Pratt House Book

[Jon]

I seem to have lost the link to the website where the Pratt's were selling this book from. I couldn't seem to turn it up, via Google either.



Anyone have the URL?



Thanks!

Jon

[Greg Brewer]

Pat and Eric Pratt's book, "The Pratt House and Frank Lloyd Wright: Building in a Cooperative Community", can be ordered from:



Eric and Pat Pratt

1911 Academy Street

Kalamazoo, MI 49006



The $21.00 price includes Michigan sales tax, handling and postage.

Make checks (no cash or credit cards) payable to Eric Pratt.

[reader opinion]

I have read the book about the Pratt House. My personal opinion is that it is not a very good book. I would rate it a 1.5 out of a scale of 10 (10 being the best).



I was expecting to hear a lot about construction of the house along with the architectural elements incorporated in the house. Instead, the reader gets insignificant stories about how hard the concrete floors were, how the occupants heard the sound of ice cracking on the roof in the winter time because of temperature changes and how there were mice inside the walls of the house.



There is virtually no information in the book about the interaction with FLW. Furthermore, in the book they say Mr. Wright visited the group of houses in the cooperative and he mocked the way the house was constructed. The Pratt house was classified as not following Mr. Wright

[Patrick J. Mahoney]

I have also read the Pratt house book and found it to be a genuine history of a family evolving in a Wright dwelling. Its importance is not for scholarly observations or arguments, but an account by those who chose to hire Wright, build his design and live in it. With this focus they have shared what few can. There can be many interpretations of Wright's architecture by those less intimate with it or Wright as a person. What is important here, is that the parties involved recorded their experiences as few before them have. Regarding what was not included in the book, it implies to us that those were not areas of great importance to the client. It would be ideal if all of Wright's clients could write such a history for comparison purposes. Unfortunately, few of his clients survive today.

Perhaps this history is beyond what one with a casual interest in Wright finds worthwhile. It was well worth my twenty dollars. I only wish more Wright clients would do this while they are able. I choose to thank them for writing what they have, rather than condemn them for what they didn't.

Thanks for writing the book and building the house.

[aquaman811]

In response to the discussion on the Pratt House book-



True, it's not a very indepth Wright-designing & interaction book, but as Pat stated,it is a first hand account from original owners on their experience w/ a Wright home. A very fine,down-to-Earth & easily understood account.



It's also interesting to note that this discussion should help to raise awareness of this & many other beautifully maintained/restored Wright homes that are currently on the market. The general public doesn't have enough access to information on these homes & it helps to get them involved in discussion. We as "Wrightophiles" know how important they are to living & architecture-we now have to pass this knowledge to the uninitiated.

[Wrightgeek]

I have also purchased and read this book. I must admit that when it arrived, I was a bit disappointed by the size and length of the book based on the cost. However, once I read the book, I felt as though my money had been well spent. While it is not a scholarly type of book, I found it interesting to read about a young couple who not only had a FLW residence built, but were also very much involved in the construction of the building, and were responsible for the manufacture of the main component (concrete blocks)of the building!



The determination of the Pratts to find a way to build this home is not only remarkable, but truly inspiring. As far as their recollections of living in the house are concerned, I thought they were fairly objective and even-handed. True, they do point out some of the downfalls and flaws of the plan, but they also discuss at length the many positive attributes of living in this home and community, for themselves, their children and their family as a whole.



I suspect that the relatively high cost of this book is due to the fact that the owners probably had to publish this book themselves, and therefore are just trying to recoup their expenses. I doubt that their intent was to get rich by writing, publishing and selling their story.



As an FYI, if you enjoy these types of stories, i.e. books written at least in part by the clients of FLW, you may want to seek out books written by/for the following clients: Jacobs, Hanna, Smith and Christian. These are the ones that come to mind, but there are several others that I am not able to recall off the top of my head.

[Jon Autry]

As an FYI, if you enjoy these types of stories, i.e. books written at least in part by the clients of FLW, you may want to seek out books written by/for the following clients: Jacobs, Hanna, Smith and Christian. These are the ones that come to mind, but there are several others that I am not able to recall off the top of my head.

I've read the Hanna's book and it is absolutely excellent!!! Not only a great personal account of the building process, living in the home and dealing with Mr.Wright, but an excellent technical account as well. They speak in deatil about the unforseem problems of working with Wright's "honeycomb" (hexagonal) grid. good stuff.



Thanks for the Pratt House Book reviews. If there are more, keep 'em comin'...



Take care,

Jon

[wrightfanbob]

I have been told the Pratts are offended that Wright houses have become art objects. I have not read their book, but this kind of statement reflects poorly on their judgement and intelligence. A house designed by FLLW is an art object, and will be acknowledged as such forever. If they want to be offended that people are buying these structures to restore and maintain the integrity of Mr. Wright's vision, then they are very short sighted people. I would covet the opportunity to own one of his homes. Any person willing to buy a Wright home and restore it should be celebrated, not condemned. I think what Joel Schumacher has done is a terrific thing, regardless of whether the Pratt's view him as merely an art collector.

Bob

[Greg Brewer]

By commenting on something you haven't read, you're criticizing the Pratts for something they didn't say. To believe that they don't appreciate or value the architectural quality and significance of what they created together with Wright would be a mistake. The point (right or wrong) is that their vision of a cooperative community (so much like Wright's own vision for Broadacre City) has been undermined by part-time owners who collect buildings like art objects, but don't live in them. While we may admire Wright's architecture, we should not forget the social dimension so important to this exceptional group of clients.

[Greg Brewer]

Like others who have posted to this forum over the last few years, I am both saddened by the current state of the Eppstein House and encouraged by the fine job Arlene Moran has done with the Pratt House. Certainly I am concerned about preserving this unique group of buildings and would not fault any owner who has invested his or her own time and resources in that effort. At the same time, I think it's important (and I think this is the point the Pratts make) that we not reduce these buildings to just works of art, forgetting their origin as true living architecture.

[seth]

Maybe is it actually better if the houses are treated as a work of art by the owner who does not live full time in the house. Many people who buy these tiny houses to live in full time have to alter Mr. Wright

[Guest]

www.thepratthouse.com

[wrightfanbob]

This seems like a whole lot of quibbling over nothing. I have now read the book, and what I quoted in my last e-mail was indeed correct. If an owner lives there 100% of the time, or 50% of the time is really no business to anyone on this site. It is still organic living architecture, and yes it is still a work of art. If the house dictates how you should live, and some choose to have it as a secondary residence, then so be it. I personally think this discussion is silly. Would it have been wrong if the Pratts had chosen to winter in Florida? Would that have made their experience non-living architecture? What about Wright himself having Taliesin West as a "secondary" residence? Give me a break.



My wish a a preservationist is that all of the houses in The Acres are maintained and restored. I am not interested in keeping tabs on how many days the owners actually spend there.

Bob

[apboy2]

While I agree that the Pratts can live wherever they want, it seems to me that if Eppstein's owner (who, last I heard, was living in Indiana and 'hoping' to come up with enough money for restoration) actually lived in that house, its condition would give him the incentive he needs to 1) finish the job or 2) sell to somebody who can.

[chirider]

thepratthouse.com . its a great book, just read it, nice floorplan/pics easy reading.