Frank Lloyd Wright. Prairie Style

1. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

The Prairie Styles was made famous by Frank Lloyd Wright.  His houses were single family dwellings that were wide open, horizontal living spaces that were meant to blend into their natural surroundings.  There weren’t rooms divided normally as in Victorian homes but the rooms were left open so that they flowed into one another. The ceiling levels in these houses were brought down to force the observer to look horizontally about the space. These houses were set to follow the sun, as the sun moved about the sky the light would light up the house as though it was following the sunset. The fireplaces were meant to symbolize the heart of the house that is why they were set in the center of the home. Furniture in some of these homes were built in and found throughout the space. The sites itself is one of the most important parts of this style. The surroundings and the house must coincide with one another.  The prairie design was meant to look as though the house grew out of the site and was not just built there. Wrights architecture was organic, the inside and outside of the homes were integrated.  

2. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

The video helps to relate the readings to actual examples of Prairie style homes. It is hard to know what Wright meant when his works were thought of as organic without seeing examples.  His homes are beautiful and from seeing a few of them I now understand how they are seen as organic in nature. These homes really did look as though they were always part of the site.

3. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of Architecture?

I enjoyed the FLW film and would love to see one of his houses in person. Architecture is a very diverse and complicated concept but the video did give me more of an understanding of what is meant by Prairie Style. I had no idea what this was and that Frank Lloyd Wright was the inventor of this type of architecture.  This video was one of the more interesting in the series.

4. From the group of four that you had a choice: Why did you choose that film?

I probably chose this film because of the Frank Lloyd Wright homes and buildings that are found throughout WNY. From what I have seen of a few of his homes I was really impressed how inviting they were and how they seem timeless. Reading up on FLW and watching the video really gave me more of an understanding of the Prairie style and I will visit one of his homes in the near future.