11 things i learned from frank lloyd wright

11 THINGS I LEARNED FROM FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

WHO WAS FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT?

• FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT HAS BEEN CALLED THE GREATEST AMERICAN ARCHITECT

• HIS CAREER BEGAN AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY AND HE WORKED AT DESIGNING BUILDINGS

HIS ENTIRE ADULT LIFE, ALL THE WAY UNTIL HIS DEATH IN 1959, AT AGE 91

• DURING HIS CAREER HE WAS KNOWN FOR HIS UNIQUE DESIGN STYLE, ACTUALLY SEVERAL

UNIQUE DESIGN STYLES, AS HE CONTINUALLY RE-INVENTED HIMSELF

• WRIGHT NEVER TRIED TO FOLLOW TRADITIONAL OR EVEN CONVENTIONAL BUILDING STYLES,

INSTEAD HE FOCUSED ON THE NEEDS OF THE CLIENT, THE LOCATION, AND HIS OWN AESTHETIC

SENSE TO CREATE UNIQUE STRUCTURES THAT ARE STILL ADMIRED TODAY

• HE WAS THE STEVE JOBS OF HIS DAY – AN ICONOCLAST AND REBEL WHO POSSESSED AN

INCREDIBLE SENSE OF VISION

• IN CONTRAST TO HIS PROFESSIONAL AND ARTISTIC GENIUS, HIS PERSONAL LIFE WAS ONE

MARKED BY CLIENT CONFLICT, PERSONAL SCANDAL AND TRAGEDY

• HE IS ALSO CONSIDERED THE INSPIRATION FOR THE PROTAGONIST OF AYN RAND’S “THE

FOUNTAINHEAD”, HOWARD ROARK

HAVE A UNIQUE VISIONWRIGHT’S DESIGNS WERE UNLIKE ANYTHING THAT HAD COME

BEFORE. HE DISDAINED HISTORICAL STYLES AND SOUGHT TO

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF NEW MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION

TECHNIQUES. HE ALSO BORROWED LIBERALLY FROM

ARCHITECTURE ACROSS THE GLOBE, DRAWING INSPIRATION

JAPANESE, GERMAN AND EVENMAYAN STRUCTURES. HIS VISIONWAS COMPREHENSIVE, NOT ONLYDID HE DESIGN THE BUILDING, BUTOFTEN ALSO THE FURNITURE, ANDMUCH OF THE ARTWORK.

CONTEXT IS EVERYTHINGWRIGHT ALWAYS PAID ATTENTION TO THE SURROUNDINGS OF A BUILDING

BEFORE DESIGNING IT. HE WANTED HIS DESIGNS TO INTEGRATE VISUALLY AND

FUNCTIONALLY INTO THE LOCATION. PAY ATTENTION TO THE ENVIRONMENT IF

YOU WANT TO BE EFFECTIVE. WHAT WORKS IN ONE SETTING WON’T

NECESSARILY WORK IN ANOTHER.

GO WHERE THE OPPORTUNITY ISWRIGHT DESIGNED BUILDINGS

ACROSS THE COUNTRY. WHILE MOST

OF HIS BUILDINGS ARE IN ILLINOIS

AND WISCONSIN, HE ALSO

DESIGNED BUILDINGS IN THE

WESTERN STATES – ARIZONA AND

CALIFORNIA PARTICULARLY. WHEN IS

POPULARITY IN THE UNITED STATES

WANED, HE WENT OVERSEAS AND

DESIGNED A HOTEL IN JAPAN. HE

WAS NOT AFRAID TO TRAVEL OR

EVEN RELOCATE TO TAKE

ADVANTAGES OF OPPORTUNITIES.

AGE IS JUST A NUMBERWRIGHT’S CAREER SPANNED OVER

FIVE DECADES. HIS MOST FAMOUS

WORK, FALLINGWATER, WAS

DESIGNED WHEN HE WAS IN HIS MID-

SIXTIES, WHEN MANY THOUGHT HIM

AS A “HAS-BEEN”. THE MOST

PRODUCTIVE TIME OF HIS CAREER

CAME VERY LATE IN LIFE. HE RECEIVED

COMMISSIONS WHEN HE WAS 90

YEARS OLD.

FIND A GOOD MENTOR, ESPECIALLY EARLY IN YOUR CAREER

WRIGHT HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO BEGIN HIS CAREER WORKING FOR THE FAMOUS

CHICAGO ARCHITECT LOUIS SULLIVAN, WHO GAINED FAME DESIGNING BUILDINGS FOR

THE GREAT CHICAGO EXPOSITION OF 1893. THROUGH SULLIVAN, WRIGHT LEARNED THE

BUSINESS OF ARCHITECTURE, BEYOND BASIC DESIGN. WITHOUT THE EARLY TRAINING HE

RECEIVED WORKING FOR SULLIVAN, HE WOULD HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO BRANCH OUT ON

HIS OWN AS EARLY AS HE DID.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO EXPERIMENT, YOU NEED TO CHANGE TO STAY FRESH

WRIGHT INVENTED THE “PRAIRIE STYLE” OF ARCHITECTURE, STILL POPULAR IN THE MIDWEST, PARTICULARLY CHICAGO

TODAY. HE COULD HAVE DESIGNED PRAIRIE STYLE STRUCTURES THE REST OF HIS LIFE. INSTEAD, HE CHOSE TO

REFRESH HIMSELF BE CREATING NEW STYLES, INCLUDING USONIAN, TEXTILE-BLOCK AND CANTILEVERED CONCRETE.

NOT EVERYTHING WORKED HOWEVER, BUT HIS MISTAKES WERE DUE TO OVER-REACHING, NOT EXCESSIVE CAUTION.

THINKING ABOUT WORK IS WORKINGTHE INITIAL DESIGNS FOR WRIGHT’S MOST FAMOUS PRIVATE

RESIDENCE, FALLINGWATER, WAS DRAWN IN A MATTER OF

HOURS. HOWEVER, HE SPENT WEEKS STUDYING THE DETAILED

SITE DRAWINGS HIS STAFF HAD MADE THAT SHOWED THE

LOCATION OF EVERY BOULDER AND TREE. BY THE TIME HE SAT

DOWN TO DRAW IT, HE HAD ALREADY DESIGNED THE BUILDING

IN HIS HEAD. THE POINT IS THAT ONE NEEDS TO SPEND TIME

THINKING, IF ONE IS CREATE A UNIQUE AND INNOVATIVE

SOLUTION TO A PROBLEM.

YOU MUST ALSO TEACH OTHERSWRIGHT CREATED THE TALIESIN

FELLOWSHIP, A GROUP OF APPRENTICES

AND ASSISTANTS THAT REMAINED

CONNECTED WITH HIM THROUGHOUT

THEIR CAREERS. BY TEACHING OTHERS,

ONE’S OWN IDEAS BECOME CRYSTALIZED

AND BOTH CAN DRAW INSPIRATION

FROM THE OTHER. TO BECOME A TRUE

MASTER, ONE MUST ALSO TEACH.

DON’T RUN OFF WITH THE CLIENT’S WIFEWRIGHT’S ARTISTIC GENIUS WAS INVERSELY MATCHED BY

HIS PERSONAL SHORTCOMINGS. AFTER TWENTY YEARS OF

MARRIAGE AND SIX CHILDREN, HE LEFT THEM BEHIND TO

CARRY ON WITH THE WIFE OF ONE OF HIS CLIENTS.

SCORNED IN THE AMERICAN PRESS, HE ESCAPED TO EUROPE

TO AVOID SCRUTINY. HE LOST COUNTLESS COMMISSIONS

DUE TO HIS DAMAGED REPUTATION. A BRILLIANT CAREER

COULD HAVE BEEN EVEN GREATER STILL HAD HE CHOSEN

NOT PURSUE A RELATIONSHIP OUT OF PERSONAL VANITY.

THE RELATIONSHIP ENDED IN TRAGEDY, AS HIS PARAMOUR

WAS KILLED ALONG WITH SEVERAL OTHERS BY AN

ENRAGED SERVANT.

BUILD YOUR PERSONAL BRAND

PROFESSIONALLY, EVERYTHING HE DID

WAS TO REINFORCE HIS PERSONAL

BRAND. THIS INCLUDED HIS OWN

DISTINCT LETTERING STYLE, HIS

INCLUSION OF A SINGLE RED TILE IN

HIS HOUSES THAT BORE HIS NAME.

WRIGHT DID INTERVIEWS AND

PUBLISHED ARTICLES. LIKE STEVE JOBS

AT APPLE, HE SOUGHT TO DEFINE

CONSUMER TASTE, NOT FOLLOW IT.

WRIGHT KNEW THAT SUCCESS IN HIS PROFESSION WAS DEPENDENT UPONINFLUENCING CONSUMER TASTES, NOT TRYING TO MATCH THEM. PROFESSIONALLY,EVERYTHING WRIGHT DID WAS TO REINFORCE HIS PERSONAL BRAND. WRIGHTKNEW THAT SUCCESS IN HIS PROFESSION WAS DEPENDENT UPON INFLUENCINGCONSUMER TASTES, NOT TRYING TO MATCH THEM.

KNOW YOUR TARGET MARKET

WRIGHT MADE A POINT TO UNDERSTAND HIS CUSTOMERS NOT SIMPLY CURRENT ONES, BUT FUTURE CUSTOMERS

AS WELL. HE PROMOTED HIS VISION OF A “PRAIRIE-STYLE” HOUSE IN THE POPULAR “LADIES HOME JOURNAL”

INSTEAD OF ONE OF THE MORE TECHNICAL OR PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS OF THE DAY. WRIGHT

UNDERSTOOD THAT WOMEN WERE THE PRIMARY DECISION-MAKERS IN SELECTING A HOME FOR THE FAMILY.