Wright Chat

Some Usonians have trellis construction screened porches in wood, others in steel pipe or rod.
How is the screening attached? (How often was copper screen noted?)
Can torn screen be easily replaced?
Has anyone seen specified drawings on building sheets?
Does anyone have detail photos?

The screen rooms Palli is describing were specified for Lloyd Lewis, Stuart Richardson, Loren Pope...these are the ones that come to mind...are there others?

The Richardson house does not currently have the screen room detailed in the above described manner adjacent to its living room, rather the vestigial carport has been screened for most if not all of the house's history. The Pope house screen room is the most accessible for study.

Links to pics of the Pope screen room:

http://howtoarchitect.tumblr.com/post/1 ... simplicity

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/180/46876 ... 27c1_z.jpg

The boat house at Walter (Cedar Rock) framed in steel:

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/339810734355246629/

Lewis:









The drawing seems to indicate mitered wood, while the photos show a version of the pipe-framed design -- a cross between Walter (pipe frame at the edges of the "cube" only) and Pope ("mitered-corner" screen supported by thin pipe, surrounded by wood frame).

The Pope version appeals to me -- though it is the busiest and most complex -- and the photos provided make the construction (of the frames) quite clear. On the other hand, Lewis looks good in a more minimalist way; I assume the heavier pipe -- set on the unit lines, as at Pope -- is what we see in the photos, with smaller pipe actually supporting the screen at the edges of the cube.

How one would apply the screen is anybody's guess. One assumes that the screen simply wraps the pipe. Copper or even fiberglass screening could not be expected to stretch neatly over the corner pipe fitting. A close-up photo might show the screen simply cut away at the fitting. In addition, one of the three folds must have been stitched along the pipe line.

SDR

My understanding and recollection of the Pope screen room was that the construction detail was an inverse of most "builderly" screen enclosures. A "builderly" detail will typically consist of a 2x frame with a roll of screen mesh stapled to the outside face of the 2x members with the staples and mesh seams covered with screw applied wood strips. At the Pope screen room, the screen mesh is stapled to the inside face of the 2x members with seams and staples covered with wood strips on the inside face of the 2x frame. This inverse application of mesh continues the appearance of the projecting mullions elsewhere on the house's window walls. Wright extended his open corner dictum to the screen room by detailing a copper or steel tube or rod frame at the outside corners of the room to which a screen is bent to wrap the corners. The use of a mesh "roof" prevents a darkened adjacent room in the house and renders the room to be bug protection only.

I don't recall if any ties are used between the mesh and the tubes or rods...the outside corner of the screen "roof" and two side faces would have required the skill of a seamstress or expert gift wrapper to accomplish.

I would suspect the GA Monographs pick up a construction detail somewhere....I don't have them in front of me.

Checking Monograph 6, the entires for Lloyd Lewis, Loren Pope, and Stuart Richardson all lack the relevant detail drawings. The closest we come is Lewis, where one elevation of the deck superstructure is labeled "See later detail for screen support" . . . An early perspective view matches the elevation, with simple mitered timber Ls in a row supporting the screened cubic form below.

SDR

RE: Richardson. Mrs Richardson told me "My father suggested that we screen in the carport for a porch. He noticed that this is where the workman sat to have their lunch because it was shaded by trees and cool."

She also said they were terrified when Mr. Wright came to visit, but he never said a word about it.