Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright was the greatest architect in America.  He redefined architecture and became famous in the world all over.  However, his genius is oftentimes buried under the scandals of his life.  Jonathan Adams, an architect from Wales is going to travel around America to discover more about Frank Lloyd Wright.  He wants to know the man and wishes to put him back in his place.  What will Jonathan discover about Frank Lloyd Wright?  Tune into this episode to find out more.
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Wright’s life was often tempestuous.  He had a mistress.  He was often on the brink of financial ruin.  However, his ideas that architecture should be a part of the landscape and not separate from it.  Jonathan Adams kicks off this episode starting with his family.  Frank Lloyd Wright’s family came from Wales.  He was proud of his Welsh roots.  They were practicing Unitarians.  Eventually, the family moved to America because they were searching for religious freedom.  They sought a place that reminded them of Wales and they settled in Spring Green, Wisconsin.

Frank Lloyd Wright would be born in Spring Green in a place that was called the Valley.  The Wrights clung to their Welsh roots and wanted to be Welsh in America.  The Valley shaped his values.  It was paradise for a young boy.  He studied engineering in college and left the Valley to seek an apprenticeship.  He arrived in Chicago and found a job.  He workedwith the city’s leading architect.  He met Kitty Tobin and within two years they married and had a child. 

Wright borrowed money from his boss to build a house in Oak Park.  He would build a house for himself and his family.  It was a strange house set in the neighborhood.  The house was bathed in light and the rooms flowed together.  Wright developed an open plan before it was an open plan.  His house attracted the people and commissions flowed in.  He designed and built houses but was waiting for his big commission.  That big commission would come in the form of designing a new Unitarian Church.

The design shocked the people.  He created a building out of concrete and was the first modern building.  The outside was plain and its plainness is deceptive.  Inside hides a beautiful space full of light and openness.  At the time the people were not impressed with the design and prayed for ivy to grow on the walls.  However, with this building, Frank Lloyd Wright would be well on his way to becoming a well-known architect.  He started designing houses and his designs had become more daring. 

His fame grew far and wide and his design became known as “prairie houses.”  He designed the Robie House.  He even made the entrance of the house dramatic.  The house was bathed in light and destroyed the conventional box tradition of houses.  He even designed furniture to go with the house.  Frank Lloyd Wright was a man riding high, but he was a man chaffing against conventional life.

He started an affair with the wife of a client.  The pair fled to Europe to avoid scandal.  Eventually, they came back to the United States and settled at Taliesin.  However, tragedy would strike the couple and to learn more about this tragedy continue to watch the rest of this episode.  What else will Jonathan Adams learn about Frank Lloyd Wright?

This is an excellent documentary on Frank Lloyd Wright.  Jonathan Adams is an excellent narrator to the story of Frank Lloyd Wright.  This would be an excellent documentary to show for a home design class as well as a history class.