Karen Camilleri HND 3D: Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright was a great architect during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. He was one who believed in organic architecture, in designs for homes and for commercial buildings. Over his career he created numerous iconic buildings and nature was his inspiration behind all of his works. All the homes that he built were in nature surroundings, using natural materials.

Wright's built the Oak Park Home & Studio, and Taliesin as homes for himself. Taliesin West was an ongoing project, one which he altered and refined until his death. This is a huge beautiful building built in a very quiet place in Arizona, west of the United States. Lloyd didn't move inside this building until he was almost seventy years old, and spent his last winter years living here with his family. When this house was first built, it was practically a desert camp with canvas roofs for protection from the weather. It was a very cosy house were it brought all the family together. Later, windows and roofs were installed and finally it stood as a series building of offices, studios, theathers and recreational space for himself, his family and also for students who came here to study. Frank Lloyd Wright spent his last few years teaching new architect students in his own home.

The building itself is built from different stones, making the exterior look very vibrant with all the different neutral colours. The windows and the front door are painted red, which make a great combination with the brown and grey tones of the outside walls. The outside impression is of a wide building, and from inside, it is huge. All the rooms have very huge spaces. The railings around the house are painted in bronze; giving a rich look to the place. All interior is based on the natural and red colours. The furniture is very geometrical and simple. The room, which Frank Lloyd Wright called the 'Garden Room' is a huge hall with glass walls, from which the garden can be seen. Wright liked bringing the outside in the inside and you could feel this, practically all around the house. Studios for design were built and and students used to go there for a period of time to learn. The great architect insisted of having the place filled with pianos and there is one in each public space, 18 pianos in all. The building itself is around 12 miles away from the urban cities and of course, because of this, it is a very quiet and isolated place.

Another master piece of this great architect is the Falling Water, this time built in Pennsylvania in the East of the United States around 1936. It is the most famous of the twentieth century houses. Among the wild flowers and rivers, stands a work of art. Frank Lloyd Wright was inspired by the young people playing and swimming in the river in the area of the building and he used the water as the focal point of his design. He placed the building exactly above the waterfall of the river. Just like his building in Taliesin, it was built among nature, far away from the city using natural materials. He wanted people not just to live around nature, but to also become part of the nature around. For Wright, organic architecture should be based on nature. He only used natural materials that were found in this area to build this building.

This dynamic building is suspended over the falls which pour down from underneath one of the terraces. The building seems to grow out of the landscape. The building was built among the rocks that were already there, and also built around the trees that were growing at the moment. The only material he used that wasn’t from the surrounding was concrete, that he used to build the big bold terraces. These massive terraces around all the nature, provide a living area without a roof. Most of the walls are built with glass, this makes the inside with very natural bright light during the day, and a beautiful calm atmosphere during the night. Similar to the house of Taliesin, the furniture inside is very simple. Long sofas are put in living area among the walls leaving space in the middle, making the room spacious. A fire place built with stones make the room very cosy when lit. The only sound you hear from this building, is the sound of the water and of the birds. In few words this is a very luxurious, quiet and giving a spiritual atmosphere to the house.

Studying Frank Lloyd Wright and his buildings defiantly reminds me of a certain place in Malta- the Mistic building in Pembroke. I couldn’t find who designed the architecture of this building but the owner of it was Joseph Scicluna. It is a huge building that used to serve as a very famous night club during the 1960’s. It is surrounded by nature and has a very beautiful view since it is built on top of a high hill. The building has some very wonderful architecture which looks somehow like a fairytale palace. It is built all in stone. There is a lot of glass designs in the walls and floors mostly rows next to rows with bottles embedded in the stone. There are designed with marble and glass of the Maltese cross in most of the rooms and a guitar shaped table which still remains as a whole. Downstairs in the garden bar there are glass owls and peacocks on the walls. Just like the Falling Water huge terraces surround the place, one of them, near the indoor bar area, which is very pretty spectacular. I could see myself in the 60’s with music from inside, just enjoying the beautiful surroundings of nature. The vibe of this building is pretty peaceful. Unfortunately today, this building is abandoned and not taken care of.