Stuart Wells House rendering & plans

[DavidC]

Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Wells House, project , Long Lake, Minnesota , Perspective

Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Wells House, project , Long Lake, Minnesota , Plan of lower level

Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Wells House, project , Long Lake, Minnesota , Plan of upper level


David

[Roderick Grant]

While Taschen 3 lists Stuart Wells Project on page 80, which is almost identical to Douglas Grant (Mono 7/108-9), Wells does not appear in the Monographs.

[Paul Ringstrom]

Grant and Wells are both labeled 1946.

[SDR]

Thanks for that cross-lighted wrinkled plan drawing, MoMA.


I wonder if anyone has compiled a list of Wright designs which he reused for a second or third or fourth client. I wonder how long that list really is . . .

SDR

[Rood]

Both Wells ('45) and Grant ('46) had their genesis in Pauson ('39), and the list doesn't end there. It continued in the Bell house of 1947 for East St. Louis, and on to Goddard, 1952, for a site in Plymouth, Michigan.

Donna Grant Reilly wrote in her book An American Proceeding, that when Edgar Kaufmann informed her about the Wells design she " ... felt a little cheated by the discovery that our design (the Grant House) was a bit second-hand ...".

She was wrong, there, too. In truth, Grant might be said to have been a third-hand design.

[SDR]

The parti which is represented by the projects you cite can be traced in their plans and sections -- but there's a considerable difference between Pauson, say, and Grant, whereas the Wells and Grant houses could be mistaken for twins . . .

Jester is another project for which several subsequent iterations are closely related, in both plan and appearance, I believe. Others ?

SDR

[Rood]

The basic difference between the two iterations is that after Pauson, the second floor entry begins at the brow of the hill, and people descend from that bedroom level to the living room/workspace below, whereas in Pauson people must climb stairs from the living room up to the bedroom level.

If the two designs ... Pauson ... Wells, Grant, Bell, Goddard ... aren't identical twins, they are fraternal.

[Roderick Grant]

The principal differences are construction material and geography for Pauson, Bell, Wells, Grant and Goddard Scheme #1 all in-line plans, while Goddard #2 is of the so-called pollywog style. A plan that Goddard 2 resembles is Sweeton, on a much grander scale, of course.

Taschen gives 1945 for Wells. Dates are so fluid in FLW texts.

[Rood]

Materials and exact relationship to site and client's needs are always fluid and subject to change, depending upon circumstances. However in these five projects the basic "idea" is remarkably consistent.

Site and material differences confused me, too. it was Charles Montooth who pointed out the relationships between these several designs and the Pauson House.

[Macrodex]

Nice to see that I can finally look at the images MoMa has.

There's a handful of American System-Built plans I've not seen before.

[Roderick Grant]

60,886 images! Wow. That will take an afternoon or a thousand to plow through.

Macrodex, there is a book by Shirley du Fresne McArthur, "FLW American System-Built Homes In Milwaukee" (Northpoint Historical Society, 1985, 104 pp, paper) that includes ASB houses not in any other publication. It's not a very crisp lot of photos, but the text is informative. Amazon: $66.01 used and new.

[DavidC]

60,886 images! Wow. That will take an afternoon or a thousand to plow through.

MOMA may have 60,886 images, but if you search "Frank Lloyd Wright" you only get to actually view 85.


David

[Roderick Grant]

I assume that's just how many have been uploaded so far. I would expect all of them to make it eventually. Hope, that is.