The buildings of Frank Lloyd Wright

[Magical Realist]

A virtual tour thru the great architectural masterpieces of Frank Lloyd Wright:

http://www.franklloydwright.org/about/public-sites.html


“As we live and as we are, Simplicity - with a capital "S" - is difficult to comprehend nowadays. We are no longer truly simple. We no longer live in simple terms or places. Life is a more complex struggle now. It is now valiant to be simple: a courageous thing to even want to be simple. It is a spiritual thing to comprehend what simplicity means.”
― Frank Lloyd Wright, The Natural House

 

[Janus58]

I've been to the the Gordon House in Silverton.

 

[Magical Realist]

I've been to the the Gordon House in Silverton.

I would love to see that one. Sometimes Wright's genius shines thru in his simplest and smallest works. I couldn't tell from the picture, but is it two story?

 

[C C]

Only the "mundane" Price Tower, his skyscraper, perhaps the final days when it had tenants. There's nothing quite like visiting a medical office during very early childhood and having not a soul mention to you that you're also entering a future historical landmark. Nevertheless, without having a clue at the time as to who designed it or being alerted that the structure had any special significance whatsoever, I felt this offbeat "What -- what -- what's going on here--?" from the moment we drove up to it to wondering why, on an upper floor, it seemed like we were visiting somebody in the living room of their apartment rather than one of my parents having an appointment with a doctor or dentist (too young and so long ago I can't recollect which). The first effect, approaching it from the distance, was that it seemed out place from its surroundings (Like: "What the devil is this thing doing here? Why isn't my brother going with mom instead of me -- he's the one who would be interested in a trip to Doctor Unusual land.") Memory-wise, over the years I have primarily just retained the unexpected "feelings" it generated in me rather than visual details.

 

[Magical Realist]

Only the "mundane" Price Tower, his skyscraper, perhaps the final days when it had tenants. There's nothing quite like visiting a medical office during very early childhood and having not a soul mention to you that you're also entering a future historical landmark. Nevertheless, without having a clue at the time as to who designed it or being alerted that the structure had any special significance whatsoever, I felt this offbeat "What -- what -- what's going on here--?" from the moment we drove up to it to wondering why, on an upper floor, it seemed like we were visiting somebody in the living room of their apartment rather than one of my parents having an appointment with a doctor or dentist (too young and so long ago I can't recollect which). The first effect, approaching it from the distance, was that it seemed out place from its surroundings (Like: "What the devil is this thing doing here? Why isn't my brother going with mom instead of me -- he's the one who would be interested in a trip to Doctor Unusual land.") Memory-wise, over the years I have primarily just retained the unexpected "feelings" it generated in me rather than visual details.

It looks futuristic even in today's terms. And it was built in 1956!

 

[ontheleft]

Architecture, eh?

I just remembered something, and if my memory serves me right, a few years back, I think you mentioned something about this house. Rand was inspired by his work. I think she wanted him.

Fallingwater is amazing. And if you are a 5 or 6 hours ride from it, it's a good place to take chicks. They are impressed and...very thankful.

I've been to four of the houses that Wright designed. One close to Fallingwater and one in Chicago whose names I've forgotten, and Taliesin West in Scottsdale. They are as amazing inside as they are outside. There is a "security" in them. The insides have given me the feeling that many generations can live in them.

You know those buildings that are built on mountain sides? They sit on a projection of rock and the foundation seems to grow out of the rock. Or the way large branches in a healthy tree meld into the trunk. There is no border.

He designed the furniture in those four houses, and maybe others, but there is a solidness to the insides of the houses. It's not that the furniture is built-in, though some is, it's more the materials and where the pieces are placed.

And you know how you walk out of a carpeted and curtained living room and into a kitchen with stainless steel and wood. There isn't that jarring transition in his homes.

On a more personal note, Maiden Lane in S.F. is a precursor to the Guggenheim and I think a much better looking building.

 

[ontheleft]

Refer any issues you may have about the following language to a distillery in Tennessee.

That sonofabitch, he had a way of talking his clients money to walk out of their safe bank and into his wallet. And all for a fucking flight of fancy.

That building of his on Maiden Lane had a passage from the public to the employee side. Memory has me guess it was about 10' x 10'. Instead of making it cheap with two flat sides and a flat ceiling, he put a dome on the ceiling. And, not just any dome. If you were talking as you walked up to it you would here your voice in front of you, then above, and then behind you.

There may be a functional purpose to it, don't know. I spent about 5 min. talking and walking back and forth underneath it when no one was around. Was already impressed by the front of the building. The dome made me wonder who the fuck was this guy?

In my next incarnation, when my carbon, iron, calcium etc. atoms get the call to re-group again, wherever they are, I'm going to have them make us a Master of some kind of Art.

 

[Trooper]

I have a long hallway. I thought about adding acoustic mirrors at each end when I was designing my house. Kids would have loved it.

“Some have said that John Quincy Adams used to pretend to be dozing while surreptitiously listening in to political rivals via a quirky little audio trick.

However, as cool as this is (and it is), it's probably unlikely that John Quincy Adams benefited much from it. First off, poor acoustics plagued the House Chamber since its construction and the reverberating echoes were well known by the time Adams was elected to the House, making it hard to fool anyone. Consequently, draperies were hung to muffle the noise and the space was covered in carpets, which would were meant to reduce the effect. Not that I object to the inclusion of this on the Capitol tour. It's a cool little tidbit, and if it may not have been a part of John Quincy Adams's history, it is now part of the Capitol Building's.”

Whispering Gallery

Urban Legends-Whispering Hall

 

[ontheleft]

I have a long hallway. I thought about adding acoustic mirrors at each end when I was designing my house. Kids would have loved it.

“Some have said that John Quincy Adams used to pretend to be dozing while surreptitiously listening in to political rivals via a quirky little audio trick.

However, as cool as this is (and it is), it's probably unlikely that John Quincy Adams benefited much from it. First off, poor acoustics plagued the House Chamber since its construction and the reverberating echoes were well known by the time Adams was elected to the House, making it hard to fool anyone. Consequently, draperies were hung to muffle the noise and the space was covered in carpets, which would were meant to reduce the effect. Not that I object to the inclusion of this on the Capitol tour. It's a cool little tidbit, and if it may not have been a part of John Quincy Adams's history, it is now part of the Capitol Building's.”

Whispering Gallery

Urban Legends-Whispering Hall

So that's what it is. And it's small and quiet enough in the store to get the full effect.

If you ever get to Chicago try to go to Millennium Park. There is a stainless steel sculpture there, I think it's called the Cloud, that looks like it does the same thing with light.

 

[Gurrb]

Not to take away from FLW (but take away from just a little), it's easier to be a creative 'genius' when you have no regard for budget or the repercussions of your actions. There's no denying his work is impressive, albeit not meant to last, but I feel like people often buy the shit he's selling about himself. It's common everywhere. Arrogant people tend to persuade people into believing that they actually are amazing.

 

[JennyGy]

Not to take away from FLW (but take away from just a little), it's easier to be a creative 'genius' when you have no regard for budget or the repercussions of your actions. There's no denying his work is impressive, albeit not meant to last, but I feel like people often buy the shit he's selling about himself. It's common everywhere. Arrogant people tend to persuade people into believing that they actually are amazing.

You are right, of course, but sometime using strange architecture constructions for living may give unforgettable impressions.