Wright Chat

In a broader context, has anyone really pinned down the common attributes of a Wright plan? The plan was so central as a start point to the design, I wonder if anyone has reached some thesis on why they work (or don't work).

All those exposed rafters wouldn't last very long. I'm researching a Seattle architect who did the same thing. A long retired contractor I interviewed bemoaned the exposed wood on such designs, saying they looked great when built, but soon deteriorated. He said he had a hard time using such building...

Has anyone compared correspondence with drawings to see if there are other unknown or missing projects floating around? Luckily Wright kept both so there should be letters from every client that ever cut him a check.

Looks rather clunky to me. The clerestory windows look punched whereas they should appear as a level of glass between one layer of roof and the other. The plasterboard walls do contrast with the wood and not in a good way, but then I've seen that in Wright houses and cringe even then. Most of all is...

I'm working on a database or spreadsheet of works by a mid-century architect. Are there any examples of this sort of thing being done for famous architects? It would be great to have a template to base my efforts on.

They wanted $3M for Sturges with a hefty restoration fund. Did it ever find an owner?

Rod, you are right. I should have looked that up first. It had to do with the inclusion of that project in the famous MOMA exhibition.

There's also the story of Johnson complimenting Hood on the building, but noting that it would have been better without all the decoration at the top. This from a young architectural gadfly to an experienced architect.

That's a huge model. Where is it at today? Part of Avery Library or Moma?

So what do you call a structural system that is simply solid masonry or, for that matter, solid wood like a log cabin?

Is there a basement to that design? From the model photo it looks like there are underwater windows.

I've never been clear on some terminology. Wright often used a grid, but would that be called "modular." Mies would use an exposed frame set at regular intervals. Is that also "modular?" What's the opposite of a structural frame or balloon frame, as in a masonry building where th...

So great to see this house on the conference tour a couple years ago. A real gem even with the addition and re-orientation of the entry sequence.

Interesting to see plans from what I assume is a transitionary period in which Wright's designs were completed or adapted for clients after his death. Was this something Wright designed for this client or a previous design repurposed for them by the Fellowship?

The Wainer project is a nice little gem. I always likes these small designs.