Print this page Scoundrel Genius
The Life and Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright
J.M. Syken
Course Outline
In this course, we will examine the life and career of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. This review will include his early life in Wisconsin as well as the three distinct phases/periods of his career as an accomplished architect. The influence of his mother on nurturing the young FLW to be an architect, practically from birth, as well as his relationship with his “Lieber Meister” – architect Louis Sullivan, will be discussed in depth and detail. Also, his pre-occupation with personally re-establishing Architecture as the supreme expression of culture will be of much interest.
FLW’s “Prairie School” period (after leaving the employment of Sullivan) and work in and around Oak Park, Ill and the establishment of FLW as an influential, important architect as well as his scandalous affair with a client’s wife and abandonment of his family, which ended in tragedy and lead to his “Wilderness” period, will also be of great interest. The influence of his third wife – Oglivanna Lloyd Wright, on his architecture and the establishment with her of the Taliesin Fellowship (1932), which led to FLW’s third and most productive period in his long architectural career will be of special interest.
This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.
Learning Objective
At the conclusion of this course, the student will:
- Understand/appreciate the “prophetic” birth of FLW and the influence of his mother on his future career as an architect;
- Understand/appreciate the early life of FLW in the southern Wisconsin dairy country and farm life on his appreciation of natural beauty;
- Understand/appreciate FLW’s unsuccessful career as a student of engineering;
- Understand/appreciate FLW’s life-goal of re-establishing architecture as the premier expression of culture;
- Understand/appreciate FLW’s employment with Chicago architect Louis Sullivan and the important influences it had on his career;
- Understand/appreciate FLW’s establishment of his own architectural practice upon leaving the employment of Sullivan and his work in the “Prairie Style” in and around his home in Oak Park, Ill;
- Understand/appreciate the scandalous affair FLW had with a client’s wife which led to his abandonment of his family and establishing his home/office at Taliesin in Spring Green, WI;
- Understand/appreciate the tragic murder of FLW’s mistress at Taliesin in August 1914 by an enraged servant which led to FLW’s tumultuous “Wilderness” years;
- Understand/appreciate FLW’s love and appreciation of Japanese art and culture and the years he spent in Japan working on Tokyo’s Imperial Hotel and the lasting legacy he left behind in Japan that is still influential;
- Understand/appreciate the “American Systems Built Homes” initiative and why it never realized its full potential;
- Understand/appreciate the importance of the Larkin Building to commercial building design and its later influences on the Johnson Wax Administration Building;
- Understand/appreciate the tempestuous second marriage of FLW and meeting of his third wife, Oglivanna;
- Understand/appreciate the scandal surrounding Oglivanna and the child he fathered with her and the influences she had on his architectural style;
- Understand/appreciate the background of Oglivanna Lloyd Wright as a “White Russian” refugee and disciple of mystic Georgi Gurdjief and her agenda for establishing a school for his teachings at Taliesin;
- Understand/appreciate the establishment of the Taliesin Fellowship at the Hillside School in Spring Green, its organization, intent, influences, shortcomings, scandals etc.
- Understand/appreciate the importance of the Fallingwater and Johnson Wax commissions to the turn-around in the fortunes and career of FLW as an architect;
- Understand/appreciate the socialist leanings of FLW as expressed in his Broadacre City scheme and his left-of-center politics that made him a subject of FBI/IRS investigation;
- Understand/appreciate FLW’s pacifism and encouragement to his apprentices to resist the draft during WWII;
- Understand/appreciate the “Usonian” house as the model for post-WWII suburban development;
- Understand/appreciate the importance of the Jacobs II house as the recognized first passive solar house design and model for present-day “Earthship” designs;
- Understand/appreciate the Guggenheim Museum project in NYC as the longest and most difficult of FLW’s career;
- Understand/appreciate the prolific output of FLW and the Taliesin Fellowship from the mid-1930s through to his death in 1959;
- Understand/appreciate the legal and financial difficulties encountered by FLW and the Taliesin Fellowship during and after his lifetime;
- Understand/appreciate Oglivanna Lloyd Wright’s attempts to continue the Fellowship beyond her husband’s death and some of the unethical means by which she attempted to do so;
- Understand/appreciate the controversial removal of FLW’s body from his Wisconsin grave, subsequent cremation and placement in a wall, alongside Oglivanna’s ashes, at Taliesin West in Arizona;
- Understand/appreciate the successes, failures and difficulties encountered by the Taliesin Associated Architects in continuing the legacy of FLW and his architecture; and
- Understand/appreciate the lasting legacy of FLW as “America’s Architect”.
Intended Audience
This course is intended for architects, engineers and other design professionals.
Benefit to Attendees
The attendee/s will gain an intimate knowledge and insight into the background, life and career of, perhaps, the most important architect of modern times – Frank Lloyd Wright
Course Introduction
The course includes an in-depth PowerPoint presentation and the viewing two documentary films
Course Content
In this course, you are required to view/study the following slideshow and the materials contained in the web pages:
Scoundrel Genius The Life and Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright (printable handout in PDF, 11 MB, see Note A below for downloading instruction)
Scoundrel Genius The Life and Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright (non-printable slideshow for screen-viewing only, 48 MB, see Note A below for downloading instruction)
Archival/Documentary Film:
TITLE: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie School
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAXlWh4afjw
DURATION: 53:13
TITLE: The Fallingwater House
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvQZbC1OOZc
DURATION: 27:05
Note A: Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right-clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader from your computer.
Course Summary
On two occasions, Frank Lloyd Wright’s home in Spring Green, Wisconsin – Taliesin, burnt to the ground. Each time, it would be rebuilt by the master architect, for the better. FLW took note of the fact that only the residential portion had been damaged by the fire/s, not his studio where he created his masterpieces of architecture. Both a religious and spiritual man, FLW took this as a sign from God that, although FLW’s creativity was much appreciated and accepted by the great spirit, his personal life left much to be desired. Born and raised in conservative Wisconsin, a free-thinking, creative genius was bound to stand out, and so he did. Despite his personal shortcomings, FLW left a legacy of architecture that is, even to the present-day, the subject of endless wonder. Perhaps he was successful in achieving Victor Hugo’s prophecy that sometime in the Twentieth Century, an architect would appear who would restore the “Mother of the Arts” – Architecture, to its rightful place as the supreme expression of cultural ambition, just as the medieval cathedrals did.
Related Links
For additional technical information related to this subject, please visit the following websites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Lloyd_Wright
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqQCLm7k_mo
(Film – Frank Lloyd Wright – Johnson Wax Administration Building – 27:07)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GZKV4kJAxY
(Film – Fay Jones, Widow of Architect Gus Jones, Remembers Taliesin and Frank Lloyd Wright – 12:21)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeKzIZAKG3E
(Film – Frank Lloyd Wright – The Mike Wallace Interviews – 50:02)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76F3DJvESKA&t=1385s
(Film: FLW: The Man Who Built America - Part 1 - 1:27:54)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L4_d1rX4cA
(Film: FLW: Architecture & Envirnoment - 1:00:53)
Quiz
Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.
DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.
