Frank Lloyd Wright is the greatest American architect. Wright was born in Wisconsin in 1867, but he moved to Chicago in the 1880s to begin his architecture work. After a brief stint working for the firm Adam and Sullivan, Wright opened his own practice. Wright wanted to redefine American architecture, so he moved away from European designs that were common at the time. His style also emphasized lower building heights, no basements, and free-flowing interior spaces. Throughout his illustrious career, Wright designed 1,100 buildings, half of which were built. Examples include Falling Water, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and Taliesin West. Taliesin West is one of Wright’s most famous pieces, and it is located outside of Scottsdale, Arizona. Wright built the house between 1937 and 1959 to serve as his winter home and workshop. It was built in the Prairie-style, which emphasized low, horizontal planes to keep the house close to the ground to allow ventilation and shade from the sun. Wright also used local materials so that the house would match the environment. In 1982, Taliesin West was declared a National Landmark, and in 2008, UNESCO made it a World Heritage Site. Taliesin West also serves as the main campus of the Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture School.
Categories