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Guggenheim Museum
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GOAL
The goal of this project is to introduce your students to the work of American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, by having them experience projects related to his four main areas of concern:
- Destruction of the box
- Nature of the site
- Materials & Methods
- Building for Democracy
CLIENT An Architectural Foundation dedicated to preserving the work of Frank Lloyd Wright has asked your class to conduct a forum to discuss their
projects which have resulted from the study of his four main areas of design concern. Each of the four areas has a problem to solve. Visual
solutions will be part of a final class forum presentation. CONCEPTS
- Destruction of the box
- Nature of the site
- Materials & Methods
- Building for Democracy
MATERIALS
- wooden kindergarten blocks
- drawing paper
- oil pastels
- tape, scissors, glue, rulers, x-acto knife (optional)
- tracing paper
- drawing materials (flair pens, markers, crayons, colored pencils) cardboard (gray color)
- miscellaneous materials appropriate to model building for each individual student's design (example: plexiglas and translucent paints for stained glass windows)
- research materials
back to topVOCABULARY
ORGANIC: |
Resembles nature, is whole, and flows inward and outward. |
FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION: |
The design is based on the purpose of a building. |
Taliesin West
|
HISTORYFrank Lloyd Wright was a famous architect who believed in building in a way that resembled nature. His
architecture was called "organic architecture." Have you ever wandered quietly through a forest watching the animals scamper quickly away to avoid your step, breathing the beautiful fragrance
of pine and listening to the roar of the waterfall in the distance? If you have, you may have found yourself moving more quickly toward that sound with the anticipation of being secluded in
the realm of nature, drinking in the beauty of nature's sights-- but nature's sights may fool you. You may be startled when you arrive at the waterfall! You may find yourself
surrounded by elegant glass and steel cantilevers as they hover majestically above the romantic strength of nature's roaring waterfall. This is
Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture: an ORGANIC architecture which speaks of THE NATURE OF THE SITE -- hillsides, waterfalls, deserts, forest glens,
rolling prairies. Frank Lloyd Wright strongly believed that man gains personal and spiritual harmony by living close to, and in harmony with, the
beauty of nature. He placed his buildings in the landscape in such a way as to achieve this harmonious relationship.
In Frank Lloyd Wright's "organic architecture," all parts of a building are related to each other and to their site. A magical sense of space
was created when he placed his buildings into their natural surroundings. He used materials appropriate to the site and his innovative structures were designed for the individual in a
democratic society.
back to topPROGRAM As students of architecture studying the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, it is now your opportunity to present your own drawings for "THE BOX PROJECT." Using
the concepts of Frank Lloyd Wright, have your class create their own interpretations of ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE. Destruction of the Box - The Freedom of Space:
When Frank Lloyd Wright spoke of the "DESTRUCTION OF THE BOX" in architecture, he took the four sides and the four corners of the "box" we
live in and made them disappear. He reduced the number of walls on the inside so that he could create a series of spaces that flowed inside and outside to become one continuous space.
When Frank Lloyd Wright was a small child, his mother placed images of architecture all around his environment and as he grew older, she gave him
wooden blocks that were designed to stimulate his imagination. Frank Lloyd Wright gave credit to his early education when he talked about the
many two and three-dimensional designs he created as patterns for his stained glass windows, his furniture, his rugs, his china, and all his ornamental design.
The Nature of the Site:Frank Lloyd Wright believed that people need to be submerged in natural surroundings and he therefore found the urban
environment to be inappropriate for creative living. Choose a site near your school and carefully consider the NATURE of the site and how Mr. Wright may have developed the
site to reflect this NATURE. Consider the feel of the site, walk across it and notice the contours of the land (is it steep or is it flat?), note the angle and direction
of the sun and consider the direction of the winds. While you walk across the site, observe the signs of nature available to the site. Look at the
trees and how they grow, look at what flowers may be available to you and watch how they sway in the breeze. Are there bees or insects that
visit these flowers? If so, watch them to explore how they use the flower for their own survival. Are there buildings near the site, and if so, how will
you respond to them? Observe the topography. Are there any mountain ranges to provide majestic views, or are there more local, immediate sights
to observe such as small orchards or groves of trees? Using oil pastels, have your students design a two dimensional abstraction which expresses the spiritual NATURE OF THE SITE that you have chosen.
Consider how a harmony between built and natural form could be achieved on your site.
back to topMaterials and Methods: Now that you have explored the nature of the site, consider the nature of
materials that you might use to build upon this site. Explore the properties of steel, glass, concrete, and wood. Then, consider the properties of
model making materials such as cardboard, foamcore, balsa wood or wire. Now merge your discoveries of the site with those of the materials. Mr.
Wright considered his buildings to be living organisms. He described his buildings as he would describe a tree, or any living creature.
Your students will now develop a three-dimensional abstract design (a model). Their models will reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the
chosen materials and will respond to the nature of the site.
Form and Function:To Mr. Wright, form and function were the same. Just as the forms in nature reflect the necessary function of each
part, so should the forms in our built environment reflect our function and our need to be part of our environment, to be ORGANIC. Have your students list the forms they can
find in nature (i.e. circular, spiral, branching.) Building for Democracy: Now, in the spirit of BUILDING FOR DEMOCRACY, explore all of the designs which your students have created and
all of the information they have discovered through their drawings. Then have your class create three-dimensional abstract designs that reflect the essence and
wholeness of these concepts. These models should also reflect Wright's belief in "free individual choice" for all men, women, and children: a design for Democracy.
The Architectural Foundation has asked that you hold a forum to present and discuss all presentations in THE BOX PROJECT in terms of worthiness
and appropriateness to the site, as well as in terms of the ideals and concepts of Frank Lloyd Wright and his architecture.
back to topFor additional evaluation of your students' projects, see the EVALUATION FORM AND RATING SCALE.
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