Wright Chat

I haven't read much on Gestalt theory. But it comes up fairly often in reference for some thinkers I'm fond of... I'll copy below a couple excerpts from one of my favorite books on the subject––Mikel Dufrenne's "The Phenomenology of Aesthetic Experience"... The first giving due to Gestalt; and the s...

Not so long ago I'd have agreed with the entirety of your argument. And certainly the house in itself, built of stone, is wonderful as it is, alone as an object of architecture. The way I'd personally define "context" is in the things that begin immediately where the object ends... Every object has ...

That may be reaching to justify building a stone house on the prairie grass, but.... The entire planet is rocky, so stone is as logical a building material as any wherever it is used. To use stone to build a house, in any capacity, is an act of human will. Any appeal to 'naturalism' is symbolic. Fo...

Great thread here....happy to resurrect it. Among my 'deep dives into the online Archives' this week, I was surprised to see how tight the lot of the Richard Smith house is: https://library.artstor.org/#/asset/28599316;prevRouteTS=1610207887378 I'd have to agree with Mr. Laurie Virr concerning the u...

I came across this earlier plan for the W.S. Carr summerhouse while searching the Wright archives on Artstor: https://library.artstor.org/#/asset/28511872;prevRouteTS=1610147044249 In continuation of this thread's discussion....this earlier plan offers a more interesting course of movement in the ki...

Searching around the Artstor link DRN provided today, we've got a handful more drawings to review in the furthering mystery of the Stracke project.... Here is a drawing with the fireplace moved. It appears an apprentice did the plan, and Wright came and added comments. https://library.artstor.org/#/...

Just....wow.
What a resource.
Thanks DRN...!

I'm not sure what is drawn on that colored elevation; if it's a cantilevered carport---in a different location from the one on the second plan---that would be one more peculiarity in this unusual project.

Would also be one strange carport, with its roof form.

I believe so, based on looking at a lot of Mr Wright's often-difficult handwriting . . . Ah okay. I take it the other notes on the drawings aren't Wright's, though? Perhaps an apprentice wrote the notes on the left side concerning the client's remarks on the initial design...? And Wright came along...

So the handwritten word beneath the Terrace says "Fireplace"?

I'm not sure the fireplace itself is scribbled out... The scribbles are curious though.
Worth noting that the fireplace hasn't moved its location in the second version.

Had the hearth been placed where the stairs are, the floor plan (of the main space) would resemble a far more typical Usonian like Jacobs I... It seems clear to me Wright valued the fireplace "deep" in relation to the hill––the "cave" configuration––which as you point out, sacrifices the seating rel...

I absolutely love this design (and Hugo's model). I realize the small building was intended for future expansion, as noted on the plan, but its 1BR configuration seems so wonderfully perfect to me.... A few observations: 1) The entry sequence has a diagonal directionality that, upon moving into the ...

"Homeowners" complain about every minor 'nuisance' that happens on their street. And as a "group", homeowners move on average once every ten years. (Perhaps Brookline sees longer residencies than that.) I'd imagine it's better to get the 'neighborhood' on board––and hopefully the local homeowners ar...

Good news out of Brookline.... The demolition has been delayed for 18 months: https://www.archpaper.com/2020/12/hh-richardson-and-john-charles-olmsted-homes-get-temporary-reprieve-from-wrecking-ball/?fbclid=IwAR3ed7_R1PFEc9_KEwEC6i8M9HLLQGGb_0ILSG_odhFON3rCi-fajrM6V_w Article has some good recent ph...