Sort of a copy of the Robie house?

craig j · Post by **craig j** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 1:54 pm

Odd; check out the photos.

http://www.sharkhomesearch.com/area_Hom ... 9&AD=11001 MC CARTHY&city=PALOS PARK

I guess one of the many Wright imitators.

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 1:58 pm

Thanks, Craig. Yes, a Robie wanna-be, I guess. Someone brought this house to our attention a while back; does anyone have that thread ? These seem to be new photos, to the best of my recollection.

Keep 'em coming !

SDR

Mobius · Post by **Mobius** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 6:49 pm

From the crappy photos, it looks good.

I think a $1.8 Mill home deserves better than mobile phone photos though. Shame.

Paul Ringstrom · Post by **Paul Ringstrom** » Thu Nov 26, 2009 3:39 pm

my photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/45747476@N ... 517698660/

I have been in this house and am an acquaintance of the owner who is a commercial real estate developer.

The house was designed by a commercial (non-residential) architect.

It is a very nice big house on a large piece of land in a nice suburb SW of Chicago and I think a very good value for the money.

I can answer most any questions you might have concerning this property.

peterm · Post by **peterm** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 12:57 am

The only question that comes to my mind is: why?

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 10:16 pm

Well -- let's say you have decided that you'd like to possess a FabergÃ© Egg. The only problem is that none of them have appeared recently on Craig's
List or eBay. What do you do ? Maybe you can get a jeweler to make you one -- a copy of whichever is your favorite, for a price you can afford. Well,
maybe not a perfect copy -- that would cost too much, and your friends probably wouldn't notice the difference anyway.

This house was no doubt (?) a satisfactory substitute to its owner -- and will probably find another one before long. It isn't Wright -- but how wrong is it ?
(I'd be happier if the living room ceiling molding didn't have that amusing flaw. . .!)

SDR

pharding · Post by **pharding** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 8:07 am

Part of the beauty of any FLW house is the way that the house is sited in response to its context and solar orientation. Taking a FLW House designed for a relatively narrow urban lot with a southern exposure and plopping the design down in a suburban setting is problematic in my opinion. The detailing is rather clumsy compared to what FLW did. At best the house is a crude cartoon of a wonderful FLW building.

Roderick Grant · Post by **Roderick Grant** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 4:58 pm

I agree, pharding. No FLW building is more site-specific than Robie. The north facade was closed to the neighbors; the south facade welcomed the light, but limited visual invasion from passersby; the car court location and design was inevitable. To take that tight, confined design and plop it on a huge, suburban lot with few constraints if any was foolish. Copying Coonley in such a way would have made at least some sense, but not Robie. It misses the point entirely. There was another less literal version on the market some years ago in rural MO, I think, which made no sense either.

Paul Ringstrom · Post by **Paul Ringstrom** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 5:23 pm

Just to clarify:

The owner did NOT copy the Robie House, but built his own version that was INSPIRED by the original. The footprint and floor plan of the interior is completely different from the original.

This would fall under the definition of an HOMAGE.
It is typically used to denote a reference in a work of art or literature to another, at least somewhat widely known, work. Homage may occasionally be perceived negatively by critics as a technique often associated with amateur creators. Use of homage may be regarded as fannish or as an excuse for lack of originality.

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 7:16 pm

I think that's a reasonable description -- and appropriate term -- for what we see here. In our discussions of how and when (if at all) to replicate or
otherwise approach duplication of a Wright design, I don't believe that the word homage has previously appeared.

So, as language is said to promote or do limit the ways we can think about things, having another term at hand is a likely boon. Thanks to Paul for that.

SDR