The architecture of MacKie and Kamrath (Karl Fred Kamrath, Fred James MacKie, Frank Lloyd Wright, Texas)

Abstract

The work of MacKie and Kamrath Architects is a testament to one individual's singular belief in the philosophy and principles of Frank Lloyd Wright. Though never a member of the Taliesin Fellowship, Karl Fred Kamrath faithfully explored the precepts of Organic Architecture as few disciples did. Kamrath, along with partner Fred James MacKie, introduced Wright's style of modernism to Houston during a period of intense urban growth in the 1940s and 50s. The breadth and quality of this work earned the firm numerous awards and extensive local and national recognition. Kamrath employed the vocabulary of 'Organic Architecture' with great skill and expanded its use to large and diverse buildings such as the M. D. Anderson Cancer and Research Hospital, Temple Emanu El, and First Pasedena State Bank. Their work, while relying heavily on the style established by Wright, succeeded in articulating the optimism and cultural imagination of post-war Houston