Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright was born in June
8 1867 and died in April 9, 1959. The
remarkable buildings designed by
Frank Lloyd Wright established him
as one of the most well known and
important architects of the 20th
century. Wright was also excellent
in writing, educating and designing the interior of his buildings. His
achievements and influence can
be measured to be the same as Le
Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe.
His buildings are inspired by joining together: nature, humanity and
architecture.
PERFORMANCES FOUND
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT NATURE, HUMANITY AND ARCHITECTURE
1889
HOME AND STUDIO
OAK PARK, ILL.
1905
UNITY TEMPLE
OAK PARK, ILL.
1909
1
2
3
X
5
6
X
ROBIE HOUSE
CHICAGO, ILL.
1916
1
2
3
4
X
6
X
IMPERIAL HOTEL
TOKYO
1
2
3
4
X
6
X
1934
FALLING WATER
BEAR RUN, PENN.
1
X
3
4
5
6
X
Falling water, Bear run - Pennsylvania 1934
1936
JOHNSON WAX
RACINE, WIS.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1937
TALIESIN WEST
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ.
1
2
X
X
X
6
X
1938
WINGSPREAD
WIND POINT, WIS.
1956
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
BK8040
M&A
GUGGENHEIM
NEW YORK, N.Y.
1
2
3
4
X
6
X
X
X
X
4
X
6
X
Frank Smit
4059387
Tunis Hoekstra
1312103
Marc Hubers
4034279
Martijn Aling
4061683
Ismail Oral
4021320
Taliesin West, Scottsdale - Arizona 1937
FACADE
SECTION
SECTION
FIRST FLOOR
SECOND FLOOR
THIRD FLOOR
Ching, Falling water
FIRST FLOOR
PERSPECTIVE
Ching, Taliesin West
ADJACENT PLANES
ADJACENT SPACES
18-31
ADJACENT SPACES
1
2
3
4
5
LINEAR ORGANISATION
6
1
9 8
INTERLOCKING SPACES / PLANES
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
6
INTERLOCKING SPACES
7
4
5
3
2
1
4
17
15
2
1
3
16
14
5
13
6
12
10
CLUSTERED ORG. AXIAL CONDITION
PARTI FALLING WATER
Clark and Pause, Falling water
CLUSTERED ORG. AXIAL CONDITIONS
11
PARTI TALIESIN WEST
Clark and Pause, Taliesin West
45•
0•
90•
STRUCTURE
NATURAL LIGHT
MASS - ADDITIVE
SYMMETRY AND BALANCE
GEOMETRY
Steadman, Falling water
PHOTOS
STRUCTURE
NATURAL LIGHT
MASS - ADDITIVE
SYMMETRY AND BALANCE
GEOMETRY
Steadman, Taliesin West
FORM(m)
OPERATION
CREATE A COMPOSITION OUT OF PLANES AND SCREENS
FALLING WATER
LEGEND
TALIESIN WEST
LEGEND
A.LIVING ROOM
B.TERRACE
C.KITCHEN
D.STAFF ROOM
E.STAIRS BASEMENT
F.STAIRS
G.DRESSING ROOM
H.BATH ROOM
I.CORRIDOR
J.BED AREA
K.STUDY ROOM
A.ENTRANCE
B.WORKSPACE
C.KITCHEN
D.DINING ROOM
E.LOGGIA
F.STAIRS
G.DRESSING ROOM
H.BATH ROOM
I.CORRIDOR
J.BED AREA
K.STUDY ROOM
L.GALLERY
M.LOUNGE
N.TERRACE
O.OFFICE
PERFORMANCE
INTERIOR SPACE
ENTRANCES, STAIRS, CORRIDORS
COURTYARD
DOORS
INSIDE
COURTYARD
OUTSIDE
OPERATION
FORM(m)
1. ELIMINATE THE SENSE
OF BEING LOCKED UP
IN A ROOM OR SPACE
CREATE A COMPOSITION OUT OF PLANES AND SCREENS
(ELIMINATE THE BOX)
HORIZONTAL PLANES CONNECT THE ROCKY HILLSIDE
WITH THE RIVER
2. ANCHORING
THE BUILDING
IN ITS
SURROUNDINGS
FOLLOW THE LOCATIONS SPECIFIC FORMS BY THE USE
OF HORIZONTAL PLANES
LIFT THE STRUCTURE OUT OF THE RIVERBED BY THE
USE OF CONCRETE SLABS TO CREATE A VIEW OVER
THE RIVER
3. ESTABLISH A
VISUAL CONNECTION
WITH THE
ENVIRONMENT
(ELIMINATE THE BOX)
LET OPENINGS ARISE OUT OF THE COMPOSITION OF
PLANES AND SCREENS
4. LET OPENINGS FORM ON A
NATURAL WAY
LIFT THE STRUCTURE BY THE USE OF A PLATFORM TO
CREATE A VISTA OVER THE SURROUNDINGS
LET OPENINGS ARISE OUT OF THE COMPOSITION OF
PLANES AND SCREENS
USE COMBINATIONS OF MATERIALS AND ORNAMENTS
FROM THE SURROUNDINGS
5. RESPECT THE
IDENTITY OF THE
SITE
USE COMBINATIONS OF MATERIALS AND ORNAMENTS
FROM THE SURROUNDINGS
THE SUNLIGHT REACHES THE BUILDING MAINLY FROM
ABOVE
6. INCORPORATE
CLIMATE CONTROL
AND FURNITURE IN
THE ARCHITECTURE
THE CANVAS PARTIALLY REFLECT THE SUNLIGHT AND
DISPERSE THE LIGHT EQUALLY OVER THE CEILING
THE BUILDING BECOMES AN OPTICAL PART OF THE
WATERFALL
Conclusion
The identity Frank Lloyd Wright achieves is: harmony between nature,
people and architecture. The way in which this three elements are combined, and how they lead to the desired performances, is described
below.
People and architecture
To connect the people and nature, and to avoid an imprisoned feeling
when entering his buildings, Frank made use of an architectural principle invented by himself. ‘Breaking the box’ He wanted to eliminate
the sense of being locked up in a room or space. (1) The designs of
the buildings and the furniture made it possible to create comfortable
climate conditions. And in addition: in this way people feel a sense of
being home. (6)
7. CREATE A BUILDING
THAT IS IN
ACCORDANCE WITH
THE SENSE OF THE PLACE
GENIUS LOCI
PHOTOS
THE STRUCTURE OF THE ROOF IS ALIGNED WITH THE
SLOPES OF THE MOUNTAINS
Comparison
People and nature
Providing a visual connection with the environment is a way of bringing
people and nature together. (3)
Architecture and nature
To make the connection between his architecture and nature even
stronger, Wright aspired to anchor the building in the surroundings.
(2) Also the openings in the walls are composed in a natural way. The
windows arise from the compositon of planes. No gaps were random
cutted out of the planes. (4) A third useful tool to connect the architecture with nature is Frank Lloyd’s respect for the identity of the site. (5)
The buildings are also made and situated in accordance with the sense
of the place. (7)
Nature
At the location is searched for an element that serves as a basis for the design. This is the sense
of the place. In the case of Falling Waters it are the falls, the river bed, the rocks and the trees. In
the case of Taliesin West it is the slope of the surrounding mountains.
People
People can experience two elements in the design: inside and outside. Visiting Falling Waters,
it is the view and ‘smell’ of the waterfall. It’s movement and sound. Inside the building it are the
rocks and the material use.
When visiting Taliesin West, changes can be seen in the desert. Storms, light and dark, cactuses
and archaeological remainings. The slope of the mountain can be experienced by the shadow of
the shading structure.
Architecture
The shape of both buildings emphasizes the elements in the environment. In the case of Falling Waters this is done with the planes. (Cantilevered concrete floors.) These planes consist of
rooms and balconies stacked on top of each other over the height of three floors. In this way
they resemble the waterfall. These planes are interlocked with a central element (local stone)
around on all floors and connected on a rock. The walls on the horizontal layers are avoided
where possible and provided with glazing and rock. The overall structure resembles the waterfall.
In Taliesin West the environment is highlighted with a triangle. The top part of this triangle is the
base for all the spaces. All spaces, either inside and outside are connected together, and fixed
with rough rock. Parts of the building are executed with a pitched roof. This roof is made from
wooden beams and canvas membrane, and is supported by concrete and stone.
Identity
Frank Lloyd Wright composed the building using a method which is an analogy to regulatory
D-genes. This is emphasized by the use of geometry and natural materials from the context
(environment) In this way he created the strong
identity of the buildings.