He could be be a perfectionist, he could be very sure of himself, and sometimes, he could be a little blunt when talking about other architect's work. But nothing can change the fact that Frank Lloyd Wright is the exemplar of a visionary architect, the world's biggest starchitect before the term was even coined and an influence to generations. It's unclear if his massive body of work will ever stop inspiring reflections and reappraisals, and we're fine with that. Here's a collection of some of Curbed's best pieces about the work of the iconic architect.
Frank Lloyd Wright House Is Rebuilt Anew, Piece by Piece, in Arkansas
In Bentonville, Arkansas, a house that Frank Lloyd Wright designed for a New Jersey couple more than 60 years ago has been painstakingly reassembled, board by board and pane by pane, overlooking the clear waters of the Crystal Spring. This award-winning story examines the intricate process of moving a masterpiece across the country.
How a 22-Year-Old Became Wright's Trusted Photographer
When Frank Lloyd Wright hired a 22-year-old art school drop-out to photograph Taliesin West in 1939, neither knew it would lead to one of the most important relationships in architectural history.
21 First Drafts: Frank Lloyd Wright's Hillside Home School
In 1887, Frank Lloyd Wright got the call from Ellen and Jane Lloyd Jones, gregarious and outspoken relatives whom he would refer to as simply "the Aunts," to design a school in Spring Green, the rural valley where he spent his summers growing up surrounded by family. The "Home Building," as the structure was initially called, showed Wright's budding talents, though it didn't necessarily foreshadow his unique vision. A 33-room building set on the school's 100-acre plot, the structure was built to a very domestic scale and had modern conveniences such as steam-heating.
Wright-Inspired Tiny Home Resurfaces in Indiana Town
From the street, the Peters-Margedant House doesn’t necessarily scream landmark. Set back from the road, the small, the diamond-shaped home at 1506 East Indiana Avenue in Evansville, Indiana, merely stands out from the row of modest bungalows that line the the block. Covered in worn out oak panels, the modest, 552-square foot dwelling may seem like nothing more than an aging oddity in the Rosedale neighborhood. But as a group of architects and preservationists working to restore the home have found, this eccentric cottage and proto-tiny house offers perhaps the earliest example of Usonian-style architecture.
MoMA Will Launch Huge Frank Lloyd Wright Exhibit On His 150th Birthday
The Museum of Modern Art is celebrating Frank Lloyd Wright’s by announcing a massive retrospective of Wright's work, to debut next year on his 150th birthday. The exhibit, " Frank Lloyd Wright at 150: Unpacking the Archive," will dig into the iconic American architect's archives to present an "anthology rather than a comprehensive, monographic presentation of Wright’s work," according to a press release.
What It's Like to Live in a Frank Lloyd Wright Home
Frank Lloyd Wright designed more than 500 completed buildings, forming a canon of architecture that few can match. Curbed spoke with owners of a half-dozen Wright homes to learn what it's like to live inside one of the architect's designs.
Where Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie School of Architecture Was Born
Wright made a name for himself by designing and building homes in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park throughout the 1880s, 1890s and first decade of the twentieth century; check out our map and schedule your own tour.
Baghdad Could Have Been a Mega-City by Frank Lloyd Wright
In 1950s Iraq, King Faisal II enlisted a coterie of architectural heavyweights, including Wright, to redesign the capital.
Tour the 10 Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings Nominated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites
If approved in 2016, these would be the first pieces of modern American architecture to receive the designation.
Frank Lloyd Wright's Smallest Project Has a Dramatic, Tragic Past
An 880-square-foot cabin tucked in the Wisconsin woods, the Seth Peterson Cottage is one of the lesser-known Frank Lloyd Wright designs, a Usonian-style dwelling at home amid the trees on a prime site in Lake Delton, perched on a promontory. It’s perhaps the architect’s smallest building, but as a new documentary suggests, it may have one of the largest stories.
A Full Tour Through Frank Lloyd Wright's First LA House, Restored to Its 1920s Beauty
The Hollyhock House was the first house Wright designed in Los Angeles, and contains the "germination of what I think you can easily say became California Modernism," says curator Jeffrey Herr.
Frank Lloyd Wright's Final Home For Sale, Asks $3.6M
The final home that Frank Lloyd Wright designed, the curvaceous Norman Lykes home,is a marvelous example of the architect's late-career style, exemplified by the Guggenheim and David and Gladys Wright home. This historic, curved home in Phoenix, Arizona resembles a series of concentric circles set on a desert plateau.
Take a Trip to the Only Frank Lloyd Wright Hotel Still Standing
Of the handful of hotels Frank Lloyd Wright designed in his lifetime, the only one still left standing is Park Inn Hotel, a recent renovation that has served as an economic catalyst for a small town and preserved a signature Wright commission.
Frank Lloyd Wright Restorations: Three Projects and Perspectives on Preservation
What’s the best way to honor a building’s past, yet preserve it for the future? This central question underlying the work of preservationists and architects applies to every step of restoring and renovating a historic home. Frank Lloyd Wright properties are no exception. They may be considered timeless, but even his work ages, sags, and distorts, requiring delicate care and decisions about fidelity versus the future.
See Frank Lloyd Wright Compete in a Midcentury Game Show
On June 3, 1956, the midcentury starchitect appeared as a mystery guest on the popular CBS game show What's My Line?
Frank Lloyd Wright's 1930 Plans for Glassy East Village Towers
St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery, with its small cemetery and yard, is a New York City landmark, but the little East Village enclave could have turned out very differently. Around 1930, Frank Lloyd Wright unveiled plans for three glass apartment buildings to be built on the triangular park surrounding the church.
Virtual Tour: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unbuilt Hollywood Home from 1938
Designed for Hollywood costume designer Ralph Jester in 1938, this proposed home, Frank Lloyd Wright’s first circular residential design, offered an elegant interpretation of the "bring the outside in" concept. Meant for a plot of land on the Flying Triangle Ranch outside Santa Monica, California, it would have been a glamorous addition to his California creations.
At Long Last, a Gorgeous Online Guide to Frank Lloyd Wright's Life and Work
Finally, if you're still jonesing for Wright, click through the vast archives of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, which launched a new site earlier this year.