Wright Chat

We have a Laverne Lantz house we own in Wales. 481 Caernarvon Rd, Wales We know of another one. We have the plans done by Laverne Lantz for our house.

David & Diana Goldenberg

That's Wales, Wisconsin... I was initially a bit confused

Sorry for the confusion. Yes, Wales, Wisconsin. The Goldenbergs

Sounds like a monograph on the work of Lantz is in the making. It has been mentioned- is it confirmed?- that Laverne Lantz was a self-taught architect, was he also a contractor?
More than twenty years ago, I remember a conversation with Lynda Waggoner about the significance of vernacular houses to the understanding of American architectural aesthetics. Wright changed our cultural relationship to a House and the best measure of that impression and comprehension of Organic Architecture lies outside Taliesin work.

Lantz's Richers House shows how a good architect can take an utterly mundane floor plan and turn it into an architectural delight. He obviously understood FLW's principles, better than many of the apprentices. I hope a book comes out.

Another architect who deserves a book is James W. Fitzgibbon (1915-1985). His Daniel House, featured in Fine Homebuilding, June/July 1986, like a couple of Bruce Goff's works, used leftover Quonset ribs for the basic structure. His papers are at the Missouri Historical Society Archives at Washington University.

Links to a blog which features some of Lantz's work ....some good period pics and plans too:

http://knorrarchitecture.blogspot.com/2 ... verne.html

http://knorrarchitecture.blogspot.com/2 ... verne.html

http://knorrarchitecture.blogspot.com/2 ... verne.html

After 13 years, we are looking to retire away from Wisconsin. So we have listed out LaVerne Lantz home in Wales, Wisconsin. If you like Usonian design, this house is a delight.

See the listing at:

http://www.firstweber.com/homes/1365059 ... 53183-9612

Thanks,

The Goldenbergs

I'm a big LaVerne Lantz fan and excited to have found this thread! I've started researching his work and welcome your help and support.

I'm organizing the project via a blog: http://lavernelantz.blogspot.com/

So far I've interviewed Mollie Lantz (she's wonderful) and spoken with architect and former apprentice Michael Knorr, and Lantz's builder Karl Detmerring.

Right now I'm searching for addresses and homeowners to obtain permission to photograph the properties. My plan is to photograph and do write-ups on each property and turn them into blog posts. Then I'll go back and scan in the blueprints, Mollie still has all of them. The end goal is to turn the blog into a book.

I'm having some difficulty locating addresses, although this thread has been very helpful. I've also started a LaVerne Lantz homeowners group on Facebook to try and drum up more information: www.facebook.com/lavernelantz

Any other info is appreciated thanks!

5 08 Organic Architecture by LaVerne Lantz - (4:19)


David