This past weekend I watched a great documentary on Frank Lloyd Wright. It was a Ken Burns creation that has been aired on PBS. It is a recent addition to Netflix. I have always been interested in great architecture and have always liked FLW's work. The film was a great illustration of his life and some of the great structures that he designed. The film also constructed an accurate account of his success and failings. One of the aspects of the film that caught my attention was how he would not surrender his ideas for function. For example, the space was more important than how it actually worked in real life. Windows often leaked, heating systems didn't always work right, and if you had your own furniture, FORGET IT. This man had his idea of how it should look and it usually panned out his way. If there were things that you needed, then he would design it himself. I wonder if he ever designed a school? Meth, any knowledge of that?
Sarah and I visited a FLW house while we were in Chicago last summer. It was the Frederick C. Robie House (Chicago 1908-1910). It was an amazing house, but I guess in the winter the house was as cold as Antarctica. The average temperature was 39 degrees in the daytime. The windows are beautiful but man did they lose heat. The main entrance was off to the side of the house which was something that he thought was not to be the highlight of the house. The ceilings were low as to say welcome to our home. The house was in danger of being bought and demolished many times by the ever growing university. Each time that FLW heard of this he went down to the Robie House and stood on the steps denouncing the actions proposed. Each time he was successful in getting an organization or society to purchase it and keep it from the hands of the university. The school wanted to clear the house for a dorm complex. He could not purchase it himself because he was always spending his money after each commission. He spent a lot of money building and rebuilding Taliesin.
One of my favorite creations of Frank Lloyd Wright is Falling Water. It is very popular and is the favorite of many people. I think that it is a perfect design of nature and man. What a peaceful place to live and to be one with the wilds of nature. He was the first Natural Architect.
2 comments:
Frank, like many of the greatest architects was a nut, and possibly slightly sociopathic. Not that he would kill someone, just that he had little concern for others.
His buildings did have all sorts of problems with leaking. He was pushing the envelope of technology way beyond where it was at the time. If he had access to silicone sealants, he would have had a much easier time. It's also worth remembering that all windows prior to about 1970 were terrible, drafty things.
His life story, again like many famous architects, (Louis Kahn being another - watch a movie called My Architect) was a soap opera. A disgruntled employee killed people at the Taliesen East that is in WI. He had affairs, generally treating women like crap. He was a dick. And he was short, so he made rooms with low ceilings. And really uncomfortable, if beautiful, furniture. They were more like pieces of art in a gallery.
The disgruntled employee poured gas around the house and then lit the gas with a match. As people charged out of the buring structure to escape the flames the crazy employee took an axe to them.
True statment about the windows, but good lord. Make sure your heating systems work good if you know that it is going to be cold.
Post a Comment