Come Home to … the Wright Stuff
ALTHOUGH AMERICA’S GREATEST ARCHITECT DIED MORE THAN 60 YEARS AGO, IT’S STILL POSSIBLE TO BUY A FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT-DESIGNED RESIDENCE. AS GARY JONES FINDS OUT, IT DOESN’T HAVE TO COST A FORTUNE
Frank Lloyd Wright was one of the world’s most influential and prolific architects, his creative period ramping up in the closing decades of the 1!th century and continuing until his death in 1! !. 7ver more than 0 years the visionary American designed 1,11 structures, with 32 being completed. They included offices, churches, schools, skyscrapers, hotels, museums and, of course, designer homes.
Among the most celebrated was the rural-Pennsylvania residence known as Fallingwater completed in 1!38 , which the American 1nstitute of Architects described in 1!!1 as “the best all-time work of American architectureº. Wright was also behind New Aork City’s distinctive, spiralling ;olomon : Guggenheim 5useum that opened in 7ctober 1! !, six months after his death.
Unfortunately, not all of his designs still stand, making those remaining even more desirable. For architecture buffs, to possess and possibly live in a Wright masterpiece would be the stuff of dreams, and a prime example of inconspicuous luxury · only recognisable and to be appreciated by those with educated knowledge of design history. At the time of writing, there were fewer than 10 Wright-designed residences on the market, all in the United ;tates. Although the architect’s residential proRects often command upward of U; 1 million · and sometimes substantially higher · the most affordable, on Chicago’s ;outh ;ide, is a steal at less than U; 1 0,000.
Wisconsin-born Wright believed in designing buildings where the needs of human habitation and the environment existed in harmony, a philosophy he called “organic architectureº. This life-affirming approach was best exemplified by Fallingwater, which was constructed over a waterfall in a woodland setting. 1n 2008, the house was included in the Smithsonian Magazine’s global “life listº of “28 places to see before you dieº.
5ost famously, Wright was the pioneer in the Prairie ;chool of architecture, instantly identifiable by bold horibontal lines evoking the wide, flat, treeless expanses of the American prairies. 7ther characteristics of that modernist style were flat or gently sloping roofs with broad overhanging eaves, thoughtful integration with the natural landscape and strict discipline in the use of ornament.
Wright took his Yuest to create an indigenous architectural style further in the 1!30s, when he developed the concept of “Usoniaº · his all-encompassing vision for a utopian United
;tates that included everything from the planning of cities and the architecture of buildings to interior design he not only had a hand in his building’s interiors, but also in the furniture within and colour palettes for decor . 0e coined the adRective “Usonianº for his New World ideas, which would shake off the architectural traditions of classical -urope.
Fortunately, the Wright-designed homes now on the market include Prairie ;chool masterworks and rare Usonian treasures, as well as some of his earliest creative forays, including a house with Japanese influences. There’s even an extraordinary Aribona residence that could be viewed as a small-scale precursor to the Guggenheim, with a cantilevered spiral walk-up entrance ramp.
Finally, while it perhaps takes an architecture aficionado to appreciate “the Wright stuffº, that can have a bibarre impact on asking prices. ;hould a particularly exYuisite example of Wright’s genius arrive to market, it’s likely to be listed for a pretty penny more than a similar-sibed property in a similar location by a lesser-name architect. Then again, maybe not.
1n April of this year, the Chicago Tribune newspaper reported that a Wright-designed, Prairie-style house in the suburb of -lmhurst, where many older properties are being rabed for redevelopment, sold for less than the value of the land it sits on. Built in 1!01 and known as the FB 0enderson 0ouse after its original owner, the five-bedroom,
, 00-sYuare-foot residence features one commodious in-line space subtly divided into library, living room and dining room, a large veranda off the living room that overlooks landscaped grounds, more than 80 Wright-designed stained-glass windows and three brick fireplaces.
The conservation-minded sellers were determined to hand over their house to a buyer who would occupy and not demolish it. They originally put it on the market in 200 for U; 2 million, settling 13 years later for Rust U; 82 ,000.
Completed in 1! 2 in Phoenix, Aribona, the three-bedroom, four-bath David and Gladys Wright 0ouse it was built for the architect’s son and daughter-in-law covers 2,200 sYuare feet and is set on 2. hectares of private land set against a sweeping backdrop of Camelback 5ountain.
:endered in concrete bricks, the stilted house · which is offered for sale by Aribona property agent Bob 0assett bobhassett.com for U; !,!!!,!!! · is a rare example of Wright’s late-career rounded style, which reached its apex with the Guggenheim. The property was described in a 1! issue of House Beautiful magabine as “a modern castle in the airº.
The house’s interior features custom-designed, hand-cut furnishings in Philippine mahogany and reproductions of the signature “5arch Balloonsº carpet originally designed by Wright for the living room. An additional 360-sYuare-foot detached guesthouse in the property’s grounds has recently been restored, while application for 0istoric Preservation · Landmark status is pending with the City of Phoenix.
1n 5inneapolis, 5innesota, the angular and asymmetrical Frieda and 0enry J Neils 0ouse was designed in 1! 1 for a local stone and architectural-materials distributor, and subseYuently boasts ample use of marble, stone and wood. 5eticulously cared for, the property has only ever had two owners and has been on the market since 2018, originally at U; 3. million, though Lakes ;otheby’s 1nternational :ealty lakessothebysrealty.com is now asking for U; 2. million.
;et in 21, 80 sYuare feet of grounds and overlooking the area’s landmark Cedar Lake, the house extends over 2, 11 sYuare feet and has an L-shaped layout typically Wright and sometimes described as “peak Usonianº , as well as many large floor-to-ceiling window expanses, integrated furniture pieces designed by the architect and Wright’s signature “Cherokee redº concrete floors.
Built in 1! , the Wright-designed William L Thaxton Jr 0ouse in Texas’s Bunker 0ill >illage originally covered a modest 1,800 sYuare feet. Later, in 1!! , that L-shaped Usonian design became the centrepiece in a grander development, when 0ouston-based Kirksey Architecture added a further 6,300 sYuare feet of living space. The property, which is offered for sale by JP Associates :ealtors Rpar. com at U; 2.8 million, now has five bedrooms and six bathrooms.
A sympathetic renovation ensured the gated residence · one of only three Wright homes in all of Texas · retained many original features, including ample use of redwood and mahogany, polished concrete floors again in Cherokee red and plate glass, generous overhangs on roofs and a cantilevered carport.
The parallelogram-shaped pool was part of Wright’s design, and the kitchen in the original structure is largely as the architect envisioned.
The 2,200-sYuare-foot William F Keir 0ouse, built in 1!1 as part of the Wright-conceived :avine Bluffs housing development in Glencoe, 1llinois, is an early example of the Prairie ;chool and features a wood and stucco exterior, broad overhanging eaves and an attached porte cochvre. Today, it’s on sale by Coldwell Banker coldwellbankerhomes.com at U; 2 ,000.
The largely open ground floor boasts a modern kitchen and a massive family room with a brick fireplace and vaulted beamed ceiling. Three bedrooms, an office, and full bathroom with dual sinks can be found on the upper level, while a lower level adds a fourth bedroom, a steam shower and a recreation room.
Located on the grounds of Wright’s larger Avery Coonley 0ouse in :iverside, 1llinois, the two-bed, two-bath Avery Coonley Playhouse was originally constructed in 1!12 as a private school. Wright used the 3, 03-sYuare-foot building as testing ground for concepts · such as a cantilevered roof and ample built-in shelving · that he’d later use in his Usonian homes. 1t’s currently on sale by the 5ike 5cCurry Group themccurrygroup.com at U; 6 0,000.
1n 1!1 , Prairie ;chool architect William Drummond converted the playhouse into a home. After multiple modifications made over a century, a recent restoration returned much of the design to Wright’s original vision, the standout feature being reproduction art glass windows the originals have been removed and placed in various museums around the world .
According to the 5useum of 5odern Art in 5anhattan, “The windows were inspired by the sights of a parade, and their shapes abstracted from balloons, confetti, and even an American flag.º
Lastly comes the pre-Prairie ;tephen A Foster 0ouse in Chicago’s West Pullman neighbourhood, which was built in the closing years of the 1!th century, Rust before Wright established his own architectural practice in the city. As such, the property exhibits none of the distinctive design flourishes that the architect later made his own.
What makes this piece of genuine American design history conspicuous in the 21st century is its incredible bargain price of Rust U; 1 ,000 Coldwell Banker# coldwellbankerhomes.com .
FOR ARCHITECTURE BUFFS,TO POSSESS AND LIVE IN A WRIGHT MASTERPIECE WOULD BE THE STUFF OF DREAMS