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Frank Lloyd Wright was Wisconsin’s greatcontributor to world architecture. In the latest installment of the WisconsinHistorical Society’s Badger Biographies Series, author Bob Kann approaches thetowering figure with a child’s eyes. FrankLloyd Wright and His New American Architecture tells the story at the levelof young reader, ages 7-12.
Hopefully, the intended audience will bereached. For the rest of us, Kann’s slender book is a good reminder of theessentials of Wright’s architecture, which involved an attention to all detailsof the interior including furnishing, an open floor plan between rooms, theimportance of the building’s site and the use of local materials. In keepingwith the spirit of the Midwest, many of his homes tended to be as horizontal asthe prairie; in cheapened form they inspired a rash of “ranch-style” housesafter World War II.
The book is no hagiography. Kann addressesWright’s broken marriages and calls him “selfish,” proving the maxim thatgeniuses don’t always make good choices in life. The author also points out theAchilles’ heal in Wright’s designs: leaking roofs.
Hopefully, the intended audience will bereached. For the rest of us, Kann’s slender book is a good reminder of theessentials of Wright’s architecture, which involved an attention to all detailsof the interior including furnishing, an open floor plan between rooms, theimportance of the building’s site and the use of local materials. In keepingwith the spirit of the Midwest, many of his homes tended to be as horizontal asthe prairie; in cheapened form they inspired a rash of “ranch-style” housesafter World War II.
The book is no hagiography. Kann addressesWright’s broken marriages and calls him “selfish,” proving the maxim thatgeniuses don’t always make good choices in life. The author also points out theAchilles’ heal in Wright’s designs: leaking roofs.
