Frank Lloyd Wright - 1926
Happy Birthday Frank Lloyd Wright!
Fallingwater (Serinde)
Frank Lloyd Wright was born in Wisconsin on June 8, 1867. Perhaps America's greatest and most influential architect, Wright's name is synonymous with the Prairie School of architecture, although there are many contributors to the style. Arguably, Wright has been called the greatest architect in history. Wright was featured on a US postage stamp in 1965.
Guggenheim New York interior (Martyn Jones)
Wright apprenticed under another great architect, Louis Sullivan in Chicago. The time period was one of new technologies and emerging design styles which generated some of the great American landmarks. Sullivan is credited with some of the world's first "skycrapers" and Wright was given a great deal of design flexibility in Sullivan's studio.
Perhaps the most famous of Wright's work is the celebrated Falling Water house in Bear Run, Pennsylvania. There are fabled stories of battles between Wright, contractors and engineers over the structural integrity of the concrete structure. Wright's design style was also reflected in furniture and interiors as much as it was in his buildings, and Falling Water is one such building. Custom designed furniture and trim detailing is featured throughout the home. The building was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1966.
Another American icon is the Guggenheim museum on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The spiral ramp overlooking the lobby below and under the soaring skylight above is as inspirational as the works of art within the museum.
Frank Lloyd Wright passed away in 1959.
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