Frank Lloyd Wright

MINI BIOGRAPHY:

FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT WAS ONE OF AMERICA'S MOST FAMOUS ARCHITECTS

WHO INTRODUCED HIS CONCEPT OF "ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE" AND

DESIGNED SUCH LANDMARKS AS THE FALLINGWATER AND THE

GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM OF ART.

HE WAS BORN FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT ON JUNE 8, 1867, IN RICHLAND

CENTER, WISCONSIN, USA, INTO A FAMILY OF WELSH DESCENT. HIS

FATHER, WILLIAM CARY WRIGHT, WAS A MUSIC TEACHER AND A BAPTIST

MINISTER. HIS MOTHER, ANNA LLOYD-JONES WRIGHT, WAS A TEACHER. HIS

FATHER PLAYED THE MUSIC OFJOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH WHICH WRIGHT

LATER CREDIT AS A SOURCE OF HIS SENSE OF HARMONY IN MUSIC AND

ARCHITECTURE. HIS MOTHER INVOLVED HIM IN PLAYING WITH FROEBEL'S

GEOMETRIC BLOCKS, WHICH FORMED HIS 3D VISION, AND LATED HELPED

HIM DEVELOP ARCHITECTURAL STYLE MARKED WITH GEOMETRICAL

CLARITY. WRIGHT STUDIED ENGINEERING AT UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

FOR TWO YEARS, BUT DROPPED OUT WITHOUT GRADUATING. HE MOVED TO

CHICAGO AND WORKED FOR SEVERAL ARCHITECTURE FIRMS, INCLUDING

HIS SIX YEARS WORKING DIRECTLY WITH THE "FATHER OF MODERNISM"

AND LEADER OF THE CHICAGO SCHOOL, LOUIS HENRY SULLIVAN, WHO WAS

WRIGHT'S MENTOR FROM 1888-1893.

•COLLEAGUES AND INFLUENCES :

WRIGHT RARELY CREDITED ANY INFLUENCES ON HIS

DESIGNS, BUT MOST ARCHITECTS, HISTORIANS AND

SCHOLARS AGREE HE HAD FIVE MAJOR INFLUENCES:

LOUIS SULLIVAN, WHOM HE CONSIDERED TO BE HIS 'LIEBER

MEISTER' (DEAR MASTER),

NATURE, PARTICULARLY SHAPES/FORMS AND

COLORS/PATTERNS OF PLANT LIFE,

MUSIC (HIS FAVORITE COMPOSER WAS LUDWIG VAN

BEETHOVEN),

JAPANESE ART, PRINTS AND BUILDINGS.

PERSONAL STYLE AND CONCEPTS :

WRIGHT'S CREATIONS TOOK HIS CONCERN WITH ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE DOWN TO THE SMALLEST

DETAILS. FROM HIS LARGEST COMMERCIAL COMMISSIONS TO THE RELATIVELY MODEST USONIAN HOUSES,

WRIGHT CONCEIVED VIRTUALLY EVERY DETAIL OF BOTH THE EXTERNAL DESIGN AND THE INTERNAL

FIXTURES, INCLUDING FURNITURE,CARPETS, WINDOWS, DOORS, TABLES AND CHAIRS, LIGHT FITTINGS AND

DECORATIVE ELEMENTS. HE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST ARCHITECTS TO DESIGN AND SUPPLY CUSTOM-MADE,

PURPOSE-BUILT FURNITURE AND FITTINGS THAT FUNCTIONED AS INTEGRATED PARTS OF THE WHOLE

DESIGN, AND HE OFTEN RETURNED TO EARLIER COMMISSIONS TO REDESIGN INTERNAL FITTINGS. SOME OF

THE BUILT-IN FURNITURE REMAINS, WHILE OTHER RESTORATIONS HAVE INCLUDED REPLACEMENT PIECES

CREATED USING HIS PLANS. HIS PRAIRIE HOUSES USE THEMED, COORDINATED DESIGN ELEMENTS (OFTEN

BASED ON PLANT FORMS) THAT ARE REPEATED IN WINDOWS, CARPETS AND OTHER FITTINGS. HE MADE

INNOVATIVE USE OF NEW BUILDING MATERIALS SUCH AS PRECAST CONCRETE BLOCKS, GLASS BRICKS AND

ZINC CAMES (INSTEAD OF THE TRADITIONAL LEAD) FOR HIS LEADLIGHT WINDOWS, AND HE FAMOUSLY

USED PYREX GLASS TUBING AS A MAJOR ELEMENT IN THE JOHNSON WAX HEADQUARTERS. WRIGHT WAS

ALSO ONE OF THE FIRST ARCHITECTS TO DESIGN AND INSTALL CUSTOM-MADE ELECTRIC LIGHT FITTINGS,

INCLUDING SOME OF THE VERY FIRST ELECTRIC FLOOR LAMPS, AND HIS VERY EARLY USE OF THE THEN-

NOVEL SPHERICAL GLASS LAMPSHADE (A DESIGN PREVIOUSLY NOT POSSIBLE DUE TO THE PHYSICAL

RESTRICTIONS OF GAS LIGHTING).

AS WRIGHT'S CAREER PROGRESSED, SO DID THE MECHANIZATION OF THE GLASS INDUSTRY. WRIGHT

FULLY EMBRACED GLASS IN HIS DESIGNS AND FOUND THAT IT FIT WELL INTO HIS PHILOSOPHY OF

ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE. GLASS ALLOWED FOR INTERACTION AND VIEWING OF THE OUTDOORS WHILE

STILL PROTECTING FROM THE ELEMENTS. IN 1928, WRIGHT WROTE AN ESSAY ON GLASS IN WHICH HE

COMPARED IT TO THE MIRRORS OF NATURE: LAKES, RIVERS AND PONDS. ONE OF WRIGHT'S EARLIEST

USES OF GLASS IN HIS WORKS WAS TO STRING PANES OF GLASS ALONG WHOLE WALLS IN AN ATTEMPT TO

CREATE LIGHT SCREENS TO JOIN TOGETHER SOLID WALLS. BY UTILIZING THIS LARGE AMOUNT OF GLASS,

WRIGHT SOUGHT TO ACHIEVE A BALANCE BETWEEN THE LIGHTNESS AND AIRINESS OF THE GLASS AND THE

SOLID, HARD WALLS. ARGUABLY, WRIGHT'S BEST-KNOWN ART GLASS IS THAT OF THE PRAIRIE STYLE. THE

SIMPLE GEOMETRIC SHAPES THAT YIELD TO VERY ORNATE AND INTRICATE WINDOWS REPRESENT SOME OF

THE MOST INTEGRAL ORNAMENTATION OF HIS CAREER.[63]

Larkin Building

Designer Frank Lloyd Wright

Location Buffalo, New York, USA

Date 1904 , Demolished 1950

Building Type Commercial Offices

Climate Temperate

Context Urban

Architectural

Style Early Modern

Street Address 680 Seneca Street

Notes S.093. large four-story central atrium.

LARKIN BUILDING

PLAN OF LARKIN BUILDING :

THE LARKIN BUILDING WAS A BUILDING THAT WAS

BUILT FOR THE ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF OF THE LARKIN

SOAP MANUFACTURING COMPANY, ACTUALLY FOR

THEIR MAIL ORDER BUSINESS AND SO IT WAS REALLY

A SECRETARIAL POOL TYPE SPACE. AND WHAT

WRIGHT WAS TRYING TO DO IN THAT WAS TO CREATE A

MODERN BUILDING THAT WOULD GIVE THE WORKERS

A SENSE OF WHAT HE CALLED A FAMILY GATHERING

PLACE. AND WHAT HE DID THERE, WHICH I THINK IS

REALLY ASTOUNDING AND UNFORTUNATELY IT’S GONE

NOW AS MANY KNOW...IS THE FACT THAT THE

INTERIOR IS OPENED UP INTO WHAT, TODAY, WE

WOULD CALL AN ATRIUM-LIKE SPACE WHICH IN EFFECT

DOES FOR THE OFFICE BUILDING WHAT THE HEARTH

OR THE FIREPLACE DID FOR THE FAMILY HOME. THAT’S

TO SAY, PROVIDE A SENSE OF FOCUS. HERE, THE

FOCUS BEING A SPACE OF COMMONALITY, THE SPACE

OF COMMUNITY AS OPPOSED TO THE HEARTH IN THE

HOUSE WHICH IS A KIND OF TRADITIONAL SYMBOL OF

HOME

THE LARKIN BUILDING WAS DESIGNED IN 1904 BY FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT AND BUILT

IN 1906 FOR THE LARKIN SOAP COMPANY OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, AT 680 SENECA

STREET. IT WAS DEMOLISHED IN 1950. THE FIVE STORY DARK RED BRICK BUILDING

USED PINK TINTED MORTAR AND UTILIZED STEEL FRAME CONSTRUCTION.

IT WAS NOTED FOR MANY INNOVATIONS, INCLUDING AIR CONDITIONING, STAINED

GLASS WINDOWS, BUILT-IN DESK FURNITURE, AND SUSPENDED TOILET BOWLS (HUNG

FROM THE WALLS, NOT SUPPORTED BY THE FLOOR). SCULPTOR RICHARD BOCK

PROVIDED ORNAMENTATION FOR THE BUILDING. EXTERIOR DETAILS WERE EXECUTED

IN RED SANDSTONE;

EXPERIMENTS:

•THE ENTRANCE DOORS, WINDOWS, AND SKYLIGHTS WERE OF

GLASS. FLOORS, DESKTOPS, AND CABINET TOPS WERE COVERED

WITH MAGNESITE FOR SOUND ABSORPTION. FOR FLOORS,

MAGNESITE WAS MIXED WITH EXCELSIOR AND POURED, AND

TROWELED LIKE CEMENT, OVER A LAYER OF FELT TO IMPART IT'S

RESILIENCY. MAGNESITE WAS ALSO USED FOR SCULPTURAL

DECORATION ON THE PIERS SURROUNDING

THE LIGHT COURT AND FOR PANELS AND BEAMS AROUND THE

EXECUTIVE OFFICES AT THE SOUTH END OF THE MAIN FLOOR.

FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT DESIGNED MUCH OF THE FURNITURE.

THE INTERIOR WALLS WERE MADE OF SEMI-VITREOUS, HARD,

CREAM COLORED BRICK. THE BUILDING'S APPROXIMATE

DIMENSIONS WERE 200 FEET LONG BY 134 FEET WIDE.

THE LIGHT COURT WAS LOCATED IN THE CENTER OF THE BUILDING,

AND WAS 76 FEET TALL. IT PROVIDED PLENTY OF NATURAL LIGHT

TO ALL OF THE FLOORS. IN THE LIGHT COURT, BETWEEN THE PIERS

ON THE SIDES OF THE COURT, THERE APPEARED FOURTEEN SETS

OF THREE INSPIRATION WORDS EACH, SUCH AS: GENEROSITY

ALTRUISM SACRIFICE, INTEGRITY LOYALTY FIDELITY, IMAGINATION

JUDGEMENT INITIATIVE, INTELLIGENCE ENTHUSIASM CONTROL, CO-

OPERATION ECONOMY INDUSTRY.

INTERIOR VIEWS :

THE MODERN OFFICE BUILDING :

HE INVENTION OF THE ELECTRIC ELEVATOR IN 1889, AS WELL AS

REFINEMENTS OF MATERIALS—SUCH AS IRON AND EVENTUALLY

STEEL—LIGHTING, VENTILATION AND CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT,

CHANGED THE MODERN OFFICE BUILDING FOREVER, AND

ARCHITECTS NOW HAD THE FREEDOM TO DESIGN TALL BUILDINGS

AND EVENTUALLY SKYSCRAPERS

IN AN 1896 ESSAY ENTITLED “THE TALL OFFICE BUILDING

ARTISTICALLY CONSIDERED,” CHICAGO ARCHITECT LOUIS SULLIVAN

OUTLINED HIS PRINCIPLES FOR DESIGNING TALL BUILDINGS.

ALTHOUGH HE HAD PUT HIS OWN IDEAS INTO PRACTICE EARLIER

THAT DECADE WITH THE WAINWRIGHT BUILDING IN ST. LOUIS, IN

1896 HE COMPLETED ONE OF THE BEST EXAMPLES OF AN EARLY

TALL OFFICE BUILDING IN THE UNITED STATES, THE GUARANTY

BUILDING IN BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

THIS THIRTEEN STORY OFFICE BUILDING IS ONE OF THE FIRST TALL

BUILDINGS TO USE ORNAMENTATION TO ACCENTUATE THE VERTICAL

THRUST OF THE FACADE. SULLIVAN INSTITUTED A TRI-PARTITE

DIVISION OF THE BUILDING THAT REFLECTS IN FORM THE THREE

MAJOR FUNCTIONS OF A TALL URBAN OFFICE BUILDING: STORES

AND DISPLAY AT GROUND LEVEL; “HONEYCOMB” OF OFFICES IN THE

UPPER STORIES; MECHANICS OF BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE AT

“ATTIC” LEVEL.

PARALLEL

MOVEMENTS

•Frank Lloyd Wright's Larkin Building of 1905 was revolutionary. The first atrium office building -- indeed, the first atrium building of any type -- air-conditioned, fire-proof, a veritable 'cathedral of industry.'

•The Larkin building was completely revolutionary for the time. Most obviously it was one of the first buildings to use a form of air conditioning that was integral to its design. The main pillars would circulate air through them and treat them with a water mist to cool and cleans the air as it flowed into the rest of the building...

•The building was designed with both elevators and stairways. Its open center section was lit with large plate glass windows and a large skylight... The Larkin building was demolished in 1950. Only one of the wall pillars still stands.

•The building was removed and replaced with a parking lot.

BUILDING DETAILS :

EXTERIOR VIEWS

THANK YOU

JAIN PARTH G

08 – IDG – 08

GROUP - A