Frank Lloyd Wright was nothing short of an inspiration, a titan in the field of architecture who singlehandedly pushed the world to greater heights with the force of a thousand suns. His early life was one of pioneering and experimentation, unafraid to take risks but always holding deep admiration for the world around him. Later, he would use that base to propel his career and become the legendary architect of the new world which we know today. On April 9, 1959, Wright died of surgical complications, but that hasn’t stopped his legacy from influencing the architects of the modern age, both young and old.
Wright’s welsh roots were something he took great pride in; his family immigrated to the United States and settled in what would later become known as “The Valley”, an open plot of land shaped by sloping hills near Spring Green, Wisconsin. It was in this plot of land where Wright would spend his summers and find comfort, and would even return here after his career had taken off to build his home. He moved to the city of Chicago, where he studied architecture ad worked at an apprenticeship under the most prominent architect in the city; this would be the stepping stone upon which he would build his great legacy. His first real project was a home that he had built in the city of Oak Park, Illinois, which would be followed by many commissions for prairie style houses by his neighbors and even the renovated local “Unity Temple”, a unitarian church which he and his family attended. This church would be considered his first major breakthrough, earning much praise for his masterful use of reinforced concrete, a cheap and bare material, to create something truly breathtaking.
Perhaps Wright’s greatest influence came not in the form of his physical works, but in the ideals that encompassed them. From a young age, Wright had been taught to hold a deep appreciation for the world around him, especially nature; this led to his belief that design should not be separate from nature and its surroundings, but rather that they should live in conjunction with each other. One of the most well-known examples of this is his house, Taliesin; he claimed that the house was not on the hill, but rather that it was an extension of the hill and that both the hill and the house were improved by each other. Another example of this is the Fallingwater house; rather than be situated on a nearby clifftop overlooking the waterfall, he situated the house on the waterfall itself, choosing to combine the two in a way that is nothing short of incredible. The way the two spaces work harmoniously together to become one is probably the biggest takeaway from his work, and the reason why he is still so relevant despite having died many years ago.
A man of incredible genius who sought to find harmony between nature and construction, Frank Lloyd Wright is undoubtedly one of the most influential architects in history. His theories on the amalgamation of nature and architecture formed the basis of modern architecture, and his sheer perseverance is something to be admired. Despite the humble and often troublesome start to his career, he managed to create a legacy that will continue to inspire architects for many years to come.
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