Frank Lloyd Wright Cover Page
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Contents 2 Introduction 3 Frank Loyd Wright
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Context 6 Robie’s dining room
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Furniture 10 Design Style 12 Orthogonal Drawing 14 Concept Sketches Chair 15 Lamp 19 Table 21 Reflection 23 References 24
Introduction
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rank Lloyd Wright, considered to be one of the most influential figures in the world of design, lived an eccentric life, albeit a difficult one during his earlier years, which led him to designing distinctly American styled architecture. He was highly acclaimed and became influential to many architects around the world, with famous works like his Taliesin residence, “falling water� residential house to the Guggenheim Museum in New York. As famous for his designs in architecture, Wright was also recognised for his work in furniture design. He was famous for producing furniture in solid timber with minimalistic straight lines, natural markings, with unvarnished finishes, which later on became his signature trademarks in furniture design. This essay researched into his furniture designs, and investigated his design methods, influences, design principles to determine the core reasons for furniture design during his life.
“...having a good start, not only do I fully intend to be the greatest architect who has yet lived, but fully intend to be the greatest architect who will ever live. Yes, I intend to be the greatest architect of all time.” - Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
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right was born on June 8, 1867 in Richland Centre Wisconsin. His parents were William Care Wright and Anna Lloyd Wright. William was a preacher, musician, public speaker, school superintendent who also studied medicine and Law. Anna was a teacher and a member of the Celtic clan of religious revolutionaries that settled near Madison, Wisconsin in 1864. William was an intelligent man who was capable of accomplishing anything he attempted, with one exception of staying employed and earning a living. Through the difficult 18 years with his father, Wright developed a passionate interest in music, and displayed his talent through playing the piano. Wright also inherited William’s ability of handling wide variety of tasks, along with his self confidence and self assurance. He also adopted the skill of public speaking in which, Wright was recognised as a great public speaker that matched famous political figures. (McCarter 1997)
After completing two semesters of his engineering degree at Madison, Wisconsin, Wright headed to Chicago in 1887. There he managed to gain employment under J. L. Silsbee as a drafter working only for a year. In 1888 he progressed his way to the office of Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan, who is highly recognised for their works of organic buildings. (McCarter 1997) This enforced considerable influence on Wright’s learning, during his employment in Adler and Sullivan. Other forms of early influence that made an impact to Wright were the residential Japanese architecture. Residential Japanese architecture is famous for its simplicity, clarity, straight lines, natural timber finishes and the integration of house and garden as one.
designs in architecture. Wright built more than 100 houses within the Middle West that was distinctive and unique to American architecture. His designs consisted in integrating the natural earth elements and surrounding vegetation, as commonly seen in Japanese residential architecture. Most of his residential houses were usually in large and medium-sized houses; built with low pitched roofs and wide spreading eaves.
Wright designed numerous houses during his employment at Adler and Sullivan. But in 1893 he began to work independently without Sullivan’s approval, which Sullivan later found out and ultimately fired Wright. During the next 20 years, Frank began his own architectural firm and continued to practice his
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Context
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hroughout Frank’s early years, Wright received the influences of his father’s love of music and the his ability to play the piano. He also inherited his natural skill of self-assurance, confidence in public presentations and accomplishing variety of tasks. He also inherited bad habits like spending money on unnecessary luxuries rather than necessities, occasionally making claims that was highly exaggerated which was partly distorting the truth. Wright, like his father; also occasionally avoided difficult situations rather than confronting them. (McCarter 1997) It was different from his mothers side, who was a highly supportive figure throughout Wright’s development years and it was clear that she was an important figure who made an impact on Wright’s psychological principals. Although, this could also be seen to have an negative effect on Wright by reinforcing some of his bad habits. (McCarter 1997) A good example would be her demand of excessive expectations in him, which could have fuelled his drive for excessive demand for high standards and unnecessary luxuries. During Wrights childhood, the Wright family faced financial difficulties during the severe economic depression in 1870 and the Chicago fire in 1871 which required the city to be rebuilt. (McCarter 1997) This caused insufficient funding for church organisations in which the Wright family often depended on donations from congregations to survive through the difficult times.
The development of Wright’s principals derived through many forms, from a young age, he learned to respect the study of the natural landscapes and the writings of Emerson and Thoreau. His mother provided him with a set of Frobel Kindergarten blocks, which allowed him to develop an understanding of proportion, scale and geometric configurations. (Maddex, Wright 1999) He also developed an understanding in how to seek unity, which was taught by his Unitarian relatives. His father also suggested that music was the edifice of sound. (Maddex, Wright 1999) When Wright entered into adulthood, it was clear to Wright that his mother, and his relatives from his mothers side was the driving force of influence that helped him develop into the architect he was to come. Evidence of this could be drawn from his decision in changing his given name from Frank Lincoln Wright to Frank Lloyd wright at the age of eighteen. Wright carried these early learning’s with him when he arrived in Chicago in 1887 and continued to develop these ideas further throughout the years. In 1888 to 1893, his famous mentor and employer Louis Sullivan, he received the necessary training as his apprentice and learned to play with form to an extent where he could mold surfaces to any geometric form. (Maddex, Wright 1999) This formed critical skills that would later on aid his future designs, not only in architectural design, but also in furniture design as well. In 1893
after being fired by Sullivan, Wright ventured out on his own. From here, Wright’s organic architecture begins, buildings that feels like its grown from nature, that blossomed some of his most famous and influential designs e.g. Wright home and Studio Oak Park Chicago, Robie House Chicago Illinois, Taliesin Spring Green, Wisconsin, Taliesin West, Socttsdale Arizona, Falling Water Mill Run Pennsylvania and the Guggenheim Museum New York.
“It is quite impossible to consider the building one thing and its furnishings another,” The chairs and table, the windows, the lighting, the object were” mere structural details” of a building’s overall character. (Maddex, Wright 1999 p8)
Fredrick and Lara Robie’s dining room in Chicago
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ouse designed for Fredrick and Lara Robie in 1910 incorporates a dining room space, In which show cases a beautifully simple and elegant dining room table with 6 tall back chairs. This dinning set was designed by Wright, to accompany the architecture and interior design of the house. At first glance you notice the tall back chairs with its long spindled back screening that stretches from the top of the chair to the base footing. The hit and miss spindle back allows glimpses of the table behind; providing just enough transparency. With out a trace of paint or decorative finish applied, the oak retains its natural beauty through the solid linear geometry. The table extends out long to balance out the tall chairs while the corner posts resembles the formation of building columns. When the chairs are pushed into enclose the table; the furniture resembles a room that sits inside this dining room. (Maddex, Wright 1999) Observing this space; presents Wrights ability to harmonise space through his furniture design. As for personal decor, Frank only allowed few items for display on the side board ledges. Image 2
Ornamental should be integral, arising from the materials and construction themselves. And those materials, chief among them wood, should be limited and natural to be “honest.” Natural finishes bring out the nature of materials rather than cover it up as paint would. Natural colours came from the woods and fields – tones of the earth and autumn are “optimistic,” in contrast to the “pessimistic” blue, purples, and cold greens” of the ribbon counter.” Natural accessories such as simple flowers, dried or fresh, bring the outdoors in. (Maddex, Wright 1999 p8) Image 3
Furnishings should be seen as parts of the whole composition, not aggregations, “a great thing instead of a collection of smaller ones.” A single basic idea – a geometric motif, a plant form – should govern. “Every house worth considering as a work of art,” “must have a grammar of its own.” (Maddex, Wright 1999 p8)
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Furniture
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revious to this dining room design, Wright designed his own home in Oak Park, Illinois which initiated his interest in designing interior furnishings. Although, the Robies space demonstrates a good example of what Wright considers a home should look like. Wright also explains that each house should be a complete work of art. Wright states “It is quite impossible to consider the building one thing and its furnishings another,” The chairs and table, the windows, the lighting, the object were” mere structural details” of a building’s overall character. (Maddex, Wright 1999 p8)
Wright further explains that furnishings are like individual citizens in a democracy, each had its role to play in creating a harmonious union.(Maddex, Wright 1999) Wright described the everyday homes as notion stores, bazars, and junk shops as he was displeased with the clients furnishings and felt it did not suit his radical houses. (Maddex, Wright 1999) Write describes the items as “the horrors of the old order.” (Maddex, Wright 1999 p8) This led Wright to design everything, from the exterior; right down to the interior furnishings, even going to the extent of producing architectural plans which show where the furnitures were to be placed. He commenced this rule of domestic order from 1894, and reissued, at times identical configurations throughout his buildings.
One important aspect of furniture design Wright suggests is; any ornamental elements that is incorporated to the visual aspect of design requires to be integral to the surface of the material itself. This method is derived from his early design principles of organic design, and his strong love and respect in the beauty of the natural material itself. For this reason Wright’s material of choice became none other that wood, which is used throughout most of his furniture and architectural designs. In his furnitures, his play with form in the combination of geometric configuration is limited just enough to display these design principle styles to strike a balance between form and nature that enhances the natural beauty of the material itself. Ornamental should be integral, arising from the materials and construction themselves. And those materials, chief among them wood, should be limited and natural to be “honest.” Natural finishes bring out the nature of materials rather than cover it up as paint would. Natural colours came from the woods and fields – tones of the earth and autumn are “optimistic,” in contrast to the “pessimistic” blue, purples, and cold greens” of the ribbon counter.” Natural accessories such as simple flowers, dried or fresh, bring the outdoors in. (Maddex, Wright 1999 p8)
Furniture, heating, lighting, and nearly everything else should be built in as far as possible to make them part of the building. Human scale must be observed. Geometry, with its straight lines conducive to machine manufacture, should prevail. And, said Wright, “above all, integrity,” the end product of simplicity and unity. (Maddex, Wright 1999 p8) Frank struggled to keep up with the demand of his commissions which were more than 500 hundred to thousands of furnishings which ranged from chairs, tables, music stands, lamps, glass mosaics to table linens. (Maddex, Wright 1999) In production, Wright began building furnitures by hand through on site carpenters and trusted associates. He also relied heavily on his associates to develop ideas or at times to design items on their own. An architect whom he relied heavily during his early days was Marion Mahony who was exceptional in furniture and glass works. He also turned to George Niedecken, and interior architect to work on internal furnishings to match his architectural designs. (Maddex, Wright 1999) He also outsourced work to many other artists such as Richard Bock and Alfonso Lannelli, for sculptural and mural works.(Maddex, Wright 1999) Although Wright was overwhelmed by the volume of work he took on, but he kept striving through hard work and his inherited ability to accomplish variety of tasks, he successfully completed them all. Later on, Wright started to rely on machine technology to avoid problems in complex joinery.
Design style
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right’s designs consisted of simplistic, modern aesthetics which incorporated his primary learnings from nature, his up bringing and the influences from his learnings during his apprenticeship under Sullivan. It represented his contributions towards modern American architecture, especially through his domestic buildings. His utmost critical design principal known can be considered to be how he conceived buildings as an extension of the creative process of nature, in which buildings are not to be built, but grown into its environment, enhancing not only the design of the building but also the surrounding as well. This design of organic growth and unity was fused in the integral part of the building, to eliminate the distinction where architectural design commenced and nature formed. Wright, usually expressed his interests on hill side regional sites where protruding rocks extended as site for his designs stating that ‘no house should ever be on a hill, but should be of the hill’.
Wright incorporated this same design principals to his furniture designs. Applying his core principles derived from nature, he executes furniture designs to be as simple and natural as his buildings are formed. His extensive use in wood material in his furnitures such as solid oak, is evidence that show his relentless intention to express the beauty of nature in his design. Wright continue use of solid oak was through his Prairie years (1900-17) and during his Usonian design periods (1936-59) his choice of plywood was more extensive. Wright’s designs also drew many comparisons with Japanese designs, which was easy to point out their similarities. However, Wright developed his design further by designing furniture to be inbuilt to its architecture in order to separate space and divide areas using decorative furnishings. This revolutionised the way interior spaces were being designed and redefined the limitations where architectural design ceased. Wright’s need of designing inbuilt furnitures was also to prevent clients to redecorate internal spaces with their furnitures. Wright felt that eveyone else’s work was “inferior desecration”
to him and urged clients to avoid a wagonload of items with no real use and concentrate on” one really fine thing.” (Maddex, Wright 1999 p11) And due to his design principal, that all ornamental design had to be integral, growing organically from the building itself, it was difficult for him to accept any other forms of designs that was disruptive. The number of pieces should be limited, he cautioned, with as many as possible built in – at one with the building. Then there was nothing to arrange, nothing to disturb the architect’s vision. (Maddex, Wright 1999 p11) Wright’s designs received world wide recognition much after he had passed away in April 1959. Throughout his life, he has been a highly active figure in the field of architectural, interior and furniture design will be remembers as one of the most innovative, revolutionary designers of our time.
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Orthogonal Drawing Henry J Allen Residence Dining Table was chosen for the orthogonal drawing due to the difficulty in finding credible dimensions of the Robie dining table and chair. This table was designed in the 1916-17, although it was designed much later than the Robie dining table (1910), it still holds similar characteristics with its design. This table was redrawn based on furniture plans Wright produced for his client Henry J Allen in 1916.
Concept Sketches Chair
Concept design based off the design of the Robie chair. This concept designed with similar design elements as the Robie chair design. Designed with similar solid vertical legs that sits on individual base pedestals. The sides of the chair is reinforced and decorated vertical struts while the spindle back continuously over laps to provide a spring back feature.
Concept Sketches Chair Left: Exploring different variations of conceptual ideas. while still maintaining the core archetype form of the Robie chair design. The spindle back was a signature style that Wright used throughout his chairs. Below: Conceptual ideas with geometric simple forms. Wright was famous for his use of simple clean geometry, combining natural materials to enhance the beauty of the material as the design itself
Concept Sketches Lamp Exploring lamp design concepts influenced by wrights lamp designs. His combination of wood and stain glass materials to form a unique design form.The concept mimics traditional temple construction techniques which wright incorporates into his designs.
Concept Sketches Table
Top: Concept vision of a coffee table influenced by the Henry J Allen Residence Dining Table. This is built in solid Oak timber with vertical struts surrounding the mid walls. The table sits on top of a solid base.to mimic a buildings stance. Right: Henry J Allen Residence Dining Table rendered in solid Oak with low sheen polish. This table was designed in 1916
References Ehrlich, D. and Wright, F. (2003). Frank Lloyd Wright interior style & design. Philadelphia: Courage Books. Maddex, D. and Wright, F. (1999). 50 favorite furnishings by Frank Lloyd Wright. New York: Smithmark. McCarter, R. (1997). Frank Lloyd Wright. London: Phaidon Press. Thomson, I. and Wright, F. (1999). Frank Lloyd Wright. London: PRC. Frank Lloyd Wright (2005). [Online]. In Great lives: A century in obituaries. London, United Kingdom: Collins. Available from: http://ezproxy.lib.rmit.edu.au/login?url=http:// search.credoreference.com.ezproxy.lib.rmit.edu.au/content/entry/collinsgl/frank_lloyd_ wright/0 [Accessed 23 May 2015]. Image 1 Image 2 Image 3 Image 4 Image 5
Reflection
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uring my research into 20th century furniture design I have developed a better understanding of modern designers in their history, context, methodologies, influences and their design approach. This research has enabled me to learn and visualise the course of events of a designers life in detail, which has been extremely interesting and inspiring to research. This research has also allowed me to develop a better understanding about the history of modern furniture design and how the design influence back to each other. It has also given the opportunity to carefully study the designers methods in designing their famous products and how they channeled their creative flair to execute their ideas. This study has also enabled me to learn about the history of world events that may have directly or indirectly impacted each of these designers through out their lives.
As a student, studying to become a designer, it is critical to know the works of such significant figures and to be knowledgeable about the history of design in order to become a good designer. For this reason, my research into the history of designers and their works will continue on in the future to further develop my knowledge of designers and their works. Overall, my research conducted during this course has enabled me to effectively develop my researching skills in collecting relevant research material. It has also enabled me to better understand the importance of research and how effective it is in obtaining critical information. This experience has enabled me to learn and develop a broad range of skills that will help me in current and future research projects.
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