Monday, 1 December 2014

Frank Lloyd Wright: Falling on Water

“Considered by some to be the greatest of all architects.”

I found this audio clip very inspiring. Frank Lloyd Wright has always been one of my favourite architects of the 20th century. Falling Water being one of my favourite pieces of architecture, I found I could relate to this a lot more than previous readings.

Going back to his fundamental word – ‘organic’, I love that he uses his surroundings to influence the style of architecture, making sure whatever he was to build, fits in with nature and does not look out of place. This approach has always been something I have tried to include within my work, making the architecture itself looks natural in its place.

Frank Lloyd Wright created the more innovative architecture of the 20th century, breaking away from the notion of holding onto the past and creating something completely new and different from everything that had been built before. Being described as a ‘swaggering 19th century figure’ Frank Lloyd Wright had always stood out from the crowd, not only within his works but also how he carried himself and his appearance. Studying in the same place as Louis Sullivan in Chicago, USA, he was later to build houses within the suburbs, particularly stressing the use of horizontal and vertical lines and long and low flat buildings.

I was shocked to say the very least when hearing about his private life and how he went from tragedy to tragedy. I was shocked by the absolutely horrendous story of his wife being killed by the cook along with several other members of the house hold. This just made it even more apparent how much of a strong person Lloyd Wright was, still managing to live to 92 and have none of these previous events effect the quality of his work.

“He would design every single aspect of the world if he could...”

He took a deep philosophical approach within his work, mostly looking into nature, going back to this organic idea. He was always talking about his work within the abstract.

“Democracy and architecture if both are organic cannot be two separate things...”

The most famous house of the 20th century
Falling water built in the mid 1930’s personally one of my absolute favourite pieces of architecture. Not like any other, sitting on the side of a hill, a water fall is sat underneath the building, making it fit completely within the surroundings. The balconies look like they float over the waterfall. The space inside is quite dark, but you’re moving from the inside of the house out, linking the inside with the outside, when walking through an inside room, it is connected to one of the balconies. I personally think the house is one of the most beautiful pieces of architecture ever built. It looks so perfectly placed in its location. Frank Lloyd Wright has used every aspect of nature to make the building fit so well. The horizontal and vertical angles within the building which contrast against the edges of rocks and hills emphasise the beauty of the architecture. 

There are no other architects that have produced work like Lloyd Wrights’; there was so much personality that went into his designs that it was almost impossible for anyone to recreate this. You could say that his work was at a dead end. His unique vision meant only his own philosophical values 


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