Frank Lloyd Wright Research Paper
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was born in Richland Center, Wisconsin on June 8, 1867. His parents were William Cary Wright and Anna Lloyd-Jones. When Frank was twelve years old, his family settled in Madison, Wisconsin where he attended Madison High School for a few years. During summers Frank spent most of his time on his Uncle James Lloyd Jones ' farm in Spring Green, Wisconsin, that’s when he first began to realize his dream of becoming an architect. In 1885, Frank left Madison without finishing high school to work for Allan Conover, the Dean of the University of Wisconsin 's Engineering department. While working at the University, Frank spent two semesters studying civil engineering before moving to Chicago …show more content…
in 1887 to work for an architect named Joseph Lyman Silsbee.
In Chicago, Frank drafted the construction of his first building, the Lloyd-Jones family chapel.
After just one year, Frank went to work for the firm of Adler and Sullivan, working directly under Louis Sullivan. Frank modified Sullivan 's saying "Form Follows Function" to his own revised philosophy of "Form and Function Are One." Throughout his life, Frank acknowledged very few influences but credits Sullivan as a primary influence on his career. While working for Sullivan in Chicago, Frank met and fell in love with Catherine Tobin who he later married. Frank and Catherine eventually moved to Oak Park, Illinois where they built a home and raised their six children; which is now known as the Frank Lloyd Wright home and studio, which is considered his first architectural masterpiece. In 1893, Louis Sullivan and Frank Wright concluded their business relationship and eventually opened his own firm in Chicago, which he operated for five years before transferring his business to his home in Oak Park, …show more content…
Illinois.
In 1909, after 20 years of marriage, Frank suddenly deserted his wife, children and business and moved to Germany with Mamah Borthwick Cheney, the wife of a client. When they returned in 1911, they moved to Spring Green, Wisconsin where his mother gave him a portion of his family’s land. In Spring Green he constructed Taliesin where they lived until 1914 when tragedy struck and an insane servant sadly murdered Cheney and six others, then set fire to Taliesin. Numerous amount of people thought this awful event would be the end of Frank’s career, but he proved them wrong with his decision to rebuild Taliesin. Over the span of 20 years Frank Wright’s impact continued to grow in the United States and Europe and eventually his innovative building style spread overseas. It was throughout this time that Frank began to advance and refine his architectural and sociological philosophies.
In 1932, Frank opened Taliesin as an architectural fellowship so young students could pay to work with and learn from him.
During this time, Frank married and separated from Miriam Noel and met his third wife, Olivanna Milanoff. In 1937, Frank Wright moved his family and fellowship to Phoenix, Arizona where he built Taliesin West. On April 9, 1959 at age ninety-two, Frank Wright passed away at his home in Phoenix, Arizona. By the time of his death, Frank Wright had become internationally known for his advanced building style and contemporary designs. Frank Wright had created 1,141 designs, of which 532 were completed and his name has become linked with great design, not only because of his designs, but also because of its functions. In conclusion, Frank Wright showed not just what to live in, but more significantly he affected the very nature of how we
lived.
Taliesin
Taliesin was built in 1911 near Spring Green, Wisconsin that was the summer home of Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright began to build the Taliesin after leaving his first wife, Catherine Tobin, and his Oak Park Illinois, home and studio in 1909. Some of the buildings designed at Taliesin were Fallingwater, the Guggenheim museum, and the Johnson Wax Headquarters. The Wright Joneses originally settled the valley the Taliesin was built on during the Civil War.
In 1911 Wright started to construct the Taliesin, he chose the name of the Welsh bard Taliesin, the meaning stands for, "shining brow". Wright positioned the home on the "brow" of a hill, a favorite of his from childhood, rather than on the peak so that Taliesin would appear as though it ascended naturally from the landscape. The home was designed with three wings that included his living accommodations, an office, and farm buildings. Apart from positioning the building into the landscape, Wright used Taliesin as a way to discover his ideas of organic architecture. The stone piers and chimneys were built from local limestone and sand from the nearby Wisconsin River that was mixed into the stucco walls to induce the river 's sandbars.
In 1914, while Wright was in Chicago finishing up a large project, Julian Carlton, a manservant whom Wright had hired two months earlier, started a fire in the living quarters of Taliesin and murdered seven people with an axe. The fire burned most of the Taliesin taking the lives of Wright’s wife Mamah and her two children. Wright ultimately rebuilt the living accommodations, calling it Taliesin II. These living accommodations were again devastated by fire in 1925 that seemed to have begun near a telephone in his bedroom. It was said a lightning storm was seen approaching immediately before the fire was noticed. Some people speculate that the storm may have caused an electrical surge through the telephone lines, starting the fire. Once again Wright started the rebuilding of Taliesin, which he now called Taliesin III, immediately afterward.
Wright 's dealings with Taliesin continued on for the rest of his life, and eventually, he purchased the surrounding land. Over many years, Wright continued to change and build Taliesin with the help from his scholars who learned and lived under him. In 1937 Wright moved to Scottsdale, Arizona where he started Taliesin West and continued to travel between the two homes with the Taliesin Fellowship each year. This idea and change allowed Wright the ability to return to each property with a new outlook on how the Taliesin was perfected and continue to evolve with nature.
Frank Lloyd Wright is considered a pioneer of architecture from 1887 when he constructed his first building the Lloyd Jones Chapel until present day. A lot of Wright’s work can be seen in many of today’s architecture and is very fascinating how it actually functions. I chose to do my history paper on Frank Lloyd Wright after doing research on architecture and finding myself absolutely fascinated with his work on his piece “Fallingwater.” This home that was built in Pennsylvania was so unique from how it was done to how it was built that it caught my attention. Frank Lloyd Wright was a very talented architect whose influences affected not just the people around him, but internationally as well causing fellow architects to replicate his work into their own ideas.
Bibliography
"Fallingwater Part 1: Materials-Conservation Efforts at Frank Lloyd Wright 's Masterpiece." association for Preservation Technology International (APT). 32.4 (2001): 44-55. Web. 17 May. 2013. .
"Frank Lloyd Wright. Biography." Bio.True Story. A E Television Networks, LLC, n.d. Web. 16 May 2013. .
"The Search for Frank Lloyd Wright: History, Biography, Autobiography." University of California Press on behalf of the Society of Architectural Historians. 54.4 (1995): 467-476. Web. 17 May. 2013. .
Frank Lloyd Wright was born in Richland Center, Wisconsin on June 8, 1867. His parents were William Cary Wright and Anna Lloyd-Jones. When Frank was twelve years old, his family settled in Madison, Wisconsin where he attended Madison High School for a few years. During summers Frank spent most of his time on his Uncle James Lloyd Jones ' farm in Spring Green, Wisconsin, that’s when he first began to realize his dream of becoming an architect. In 1885, Frank left Madison without finishing high school to work for Allan Conover, the Dean of the University of Wisconsin 's Engineering department. While working at the University, Frank spent two semesters studying civil engineering before moving to Chicago …show more content…
in 1887 to work for an architect named Joseph Lyman Silsbee.
In Chicago, Frank drafted the construction of his first building, the Lloyd-Jones family chapel.
After just one year, Frank went to work for the firm of Adler and Sullivan, working directly under Louis Sullivan. Frank modified Sullivan 's saying "Form Follows Function" to his own revised philosophy of "Form and Function Are One." Throughout his life, Frank acknowledged very few influences but credits Sullivan as a primary influence on his career. While working for Sullivan in Chicago, Frank met and fell in love with Catherine Tobin who he later married. Frank and Catherine eventually moved to Oak Park, Illinois where they built a home and raised their six children; which is now known as the Frank Lloyd Wright home and studio, which is considered his first architectural masterpiece. In 1893, Louis Sullivan and Frank Wright concluded their business relationship and eventually opened his own firm in Chicago, which he operated for five years before transferring his business to his home in Oak Park, …show more content…
Illinois.
In 1909, after 20 years of marriage, Frank suddenly deserted his wife, children and business and moved to Germany with Mamah Borthwick Cheney, the wife of a client. When they returned in 1911, they moved to Spring Green, Wisconsin where his mother gave him a portion of his family’s land. In Spring Green he constructed Taliesin where they lived until 1914 when tragedy struck and an insane servant sadly murdered Cheney and six others, then set fire to Taliesin. Numerous amount of people thought this awful event would be the end of Frank’s career, but he proved them wrong with his decision to rebuild Taliesin. Over the span of 20 years Frank Wright’s impact continued to grow in the United States and Europe and eventually his innovative building style spread overseas. It was throughout this time that Frank began to advance and refine his architectural and sociological philosophies.
In 1932, Frank opened Taliesin as an architectural fellowship so young students could pay to work with and learn from him.
During this time, Frank married and separated from Miriam Noel and met his third wife, Olivanna Milanoff. In 1937, Frank Wright moved his family and fellowship to Phoenix, Arizona where he built Taliesin West. On April 9, 1959 at age ninety-two, Frank Wright passed away at his home in Phoenix, Arizona. By the time of his death, Frank Wright had become internationally known for his advanced building style and contemporary designs. Frank Wright had created 1,141 designs, of which 532 were completed and his name has become linked with great design, not only because of his designs, but also because of its functions. In conclusion, Frank Wright showed not just what to live in, but more significantly he affected the very nature of how we
lived.
Taliesin
Taliesin was built in 1911 near Spring Green, Wisconsin that was the summer home of Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright began to build the Taliesin after leaving his first wife, Catherine Tobin, and his Oak Park Illinois, home and studio in 1909. Some of the buildings designed at Taliesin were Fallingwater, the Guggenheim museum, and the Johnson Wax Headquarters. The Wright Joneses originally settled the valley the Taliesin was built on during the Civil War.
In 1911 Wright started to construct the Taliesin, he chose the name of the Welsh bard Taliesin, the meaning stands for, "shining brow". Wright positioned the home on the "brow" of a hill, a favorite of his from childhood, rather than on the peak so that Taliesin would appear as though it ascended naturally from the landscape. The home was designed with three wings that included his living accommodations, an office, and farm buildings. Apart from positioning the building into the landscape, Wright used Taliesin as a way to discover his ideas of organic architecture. The stone piers and chimneys were built from local limestone and sand from the nearby Wisconsin River that was mixed into the stucco walls to induce the river 's sandbars.
In 1914, while Wright was in Chicago finishing up a large project, Julian Carlton, a manservant whom Wright had hired two months earlier, started a fire in the living quarters of Taliesin and murdered seven people with an axe. The fire burned most of the Taliesin taking the lives of Wright’s wife Mamah and her two children. Wright ultimately rebuilt the living accommodations, calling it Taliesin II. These living accommodations were again devastated by fire in 1925 that seemed to have begun near a telephone in his bedroom. It was said a lightning storm was seen approaching immediately before the fire was noticed. Some people speculate that the storm may have caused an electrical surge through the telephone lines, starting the fire. Once again Wright started the rebuilding of Taliesin, which he now called Taliesin III, immediately afterward.
Wright 's dealings with Taliesin continued on for the rest of his life, and eventually, he purchased the surrounding land. Over many years, Wright continued to change and build Taliesin with the help from his scholars who learned and lived under him. In 1937 Wright moved to Scottsdale, Arizona where he started Taliesin West and continued to travel between the two homes with the Taliesin Fellowship each year. This idea and change allowed Wright the ability to return to each property with a new outlook on how the Taliesin was perfected and continue to evolve with nature.
Frank Lloyd Wright is considered a pioneer of architecture from 1887 when he constructed his first building the Lloyd Jones Chapel until present day. A lot of Wright’s work can be seen in many of today’s architecture and is very fascinating how it actually functions. I chose to do my history paper on Frank Lloyd Wright after doing research on architecture and finding myself absolutely fascinated with his work on his piece “Fallingwater.” This home that was built in Pennsylvania was so unique from how it was done to how it was built that it caught my attention. Frank Lloyd Wright was a very talented architect whose influences affected not just the people around him, but internationally as well causing fellow architects to replicate his work into their own ideas.
Bibliography
"Fallingwater Part 1: Materials-Conservation Efforts at Frank Lloyd Wright 's Masterpiece." association for Preservation Technology International (APT). 32.4 (2001): 44-55. Web. 17 May. 2013. .
"Frank Lloyd Wright. Biography." Bio.True Story. A E Television Networks, LLC, n.d. Web. 16 May 2013. .
"The Search for Frank Lloyd Wright: History, Biography, Autobiography." University of California Press on behalf of the Society of Architectural Historians. 54.4 (1995): 467-476. Web. 17 May. 2013. .