright's mentor, Louis Sullivan, instilled in him the principles of organic architecture and the importance of expressing the function of a building through its form. Sullivan's famous maxim, "form follows function," became a guiding principle for Wright.
The Arts and Crafts Movement: This movement, which emphasized craftsmanship and the use of natural materials, influenced Wright's designs, particularly in his attention to detail and his use of wood and other natural elements. In 1889, Wright completed the construction of his two-storey residence in Oak Park. The design influences of his current and previous employers - Sullivan and J.L. Silsbee was apparent in the building. It was also inspired by the English Arts and Crafts movement, which encouraged simplicity and integrity in art, architecture and design.
Japanese Art and Architecture: Wright was deeply influenced by Japanese art and architecture, particularly the principles of simplicity, asymmetry, and the integration of nature into design. In 1915, the Japanese Emperor commissioned Wright to design the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. He spent the next seven years on the project, a beautiful and revolutionary building that Wright claimed was “earthquake proof.” Only one year after its completion, the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 devastated the city and tested the architect’s claim.
Unitarianism: Wright's upbringing in the Unitarian faith, which emphasized unity and harmony, influenced his desire to create buildings that were integrated and holistic. The home was a reflection of Wright’s upbringing in Unitarianism, a faith that did not believe in the trinity but instead promoted that the Christian God is one entity. Wright’s desire for unity was evident in his aesthetic style at that point and later on in his career.
Key Architectural Concepts: Organic Architecture and the Usonian Home
Wright developed several key architectural concepts that defined his unique style:
Organic Architecture: Wright believed in designing in harmony with humanity and the environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture. This approach emphasized the integration of a building with its site, the use of natural materials, and the expression of the building's function through its form. In 1908, Frank Lloyd Wright first used the term “organic architecture” which symbolised harmony of buildings with their inhabitants as well as nature.
The Prairie School: Wright was a pioneer of what came to be called the Prairie School movement of architecture. This style, characterized by horizontal lines, low-pitched roofs, and open floor plans, was intended to reflect the vast, flat landscape of the American Midwest.
The Usonian Home: Wright also developed the concept of the Usonian home within Broadacre City, his vision for urban planning in the United States. These were affordable, modern homes designed for the average American family, emphasizing simplicity, functionality, and integration with nature. When Americans faced the Great Depression, Wright began working on affordable housing, which developed into the Usonian home - a more simplified yet beautiful home for Americans to enjoy living in.
Major Works and Achievements: A Legacy of Innovation
Wright's career was marked by a series of iconic buildings that showcased his innovative designs and philosophical approach. Some of his most notable works include:
The Robie House (Chicago, 1910): A quintessential example of the Prairie School style, the Robie House features horizontal lines, low-pitched roofs, and an open floor plan.
Fallingwater (Mill Run, Pennsylvania, 1935): Perhaps Wright's most famous work, Fallingwater is a house built over a waterfall, showcasing his commitment to integrating architecture with nature. Shockingly original and astonishingly beautiful, Fallingwater is marked by a series of cantilevered balconies and terraces constructed atop a waterfall in rural southwestern Pennsylvania. It remains one of Wright’s most celebrated works, a national landmark that is widely considered one of the most beautiful homes ever built.
The Guggenheim Museum (New York City, 1959): A unique and iconic museum, the Guggenheim features a spiral ramp that allows visitors to view art in a continuous, flowing space. An enormous white cylindrical building spiraling upward into a Plexiglass dome, the museum consists of a single gallery along a ramp that coils up from the ground floor. Frank Lloyd Wright passed away on April 9, 1959, at the age 91, six months before the Guggenheim opened its doors.
The Imperial Hotel (Tokyo, 1923): Designed in the Maya Revival style of architecture. The hotel structure survived the 1923 earthquake of Tokyo with minimal damage.
Taliesin and Taliesin West: Wright's homes and studios in Wisconsin and Arizona, respectively, served as both living spaces and architectural laboratories, where he experimented with new ideas and trained apprentices. In 1913, Wright and Cheney returned to the United States, and Wright designed them a home on the land of his maternal ancestors in Spring Green, Wisconsin. Named Taliesin, Welsh for “shining brow,” it was one of the most acclaimed works of his life.
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