Let's stop blaming WWI and credit Frank Lloyd Wright for preventing the theft of his American System-Built Homes.
Thieves Caught Thieving
Pebble Dash was not Wright’s Idea (Part 2)
It was Arthur Richards, Wright's partner-developer from 1916-1917, who decided to cover the American System-Built Homes (ASBH) in Magnesite pebbles, not Frank Lloyd Wright. And where does one get Magnesite before 1917?
Fibonacci, here and there.
I dropped the Fibonacci spiral on Wright's floor-plan for our house. To my amazement, the focus of the spiral - the balanced center of the nautilus - falls perfectly in front of the hearth, marking the most important place in this space.
Carpentry Improv in Frank Lloyd Wright’s ASB Homes
Frank Lloyd Wright didn't tell the carpenter exactly how to craft an American System-Built cabinet so often the carpenter improvised.
Video: What we can Learn from Frank Lloyd Wright’s Forgotten House
Thanks to host Heather Sabin of Monona Terrace's Wright Design Series and Brian Hannan of event-sponsor Wright in Wisconsin, we are able to bring you this recorded presentation and tour of the Elizabeth Murphy House - Frank Lloyd Wright's Forgotten House.
What We Can Learn About Historic Preservation from Frank Lloyd Wright
Though Wright designed over a hundred modest American System-Built Homes he quickly cancelled the program with only twenty or so built and filed away the drawings forever when he realized that his art would not be preserved if its occupants didn't themselves participate in the preservation.
Art by Committee
If you had created something, a piece of art, for example, that was subsequently altered by others in ways that you disapproved, would you want that object preserved?
Did Wright plan to furnish his American System-Built Homes?
Did Frank Lloyd Wright plan to furnish his American System-Built Homes? Evidence suggests that limited studio resources left most owners to their own decorative devices.
Kids, what do you see in Mr. Wright’s art glass windows?
Matthew Smith - an expert in fine leaded art glass - points out that Frank Lloyd Wright's motif in the Elizabeth Murphy House reflects the proportions of the Elizabeth Murphy House herself.
Plywood in a Wright-designed American System-Built Home, before “plywood” was a thing
Wright and Richards were exploring ways to ensure quality while lowering costs in the American System. So cabinet doors were built of "ply" fifteen years before "plywood" became a thing.
The Elizabeth Murphy House 