Frank Lloyd Wright

These pages show some of the buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright I have been fortunate enough to visit. My favourite is the Imperial Hotel. My pictures just don't do it justice, and even they are of course of just a small section: the complete edifice must have been staggering. Add to that the extraordinary engineering feat of "floating" the structure on the mud to assist in its earthquake resistance and the thing becomes yet more impressive still. Of course Wright's engineering innovation didn't stop there -- consider the "mushrooms" in the excellent Johnson Wax building, and the perennially delightful Falling Water (and neither did it start there; Unity Temple was the first large poured-concrete building in the United States), and it's maybe sometimes a shame that more attention is paid the æsthetics of his architecture than the technology that was adapted or invented to produce it, as the technology can be as inspirational as the æsthetics.

My attitude to his style has changed somewhat since my stay in Japan: there it was clear to see where many of Wright's influences originated, and I don't now believe that anyone can fully appreciate his work without considering the Orient. I hope, however, that these humble pages can in some small way help others to come to appreciate the legacy of this extraordinarily gifted man.