Wright possibly wrong?
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Mark Hertzberg
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Wright possibly wrong?
When was Wright possibly wrong? I have a new post on www.wrightinracine.com
Mark Hertzberg
The Wasmuth Portfolio puts Stewart in Fresno (their permanent home) rather than in Montecito, some 200 miles away (their summer home, where the house actually is).
Late in life, Wright made notes on his old drawings; one carries the notation "shown to Lieber Meister when applying for a job", which would place it in the 1880s, and so it has been published numerous times. The TWest bookstore used to sell an offprint of a 1900 Inland Architect article, Wright's first national publicity, which shows the same drawing as a current project in the office.
Late in life, Wright made notes on his old drawings; one carries the notation "shown to Lieber Meister when applying for a job", which would place it in the 1880s, and so it has been published numerous times. The TWest bookstore used to sell an offprint of a 1900 Inland Architect article, Wright's first national publicity, which shows the same drawing as a current project in the office.
In a current offline discussion an image which appears in Wright's late "A Testament," labeled "1912. Project for a Small Town House," turns out to belong to the 1915 American System-Built Houses series, as illustrated in Taschen II.
This might have been wishful thinking on Wright's part; the ASBH design is considerably more progressive than a similarly-scaled urban project from 1911, his would-be Chicago townhouse/office on Goethe Street, designed when he was freshly back from Italy.
The Goethe St house has figurative spandrel panels on its facade . . . though its split-level interior spaces, not illustrated, are certainly more interesting than those of any ASBH design.
SDR
This might have been wishful thinking on Wright's part; the ASBH design is considerably more progressive than a similarly-scaled urban project from 1911, his would-be Chicago townhouse/office on Goethe Street, designed when he was freshly back from Italy.
The Goethe St house has figurative spandrel panels on its facade . . . though its split-level interior spaces, not illustrated, are certainly more interesting than those of any ASBH design.
SDR
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Roderick Grant
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Well, Mark, now you have your cake, and have eaten it as well! Bravo!
SDR, study that ASBH design carefully. All the prefabs were designed on a 24" grid. It's easy to figure out the dimensions of the entire house based on that grid. Try to come up with a workable floor plan. Both Esther McCoy and David Gebhard claim Schindler designed that tower while FLW was in Tokyo.
For the Goethe Street House, go to Mono 3/145-6, which shows the lower two floor plans, a perspective, an elevation, and sections cross and longitudinal. This was an extremely sophisticated design that brought light into the center of a type that usually lacked it. Of all the unbuilt designs, this is one of the most regrettable.
SDR, study that ASBH design carefully. All the prefabs were designed on a 24" grid. It's easy to figure out the dimensions of the entire house based on that grid. Try to come up with a workable floor plan. Both Esther McCoy and David Gebhard claim Schindler designed that tower while FLW was in Tokyo.
For the Goethe Street House, go to Mono 3/145-6, which shows the lower two floor plans, a perspective, an elevation, and sections cross and longitudinal. This was an extremely sophisticated design that brought light into the center of a type that usually lacked it. Of all the unbuilt designs, this is one of the most regrettable.
Right. Someone will be able to explain what intervened to prevent the realization of the Goethe St house.
In Taschen, Wright's ground-floor plan is marked "English basement" at the front of the house, where Wright's office was to be placed, and "basement" for the rest of the plan -- a half-flight down -- where the heater room and kitchen are located.
Pfeiffer has the lone tower-like town house with the ASBH project. Does he have that right, at least ?
SDR
In Taschen, Wright's ground-floor plan is marked "English basement" at the front of the house, where Wright's office was to be placed, and "basement" for the rest of the plan -- a half-flight down -- where the heater room and kitchen are located.
Pfeiffer has the lone tower-like town house with the ASBH project. Does he have that right, at least ?
SDR
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Roderick Grant
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The tower was more appropriately ascribed to the 1919 Monolith Homes, which I believe was an extension of the ASBH project, only in concrete. See "The Architecture Of R. M. Schindler" published by MOCA, page 158 for a second house RMS designed for that project, for which, as far as I know, FLW never claimed authorship, even though it was his commission.
The Goethe Street House was probably mostly the victim of FLW's financial situation while in the throes of the dissolution of his marriage to Catherine and the redesign of the Oak Park House. Add to that the cost of building Taliesin I, and the 1914 death of Mamah, and I suspect there was no longer any desire on FLW's part to build in the city.
The Goethe Street House was probably mostly the victim of FLW's financial situation while in the throes of the dissolution of his marriage to Catherine and the redesign of the Oak Park House. Add to that the cost of building Taliesin I, and the 1914 death of Mamah, and I suspect there was no longer any desire on FLW's part to build in the city.
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Roderick Grant
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- Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 7:48 am
FLW's note about the "English basement" may be in error. An EB is a separate apartment at ground level in a townhouse. Perhaps he was differentiating between the abode and the professional office.
In NYC, at least, there is a legal difference between "basement" and "cellar," the difference being that a basement is not as far below grade as a cellar. Residential accommodations cannot be located in a cellar. Perhaps a similar differentiation is at play in Chicago?
In NYC, at least, there is a legal difference between "basement" and "cellar," the difference being that a basement is not as far below grade as a cellar. Residential accommodations cannot be located in a cellar. Perhaps a similar differentiation is at play in Chicago?
The Monolith Homes project is shunned by publications edited by Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer; it doesn't appear in Taschen, and I wouldn't expect to find it in the Monograph.
But it's listed (though not illustrated) in Hitchcock, warts and all:
And Robert L Sweeney covers it in one paragraph of "Wright in Hollywood," near the end of Chapter 8:
(Note 58 reads: "Wright to Louise M Webb, East Bay Builder, August 8, 1929.)
I include the adjacent paragraph, which contains Sweeney's sole mention of the ASBH -- oddly referred to as the American System of House Building.
So, here are the two projects together, convenient to the discussion.
Here is the 1915 ASBH town house:
And here is the Monolith Home illustration dated 1919, as found in Gebhard's "Schindler":
I don't see much commonality between the two, in terms of detail; the former has all the earmarks of ASBH in its molded parts and pieces,
and in its fenestration. The Monolith Home (the only example I find) is as Sweeney describes it, I guess. The one detail the two drawings
share is the sash muntin pattern -- something Schindler apparently liked when he encountered it at Taliesin, and which he appropriated for
his own use in the Packard residence and, modified, at Pueblo Ribera.
But the ASBH renderings display a myriad of window muntin patterns, of which this might be one. If the single view we have doesn't seem
to lend itself to a practical floor plan, wouldn't the same be true whether it were a Richards or a Hardy production ? And why would Schindler
revert, in 1919, to an earlier idiom -- and not one he would himself prefer at that point, presumably ?
Finally, the foliage in the illustration, and the dotted line bordering the walks, match those in the ASBH series quite well, and do not look to me
like Schindler's work. Admittedly, I have seen nothing in print which connects the two projects . . .
SDR
But it's listed (though not illustrated) in Hitchcock, warts and all:
And Robert L Sweeney covers it in one paragraph of "Wright in Hollywood," near the end of Chapter 8:
(Note 58 reads: "Wright to Louise M Webb, East Bay Builder, August 8, 1929.)
I include the adjacent paragraph, which contains Sweeney's sole mention of the ASBH -- oddly referred to as the American System of House Building.
So, here are the two projects together, convenient to the discussion.
Here is the 1915 ASBH town house:
And here is the Monolith Home illustration dated 1919, as found in Gebhard's "Schindler":
I don't see much commonality between the two, in terms of detail; the former has all the earmarks of ASBH in its molded parts and pieces,
and in its fenestration. The Monolith Home (the only example I find) is as Sweeney describes it, I guess. The one detail the two drawings
share is the sash muntin pattern -- something Schindler apparently liked when he encountered it at Taliesin, and which he appropriated for
his own use in the Packard residence and, modified, at Pueblo Ribera.
But the ASBH renderings display a myriad of window muntin patterns, of which this might be one. If the single view we have doesn't seem
to lend itself to a practical floor plan, wouldn't the same be true whether it were a Richards or a Hardy production ? And why would Schindler
revert, in 1919, to an earlier idiom -- and not one he would himself prefer at that point, presumably ?
Finally, the foliage in the illustration, and the dotted line bordering the walks, match those in the ASBH series quite well, and do not look to me
like Schindler's work. Admittedly, I have seen nothing in print which connects the two projects . . .
SDR
On a tight urban infill lot, a new building similar to these could look completely contemporary. They also seem like economical solutions compared to some of the unnecessarily complicated designs we currently see, where it seems the architect is intent on creating a facade with "visual interest" (using several different skin materials, a bulge here and a gable there.)
Throughout Wright's career, he made a point of always limiting the number of materials in both the interior and exterior. So much contemporary architecture utilizes twice as many materials as Wright or Schindler, but with half the amount of spatial interest and logic.
Throughout Wright's career, he made a point of always limiting the number of materials in both the interior and exterior. So much contemporary architecture utilizes twice as many materials as Wright or Schindler, but with half the amount of spatial interest and logic.
Looking at Monograph 3 to find the Goethe Street townhouse.
On a tangential observation, I notice it in a cluster of projects presented in this order:
1. FLW's design for his studio residence in Fiesole, Italy.
2. "Project for Andrew Porter" at Hillside for FLW's sister & brother-in-law (replacing Tanyderi ?).
3. Taliesin I
4. a prototype for "Taliesin Cottages" intended for "workmen and farm laborers".
5. Studio-Residence for FLW on Goethe Street
6. House for Herbert Angster
7. Remodeling of Oak Park FLW home and studio
It strikes me as interesting how very active was this spurt of FLW designing "close to home". Having dreamed of creating his own digs while in Italy, he came home and kept on exploring various options for other personal domestic situations, That was a particularly intense year or so of rethinking his preferences for his own home(s). It's all an interesting array of urban, suburban, and rural responses.
On a tangential observation, I notice it in a cluster of projects presented in this order:
1. FLW's design for his studio residence in Fiesole, Italy.
2. "Project for Andrew Porter" at Hillside for FLW's sister & brother-in-law (replacing Tanyderi ?).
3. Taliesin I
4. a prototype for "Taliesin Cottages" intended for "workmen and farm laborers".
5. Studio-Residence for FLW on Goethe Street
6. House for Herbert Angster
7. Remodeling of Oak Park FLW home and studio
It strikes me as interesting how very active was this spurt of FLW designing "close to home". Having dreamed of creating his own digs while in Italy, he came home and kept on exploring various options for other personal domestic situations, That was a particularly intense year or so of rethinking his preferences for his own home(s). It's all an interesting array of urban, suburban, and rural responses.
He was certainly quite busy in 1911. In addition to the above, he designed the Ziegler, Balch, Cutten, Esbenshade, and Schroeder houses, multiple Sherman Booth projects, a preliminary Coonley Playhouse, the Lake Geneva Hotel, two suburban train stations, and the Banff park shelter. I wonder who he had in the office to assist with this work.
SDR
SDR