Frank Lloyd Wright - sistemamid.com · frank lloyd wright was one of america's most famous...
Transcript of Frank Lloyd Wright - sistemamid.com · frank lloyd wright was one of america's most famous...
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 :
THANK YOU
JAIN PARTH G
08 – IDG – 08
GROUP - A