Frank Lloyd Wright’s design skills sucked.
I’ve always been amused by those that thought he was such a genius.
Each to their own. My mother studied architecture and interior design at U of Chicago in the 30’s, so I was raised on continuous lectures of styles and furniture. Grew to adore Frank Lloyd Wright, as well as the sculptor Lorado Taft, whose studio mother studied in. When I attended U of C, in my turn, I also studied at Taft’s studio. Very exciting. Some of my earliest memories are of mother teaching me art deco lines in the dirt she smoothed in the backyard. I was always disappointed in myself because I couldn’t draw her smooth lines. I could only sketch continous lines trying to find the one that kept the proportions smooth. But Wright’s lines are so pure, it almost breaks my heart.
I grew up in a HughNewell Jacobsen designed home and my current home is a blend of both FLW andHKJ. With a little Alexander Calder art thrown it. Living in art is magnificent.
When I first saw that the head of the re-design was a woman, I thought "This is going to look nice, but it's not going to be nice to use." And that's just like FLW stuff... it looks innovative, but it's cumbersome at best.
Definitely not my idea of good looking architecture. The modern stuff is unimaginative. Soviet-esque, if you will. Nothing “organic” about most of it, not that there’s anything wrong with looking like it grew out of the scenery...but it usually doesn’t.
As for “form follows function,” that’s fine for aircraft and ships, but in buildings, the nearer you get to following function, the more you get a box.
So the artsy set can have him.
As for the leaks...maybe he should have used gutters and downspouts after all.
Interesting concept of those who think he was a genius. He was an idiot savant, my dad worked with him for a time. The Idiot part was pretty evident even in the community. Weird how the media picks it’s hero’s. So if we back up on that thought, who publicized him and made a crap architect a family name. Where did he get his money from? These are not cheap builds. They are ugly and always leak.
US A I D? early days?
“”””Frank Lloyd Wright’s design skills sucked.”””
Growing up in the home building business I learned that the designers decide how it should look but don’t always have a clue if it will work. Engineers and architects have very different roles.
AMEN! HORRIBLE DESIGNER A ND HORRIBLE PERSON!
His work just isn’t your cuppa.
Not mine, either.
But he was a genius.