Exhibition Catalog - Lawrence Technological University

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evealing, inaccurate, but compelling book” about Wright’s life and philosophy. 8 An Autobiography was reviewed and praised in many leading journals. The second book, The Disappearing City, was Wright’s tirade against urbanization; it contained his first discussion of Broadacre City, the agrarian utopia that he intended as the replacement for the modern city. 3 In the next five years, Wright reemerged on the national architectural scene with such renowned designs as the Kaufmann “Fallingwater” House (1935), the Jacobs House (1936), the Johnson Wax Administration Building (1936), and his second home, Taliesin West (1937). His star shone brighter than ever, and more commissions began to arrive at Taliesin. Wright appeared on the cover of Time in January, 1938, and in nearly thirty articles during that year, from such popular fare as Life and The New Yorker to a remarkable special issue of Architectural Forum (also in January) devoted entirely to his architecture. 9 And the Museum of Modern Art in New York opened an exhibition on Fallingwater in January, the first time that institution ever held a major one-building exhibit on a living architect. Wright would continue to work on a seemingly endless stream of compositions until his death in 1959 at the age of ninety-one. Usonian Houses The major project of the last two decades of Frank Lloyd Wright’s life was the creation and promotion of “Usonian” houses. Wright conceived the Usonian project as an extension of the principles first developed in his Prairie-style houses of the 1900s-1910s. “Usonia” was a word coined by Wright to represent “The United States of America” – inspired by his perception that the moniker “America” was too vague, arguably including countries beyond the U.S.A. His intention was to build on the basic elements of the Prairie houses – natural materials, harmony with nature, open plans, and a uniquely American idiom – by utilizing mass production technology to produce affordable single-family housing for all socioeconomic classes. The Usonians would achieve their inexpensiveness through prefabricated parts, paring the house down to basics, and using a new method for constructing walls. Conceived as an antidote to the social and economic realities of the Great Depression, eighteen Usonian houses were built between 1939 and 1941; the Usonian program eventually produced over 100 houses before Wright’s death in 1959. Wright was not alone in turning to mass production as a means to stimulate housing construction during the Depression. Although prefabricated housing dates back to the nineteenth century, conditions in Europe after World War I, and around the world in the thirties, drove architects of all persuasions to tackle the challenge of designing cost-efficient houses, leading Photograph by Balthazar Korab
some to experiment with unusual materials and factory procedures. Many realized that industrial practices like the use of standardized parts, preassembled pieces, and simple construction systems could significantly reduce costs. Wright was actually an early proponent of a type of prefabrication with his American System-Built houses of the 1910s. For Wright and others involved with such explorations, the most important issue was how to maintain quality, to keep the homes from becoming cheap, repetitious minimalist boxes. 10 4 Photograph by Harvey Croze Wright found a solution with the Usonians. Although the Usonian houses would come in a variety of shapes and sizes over the years, they all shared common features. First of all, they were placed directly on the ground. Wright did not believe in basements, and preferred to rest his houses – even back in the Prairie School days – on a concrete slab. For the Usonians he employed the slab not only as a base for the house, but also as the bed for a radiant heating system. Pipes enclosed in the concrete circulated hot water; the pipes transferred their heat to the surrounding concrete, which warmed the air at floor level, which in turn radiated upward through the house. As a result, the Usonians did not require air ducts, radiators, or dropped ceilings since the entire system was contained within the floor. Wright did not invent the ancient practice of radiant heating but did popularize it as a low-cost alternative to forced air systems. Wright also abhorred garages. Like basements, he felt they accumulated unnecessary clutter and could be avoided. So he designed the Usonians with carports instead of garages. Flat roofs, which could be built with less difficulty than standard pitched roofs, eliminated the need for “ugly” gutters, and emphasized the horizontal appearance that Wright favored. The Usonian houses were planned using a grid system which allowed contractors working without supervision from Taliesin to easily construct the house and imposed an order and uniformity on the whole. These decisions, along with the rejection of the basement, led to a house that was simpler to build. And simplicity was the key to the Usonians – not just in design and construction, but also in the occupants’ anticipated lifestyle. “That house must be a new pattern for more simplified and, at the same time, more gracious living; necessarily new, but suitable to living conditions as they might so well be in this country we live in today,” Wright announced in 1943. 11 One of Wright’s most unique Usonian innovations came in the form of a new type of wall. He invented a sandwiched panel wall consisting of identical board and batten siding on the interior and exterior enclosing a core of plywood covered by tar paper.
Page 2 and 3: Lawrence Technological University F
Page 4 and 5: Introduction The 70th construction
Page 6 and 7: 1 History of Frank Lloyd Wright’s
Page 10 and 11: 5 The modular wall sections could b
Page 12 and 13: cross-ventilation. Combined with se
Page 14 and 15: they told Wright, “We don’t lik
Page 16 and 17: The ground already has form. Why no
Page 18 and 19: 13 to Wright in September 1940, sug
Page 20 and 21: 15 Approach The Affleck house, like
Page 22 and 23: 17 Living Room and Terrace The livi
Page 24 and 25: dining corner by locating the dinne
Page 26 and 27: 21 furniture for the Afflecks to ma
Page 28 and 29: to keep inside the house - a proble
Page 30 and 31: 25 have picnics in our living room,
Page 32: 27 wing, perhaps indicating the Aff
Page 35: Taliesin Model and Drawings 30
Page 41 and 42: NEW REFRIDGERATOR & FREEZER COMBO N
Page 43 and 44: ORIGINAL PHOTOS DISPLAYED IN THE MA
Page 45 and 46: ELEVATION 2 - I SCALE: NTS 40 ELEVA
Page 47 and 48: 42 ELEVATION 1 -A SCALE: NTS ELEVAT
Page 49 and 50: 44 Situated in two locations on the
Page 52: Assistant Professor Jim Stevens wit
Page 55 and 56: 50 Dustin Illes Erica Salucci
Page 57 and 58: 52 Cody Millinder Davide Daniles
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54 Julian Sesi Nawfaa Al-Bahrani
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56 Elise Torchala Amanda Curtis
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58 Brandon Hartwick Anon.
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60 Ryan Maynard, Kirk Stefko Ryan M
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62 Ryan Maynard, Kirk Stefko Ryan M
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81 original
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86 Victoria Bigham Michelle Danius
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Professor Steven Rost Sculpture 88
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Assistant Professor Jolanta Skorupk
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92 Balance (plan view) An overall b
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94 Structure Structure is formed by
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96 Anon. Breck Crandell
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98 Joo Younh Ham Kelsie Foster
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100 Elliot Disner Evander Kizy
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102 John Thornton Joo Younh Ham
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104 John Thornton Evander Kizy
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107 Faculty Gallery Professor Gretc
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109 Faculty Gallery Professor Steve
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Exhibition Catalog - Lawrence Technological University

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