Bigazzi, Donata

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Almae Matris Studiorum Campus

la natura in f.l. wright

The Natureof Frank LloydWrightLouis HenriSullivanstated "Iormfollows function".but the phrasebecamemuch abused and takenIrom its' originaicontext. Frank LloydWright refinedthis.saying"formis function",meaninglormand lunctionare one. Furthernote mustbe made;form is functionand lullyrealizedwhen in ccnscious harmonywiththe humansell and embracingnature intimelessfashion.The work of Frank LloydWright issynonymouswith "organic"architecture.Wrightwas a mOOernistwhosephilosophywas based on designingwithand as partof nature. He spoke of theland as the beginningof the architecture,One has to rememberthat Frank LloydWright's roots were in southwesternWisconsin. Born in 1867 inthe smalltown 01RichlandCenter.Wisconsin, hespent his earlyformativeyearsworkingon the farms of his unclesnearSpringGreen, some 50 kilometerswest ofMadison. the statecapito!. This is a landof rollinghillsstudded withoak trees andrichlertilevalleysparallelingtheWisconsin River.Clear instinctwas FrankLloyd Wright'smanner. Beginninghis own practiceofarchitecturein 1893. afterbeingdischarged by Louis H. Sullivanto whomhe was chief draftsman.Wright'sfirstprojectwas the WilliamWinslow House inRiverForest. Illinois.The Winslow Housewas an architecturalgrammarwith newdelinition. Contraryto theQueenAnne.ShingleStyle and Victorianstyleneighbors.Wright's designhademphasizedthe horizontallandscapeofthe Chicago suburbs' prairies. Themasonrygroundfloor firmlytiedthehouse to the land whilethetexturedplasteremphasisof thesecond levelwasaccentuatedby a hoveringroofwitheavesof nearlyone meterto shade thehouse duringthe Midwest summers. Itwas 01a grammarthatWrightwas tobeginusing...the horizontalline.withclarity.As Frank LloydWrightdescribed hisown homeTaliesinin Spring Green.Wisconsin. clearlyhe lelt theembodimentof the surroundingnatureand theheritage01his lamilyin each elemenl:"Yes theremustbe a naturalhouse.not naturalas caves and log cabins werenaturalbut nativeinspiritand making.with alithat architecturehad meantwheneveritwas aliveintimes past.Nothingat ali that I had everseenwoulddo. This countryhad changedthat intosomethingelse. GrandlatherandGrandmotherwere somethingsplendidinthemselvesthat I couldn't imaginein anyperiod houses I had everseen. But therewas a house that hillmightmarryand livehappilyeverafter. I fullyintendedto lindil. I evensaw, for mysell.what itmightbe likeand began to build it as the 'brow'of thehill...This modest humanprogrammeinterms of ruralWisconsin arrangeditselfaround the hilltopin a series01fourvariedcourts leadingone into theother.courtstogetherlorminga sort of drivealongthehillsideflankedby low buildingson oneside and by flowergardensagainstthestone walls thatretainedthe hillcrown onthe other.Then stone, stratilied,went intothelowerhouse walls and on up intothechimneysfromthe ground itself. Thisnativestone preparedthe way for thelighterplasterconstructionof the upperwood walls. Taliesinwas to be acombinationof stone and wood as theymet inthe aspect 01the hillsaroundabout. The lines01the hillswere the lines01the rools. The slopes 01the hillstheirslopes. the plasteredsuriaces 01the lightwood walls.set back intoshade beneathbroad eaves.were likethe Ilatstretches01sand innthe riverbelow and the samein color. lor that is where the materialthatcovered themcarneIrom.The linishedwoOOoutsidewas thecolor 01gray tree-trunks.invioletlight.The shinglesof the roofsuriaces wereleftto weather.silver-graylikethetreebranches spreadingbelow them... ,The piace was to be sell-sustainingifnot self-sufficientand with its domain oftwo hundredacres. shelter.foOO.clothesand evenentertainmentwithin itself. Ithad to be itsown light-plant,fuelyard,transportationand water system.....• 1 wanted a house where iciclesbyinvitationmightbeautifytheeaves. Sotherewere no gutters. And when thesnow pileddeep on the roofs and laydriftedin thecorners. iciclescame tohang staccato fromthe eaves. Prismaticcrystalin pendantssometimessix feetlong, glittered,betweenthe landscapeand the eyes inside. Taliesinin winterwas a lrosted palacerooled and walledwith snow. hungwith iridescentfringes.the plateglass of the windows delicatelylantasticwith Irostedarabesques. Athingof winterbeauty. But thewindowsshone brightand warn throughitaliasthe light01the huge fireplaceslitthemlrom the liresideswithinand streamsofwood smoke lrom a dozen straightuptowards the stars......A house 01the North. The wholewas low, wide and snug. a broad shelterseekingfellowshipwith its surroundings.A housethat could open to the breezesof summerand become likean opencamp ifneed be. With springcamemusic on the raofsfor therewere fewdead raof-spaces overhead,and thebraad eavesso shelterthe windows thattheywere safelyleftopen to thesweeping,soft airof the rain. Taliesinwas gratefulfor care. Took whatgrooming itgot withgratitudeand repaidit aliwith interest."Frank LloydWright's respectfor theland and its' physicalnaturewasinstinctive.Realizingthevast differencesof Midwest prairiesand rallinghillsides,Wrightaddressed thearid natureof theCalifomiacoast witha much differentattitude. The Califomiasun and Santa. Anna winds keep the coastalarea hotand arido Materialsof the Midwest didnot fitthe natureof the landscape. Tocreatea morefittingvocabularyforCalifomiaarchitecture,Wrightused themass of concreteblock construction,reinforcedwithsteelbars in bothdirections,to pravidepratectionframtheintensityof heatand light."La Miniatura"for Mrs. George Millard (1921),the Or.John StorerHouse (1923)and theCharles Ennis House (1926)wereundertakenwith the concreteblocksystemhe called"textileblock". In amannersimilarto UnityTempie, FrankLloydWrightmergedstructure,architecturalaestheticand omamentintothe materia!.The materialselectionsforthe Califomiahouses met the demandsof the climate. Easilyhandledon the job-sites,the concreteblock houses fendedoff thedaytimeheat,held the warmthofthe sun thraughthe nightand requiredlittle,ifanycontinuedmaintenanceaswould be expectedof a house of woodframe.In theautumnof 1936,Wright,beganto work on the firsthouse for HerbertandCatherineJacobs. The design brokewith conventionaltrends and instead,became the prato-typefor theAmericanranch house. Wrighteliminatedthedamp and smellybasementin lieuof asmall room onlyfor the boilerand watersystems. The concrete matgroundfloorwas poured overa half-meterbed ofgravelwith the re-circulatinghotwaterheatingpipes laiddirectlybelow theconcreteslab. This radiantheatingsystem,Wrightcontended, kept the feetwarm and thus the body as the heat rasenaturallyfromthe floorslab. The housewas tumed inwardwith floor to ceilingwindows facingthe east and south,catching thewinter'smorningsuno Wideeaves protectedthe housefram thatsame sun duringthesummers. The 120square meter,three-bedroomhouse wasorganizedaboutthe kitchenand centraifireplace. The kitchen(orworkroom asWrighttermedit)flowed intothe diningspace that flowed intothe livingarea,whilethe bedrooms occupied a wing oftheirown.This was thetime,too, of the designfor the S.C. Johnson & Sonadministrationbuilding(1936). RejectingFrank LloydWright's suggestionof apastoralsiteoutsidethe Racine,Wisconsin, city limits,HerbertF. Johnsonrequiredthe buildingsite be on land inthe midstof his manufacturingfacilities.Wright took the directivein strideandtumed the buildingin on itself. Ratherthan expanses of glass lookingout to theindustriaiarea,Wrighttumed the buildingin on itself. Entrancewas throughthecovered carport,alwayskeepingpeopleout of theWisconsin weather. The mainstructurewas made up of radicalcalyxcolumns, risingup fram a smallbrassfoot and spreading out at thetop liketheleafof lilypads emergingfromthe pond.Each column, as witnessedby thetestcolumns demanded bythe State, carriedthricetheir requiredload. The "raof"andbuildingedge were laidwith Pyrexglasstubingprovidinga naturalrefractedlightfrom above. The naturallightingof theroof reduced the amountof artificiallightingrequired,particularlyinthe maintwo-storyworkraom of the offices.Roughlytenyears laterthe JohnsonCompany asked Wrightto undertakedesign of the researchtower adjacenttheadministrationbuilding. Drawingframnature,Frank LloydWright'sstructuraldesign premisefor the tower is exhibitedinthe structureof the pinetreewith itsdeep tap raot extendingdown fram thecore. Everyotherfloorof the towerreachesout to the outerbrickhalfwall,whilethe intermediatefloors are heldback from touchingthe perimeterface ofthe building. Again, Pyrextubing is usedfor it's refractedlightand by holdingtheintermediatefloors back from theface ofthe buildingnaturallightpenetratesthelaboratoriesmuch deeper.TaliesinWest inthe Sonoran desertofArizonamust be consideredthe greatestmarriageof buildingand land. No otherbuildingso embraces nature,becomesso much a partof it as TaliesinWest. Butto trulyrecognizethe thoughtfuldimensionof Wright's paletteandpattemsforTaliesinWest one has to lookback ten yearsto his earlierrecognitionoftheArizonadeserto In 1928 Frank LloydWrightfirstvisitedArizona's "Valleyof theSun" as AlbertChase MacArthur's"consultant"for the use of Wright's"textile-block"constructioninthe ArizonaBiltmoreHotel. DuringthatfirstvisitWrighthad the opportunityto meet Or.AlexanderChandler,who was alsocontemplatingthe constructionof adesert resorthotel. Followinginitialdiscussions and subsecuent agreementof the client/architectarrangement,Wrightbegan work on designs for "SanMarcos in the DesertHotel",again usingthe "textile-block"methodhe haddevelopedfor California. As the projectbegan, Wrightfeltit irnportantto be onthe siteand suggested in January of1929 to Or. Chandlerthat his troupe offarnilyand draftsmenbuilda " carnp ofwood and canvas on suitablesite"."Ocotillo",Frank LloydWright's firstdesert carnp,was cornpletedin Febrùary1929. His descriptionof the carnp andsurroundinglandof this desertregionreinforceshis recognitionof natureas theinitialelementof hiswork."Unspoiledcharactershould not betrifledwith likethis. Arizonaneeds itsown architecture.The straightIi~eandbroad pianeshould come here- of aliplaces - to becornethe dotted line,thetextured,broken piane,for inali thevastdesertthere in not one hard un-dottedline. Arizona's long, low, sweeping lines,'up-tiltingplanes,surfaces patternedaftersuch abstractionsinlineand color as find'realism'in the patternsof therattlesnake,thegilamonsterthechameleonand the saguaro, chollaorstaghorn, - or is it the otherway around -are inspirationenough. But there liehergreatstriatedand stratifiedmasses, too,noble and quiet. The greatnaturemasonry risingfromthe mesa floor is alithe noble architectureshe has at present.Pattem of futurearchitecture? Thesahuaro. The sahuaro itselfis a perfectexampleof 'reinforced'construction.With its interiorverticalrods itholdsuprightthe greatcolumnarmass for sixcenturiesor more. A truerskyscraperthanthe functioneerbuilds.Now thearchitectand his helpersworking awayto buildand architect's'compound', we willcali it, in thisunmitigatedquotidianwildernessunchangeablychanging.The 1:2 or 30"-60"trianglewasemployedin thedesign of thewholearrangement,pian and section andelevation,because it seems characteristicof the Arizonamountainbackground.The cabins themselvesare connectedtogetherby a low staggeredbox boardwall, its horizontalzigzag linescompletingthe enclosure. And I foundthe white luminouscanvas overheadaffordeddiffusionof lightwithinsoenjoyableI now feel morethan everoppressed bythe thoughtof the opaquesolid overheadof the heavymid-westernhouse.So we cali the camp "Ocatilla"(sicOcotillo). Ali this impromptueffort,as younow see, is a humancircumstanceasappropriately'nature'in ArizonaasArizonacacti, rocks and reptilesthemselves."Unlikethe earlier'Ocatilla'camp,TaliesinWest was designed as a whole."Ocatilla"was a seriesof individuaicabinslinkedby the enclosingboard and battenwood wall. TaliesinWest was designedas an integraiform set on a stage,terracingto the desertfloor in eachdirection. As TaliesininWisconsin was "builtof localquarriedstone,TaliesinWestwas constructedof desert stonegatheredfrom the immediateareaandthe mountainsto the north. The stone isrich in varnishedcolor thattakeshundredsof yearsto reachsuch a natural Ipatina. Stones withwarmtones ofbrown and rust colors were hand-placedin wooden formswith concretemadefrom desert sand poured behind. Pure. desert masonry, indeed. To accentuatethe strataas seen in rock formationsofthe area,Wrightadded horizontalchamfersto thesloped stone masses.And to recallthe dashed linemetaphor,he placed 2" X 2" dentils,runningcontinuouslyalongthe edges of thefascias,allowingthesun shadows to addto the architecture.The draftingroomofTaliesin West wasfirstroofedusingthe whiletranslucentcanvas recalledfrom "Ocatilla".Wrightnoted thathe found thetop-lightthr?ughthe canvas to be so desirablethatheanticipatedits' furtherexplorationinTaliesinWest. The roof lineof thedraftingroom risesfromthe southwesttothe northeast. Had the buildingbeenplaced on the directnorth-southaxis,Wrightexplained,the buildingwouldalways havea hot south sideand a coldnorthside. The juxtapositionto thecompass directionsallowedsun to playupon the buildingand spaces inside.Equallyimportantwas the placementofoperableopenings at the base of thewallto the southwestand similaropeningsabove the soffitto the northeast,thusallowingdesert breezesto pass throughthe draftingroom for comfort in thewarmer, latespring days.The relationshipto thedesert is uniqueas is the form,yetaptlysuitedfor theCaliforniaor Arizonaenvironment.Rememberingthe intensityof thedesertsun and thedirectedheatgainwith flatwall construction,the Jester-PfeifferHouse fends off the greatestamountofheatgainwith its roundedwalls. Theconstant movementof thesun on thecircularformsof the house can't producea constant heat load on anygivenspotfor any amountof time. The window ofthe house are narrow, placed forviewingwhen one is seated, thus cuttingdownon the sun's giare. largescale windowsin the livingarea,diningareaand masterbedroom arealiorientedinwardto thetrellisedgarden.The WalkerHouse juts out into thePacific coastalwaters likea smallpeninsula. With its stone base, it hugsthe shorelinewhile its prow breaks intothe vastnessof the Pacific Oceano Thelivingroom windows, directedout to sea,are a reversestepping, likea corbel inglass. The flathorizontalpieces aremoveable,allowingforcontrolof breezescoming infromthe west,whilethecorbeledverticalsdrop the mistthataccumulateson theirface withoutstreakingthepanes below. Wrightdidn't-qualifymaterialsas sustainable,ratheritwas hisarchitectureitselfthatissustained. HistorianWalterCurtBehrendtaptlyinsayingof Wright'sbuildings,"Theyare builtand createdinthreedimensionsas coherentorganisms.Of the structureand likea plant,abuildinggrows up fromthe earthto thelight"and furtherremindsus of Goethe'swords "organs do notcomposethemselvesas ifalreadypreviouslyfinished,theydevelopthemselvestogetherand out of one another,to anexistencewhich necessarilytakes part inthe whole."This is the architectureof Frank LloydWright.

http://campus.unibo.it/65731/1/nature_f.l.wright.pdf

la natura in f.l. wright

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