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Frank Lloyd Wright

post #1 of 40
8/9/07 at 12:59pm
Thread Starter 
What do you all think about him as an architect?

















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post #2 of 40
8/9/07 at 1:21pm
He is the first architect I ever got interested in, so I have a soft spot for the gent. I have visited Falling Water, Taliesin West, Guggenheim, and Beth Shalom. From what I have gathered, the buildings seem to have their share of problems (structurally) and they are costly to maintain. That said, they are visually interesting and very human.
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post #3 of 40
8/9/07 at 1:23pm
Oh and now I have that Simon and Garfunkle song stuck in my head. All of the nights we harmonized til dawn......
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post #4 of 40
8/9/07 at 1:35pm
From a design perspective, he was the tops. I think he tended to make ceilings too low ( due in part to his rather diminutive stature) but he made some of the best use of woodwork I've seen.

A couple of provisios though: his furnature is generally impractical and unusuable and he had no concept of proper construction techniques ( his houses are generally poorly built)
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post #5 of 40
8/9/07 at 2:08pm
that would be my take - I love his design, but he seems to have desinged a bunch of houses that would never last 100 years, in some cases 50 years. that seems to be a serious flaw.

there was actually a house he designed on sale in my town very recently, for a very reasonable price. but I was afraid of putting money into a house that may need major renovations in the short term.
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post #6 of 40
8/9/07 at 2:16pm
Love pretty much everything design by him, except Price Tower.

Someone in the US should get to building The Illinois, break a few records, build a little awesome.
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post #7 of 40
8/9/07 at 2:17pm
You forgot:





Jon.
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post #8 of 40
8/9/07 at 2:25pm
I love his work. One of the houses he designed in Iowa is just a few miles from my mother's hometown. Cedar Rock
All of them are a bitch to heat, though.
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post #9 of 40
8/9/07 at 2:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by yachtie View Post
From a design perspective, he was the tops. I think he tended to make ceilings too low ( due in part to his rather diminutive stature) but he made some of the best use of woodwork I've seen.

A couple of provisios though: his furnature is generally impractical and unusuable and he had no concept of proper construction techniques ( his houses are generally poorly built)
Really, the major construction problems were that the houses neither breathed nor were waterproof. Furniture-wise, they are not really my style, but I disagree that the designs are not usable. I do not believe it the theory that comfort is the most important feature of furniture design. It is one of the aspects, and many of his struggle in this aspect.
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post #10 of 40
8/9/07 at 2:50pm
Wright's work has to be experienced, i.e. you have to be there to really understand his genius in harmonizing the built environment to man. His buildings are carefully scaled, richly detailed, and will enliven all your senses.

Most architects are just skilled enough to make buildings really look interesting, i.e. they only bring visual joy.
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post #11 of 40
8/9/07 at 3:04pm
To me, a lot of his designs are a little busy.

Sometimes I stay at the Imperial Hotel in Japan, which was designed by him. At first, it`s interesting to see the woodwork and layout, but soon the patterns start getting a little busy and you ignore them. Since he uses the same type of patterns all over the place, it gets boring too.

I think this is a shot of the old building designed by him. It looks very similar to the Japanese Prime Ministers building (like the White House) which was also designed by him. Lots of repetetive geometric patterns


I think this is one of the hallways in the hotel. Again the same patterns and lines all over the place. You can see the same patterns in the furniture too.
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post #12 of 40
8/9/07 at 3:29pm
As with Diddy's case, Wright is the first architect I ever paid attention to mainly because I am fascinated by 1930's/1940's design and style. I also grew up in LA a stone's throw from the Hollyhock and Freeman houses while I'd see the Ennis house walking to elementary school each morning. Something about his designs have always called out to me and even when visiting his "simpler" pieces like a Usonian, every little bit seemed ingenious. His son also has a few buildings in LA including the Sowden house a few blocks from me. He really took after ol' dad in many ways:
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post #13 of 40
8/9/07 at 5:17pm
I like his work a lot. I'm probably a Robert Stern fan on houses more though.
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post #14 of 40
8/9/07 at 6:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dragon View Post
To me, a lot of his designs are a little busy. Sometimes I stay at the Imperial Hotel in Japan, which was designed by him. At first, it`s interesting to see the woodwork and layout, but soon the patterns start getting a little busy and you ignore them. Since he uses the same type of patterns all over the place, it gets boring too. I think this is a shot of the old building designed by him. It looks very similar to the Japanese Prime Ministers building (like the White House) which was also designed by him. Lots of repetetive geometric patterns
Didn't the Imperial Hotel burn down? I like his textile block houses. Also, the Samuel-Navarro house:
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post #15 of 40
8/9/07 at 6:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LabelKing View Post
Didn't the Imperial Hotel burn down?

I`m not sure what happened with the original building designed by Wright.

Of course now, the hotel is huge with new wings and all, but they still incorporate his designs in every aspect of the hotel (furniture, etc.)
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