FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

(June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) – Known as the father of architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. His “Prairie Style” became the basis of twentieth-century residential design in the United States. Comfort, convenience, bold, plain walls, spacious family living areas, main rooms that flowed together and boundaries below broad glazed areas, reasonably realized.  The typical Wright-designed residence from this period offered a wide, low roof over uninterrupted windows that turned corners, defying the conventional boxlike structure of most houses.

Comfort, convenience, bold, plain walls, spacious family living areas, main rooms that flowed together and boundaries below broad glazed areas, reasonably realized.  The typical Wright-designed residence from this period offered a wide, low roof over uninterrupted windows that turned corners, defying the conventional boxlike structure of most houses.

Throughout his career Wright retained the use of ornamental detail, earthy colors, and rich textural effects. His sensitive use of materials helped to control and perfect his dynamic expression of space, which opened a new era in American architecture. He became famous as the creator and expounder of “organic architecture,” his phrase indicating buildings that harmonize both with their inhabitants and with their environment. The boldness and fertility of his invention and his command of space are probably his greatest achievements.

The Imperial Hotel (1915–22, dismantled 1967) in Tokyo was one of Wright’s most significant works in its lavish comfort, splendid spaces, and unprecedented construction. Because of its revolutionary, floating cantilever construction. He designed some 800 buildings, of which 380 were actually built and a number are still standing. UNESCO designated eight of them—including Fallingwater, the Guggenheim Museum, and Unity Temple—as World Heritage sites in 2019.