“AMERICA’S GREATEST ARCHITECT”
∗ Born June 8, 1867 in Richland Center, Wisconsin; mother was a teacher; father, a preacher and musician; family moved frequently (Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Iowa) before settling back in Madison, Wisconsin
∗ Attended high school in Madison, then enrolled at the University of Wisconsin to study civil engineering; to pay his way, worked for engineering dean and for famous architect Joseph Silsbee; quit school in 1887 to work for Silsbee full time in Chicago
∗ Began apprenticeship in 1888 under Louis Sullivan, “the father of skyscrapers,” whose maxim “form follows function” greatly influenced him; left in 1893 when he accepted private commissions to design homes, against Sullivan’s policy
∗ Founded his own firm; believed in designing structures that were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called “organic architecture”
∗ Developed the revolutionary “prairie school” style of architecture whose characteristics included strong horizontal lines, low-pitched roofs, open floor plan, changes in internal levels, and used only locally available materials; believed in “architecture that belonged where you see it standing – and is a grace to the landscape instead of a disgrace”
∗ Designed the Winslow House in River Forest, Illinois, in 1893, the first example of his revolutionary style; designed and built the Unity Temple in Oak Park, Illinois (1905 to 1908); considered by many architects the first modern building because of its consolidation of aesthetic intent and structure through use of a single material (reinforced concrete);
∗ Designed and built the Frederick C. Robie House at the University of Chicago between 1908 and 1910; by then he was becoming a celebrity in the architectural world
∗ Designed and built Taliesen (Welsh for “shining bow”) in 1913 in Spring Green, Wisconsin as his home base; had to rebuild the house twice after being destroyed by fire in 1914 and 1925
∗ Designed, at the request of the Japanese Emperor, the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo; worked on the building from 1915 to 1922, and claimed it was “earthquake proof”; after a 1923 earthquake, it was the only large structure in Tokyo to survive
∗ Came to Phoenix initially in 1927 to consult on plans for the Arizona Biltmore Hotel being designed by Albert Chase McArthur, a former student; designed and engineered its precast concrete block system made of desert sand and imprinted with deco patterns inspired by palm trees
∗ Married third wife Olgivanna in 1928
∗ Focused on writing and teaching when the Great Depression dried up architectural commissions; published An Autobiography and The Disappearing City in 1932, both influential works; founded Taliesin Fellowship in 1932, an immersive architectural school out of his own home and studio; founded Taliesen West in the desert northeast of Phoenix in 1936 to house the fellowship during winters; one student was Paolo Soleri, developer of Arcosanti near Cordes Junction
∗ Designed and built the Fallingwater house at Bear Run, Pennsylvania (finished in 1939), which appears to be floating over a 30-foot waterfall; the American Institute of Architects in 1991 named it the “best all-time work of American architecture”
∗ Constructed in the late 1930s 60 Usonian Houses — sparse yet elegant middle-class homes that were precursor to modern “ranch” style houses; its revolutionary design features included solar heating, natural cooling, and carports
∗ Designed and built other renowned and influential buildings, most famously: Johnson Wax building in Racine, Wisconsin (opened in 1939) that featured revolutionary “Dendiform” columns inspired by the ribbed structure of saguaro cacti he observed in Arizona; and the Guggenheim Museum in New York City (opened 1959) with its iconic concrete spiral
∗ Designed numerous buildings in metro Phoenix including: Raymond Carlson House on West Palo Verde Drive, Phoenix (1950); Benjamin Adelman House on North 30th Street in Phoenix (1950); David Wright House on Exeter Blvd in Phoenix (1951); Pieper House on East Cheney Road in Paradise Valley (1952); Boomer Cottage on North 30th Street in Phoenix (1953); Harold Price Home on North Tatum Blvd in Paradise Valley (1954); Norman Lykes House on North 36th Street, Phoenix (1959); Grady Gammage Auditorium at Arizona State University in Tempe (1959); First Christian Church, 6750 North 7th Avenue, Phoenix (built posthumously in 1972)
∗ Designed other Arizona projects that were never built including: a Valley National Bank building in Tucson that featured innovative drive-up teller windows (1947); a resort and restaurant on the rim at Meteor Crater (1948); Southwest Christian Seminary in Glendale (1950); an Arizona State Capitol complex for Papago Park in Phoenix (1957)
∗ Designed more than 1,100 buildings, nearly a third of them during his last decade
∗ Died April 9, 1959 in Phoenix, after surgery to remove intestinal obstruction; buried in a Wisconsin cemetery near Taliesin for 25 years; Olgivanna’s dying wish in 1985 was to be cremated with Wright’s body and the ashes used in constructing walls of the memorial garden at Taliesin West in Scottsdale, where they are today
∗ Widely regarded as the greatest American architect of all time
∗ Inspired the naming of Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard in north Scottsdale, where Taliesin West is located; inspired the song “So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright” by Simon & Garfunkel (1970)